Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1902-08-28

In any other part OF the United States.
The best authority on Arizona snakes
is believed to be Graham Peck. who
has been studying them for years,
mo other region In the United States
is so much OF natural breeding
ground for the rattlesnake as Is south
ern Arizona" said he to correspond
ent OF the New York Sun. The rocks
Of the mountains and foothills are OF
heavy yellow and gray color and the
soil Is so like the hues Of 4 rattler that
snake can move slowly along and
hardly be perceived by a person ifty
feet away. The not, dry air and the
warm. sandy earth and the immense
quantity of small birds and ground
squirrels In the mountain canyons and
brush all combine to make life for rat
tlesnakes In this region one OF rare
ease and comfort.
There are literally tens Of thou
sands of rattlers In the sage brush and
chapparel along the edge Of southern
Arizona wastes They grow to enor>
nous size and II Is common to read OF
the capture Of rattlesnakes i've and six
feet long, with fourteen and fifteen rat
ties.
"Hog-nose snakes are quite plentiful
In the mountainous parts OF Arizona.
After all the talk about serpents hiss
ing. this Is the only specimen OF the
ophldian family which have ever
heard utter a sound.
"Many writers on reptiles in America
say that thunder snakes are common
In Texas. New Mexico and Arizona.
They are really uncommon in the terri
tories. They are prairie reptile and
are often encountered by prairie trav-
elers, especially before and after thun-
derstorms
Flashes of lightning and claps OF
thunder. which are terrifying to bipeds
and quadrupeds, seem to have charm
for these members Of the ophidian
family. Whenever q thunderstorm
comes up these snakes come crawling
out of holes, from behind rocks and
rotten stumps and enjoy the fun while
It lasts.
''The coach whip Is remarkable for
Its tremendous length and surprising
speed. It Is cream or clay cOlOred,
very much Ike the hard-baked prairie
over which ii glides, is very long and
its scales are arranged In such a man.
ner that they closely resemble the
plated leather Of a whip.
Not endowed with poison, II has
tremendous power Of construction. 1t
forms its body into coils which are ca
pable of crushing sheep, dogs and coy
otes.
when l was In Lower California in
1890 l was told by a Mexican peon
that he had 10-year-old boy squeezed
to death by coach whip few years
before. The man said that on another
occasion his wife was attacked by
coach whip which threw its coils about
her quicker than she could see.
"She was too frightened to do more
than scream and fall to the ground,
when her daughter came running up
and quickly released her by merely
unwrapping the snakes tail. Strange
as this may seem, 1t Is a very easy
way to release a victim In the coach
whip snakes grasp, for while the rep
tiles constructing powers are abnor-
NAL a child may unwrap the coils by
beginning at the tail"
do you believe that snakes have
the power to charm animalsf"
"Yes, there Is a certain power to
fascinate in a snakes eyes and move
ments. / saw only the other day a
typical illustration Of the power Of
snake to fascinate.
"Over In the pine woods / saw a
ground squirrel fascinated by a black
gopher snake. The forked tongue dart
ed out of the snakes mouth almost as
regularly and rapidly as the needle of
sewing machine rises and falls. The
squirrel seemed to watch it spellbound.
The snake crept slowly nearer.
when the gopher snake was within
lHU AuNACo LLOu luC
it gave a leap and threw three coils
about the squirrel Instantly the spell
was gone The fascination or charm
there had been over the little animal
was no doubt broken the very moment
the serpent's coils were about the
squirrel, for the animal gave three con-
vulsive, terrified chirps and realized
that Its death moment had come.
81 believe implicitly that all snakes
have a certain degree of power to fas-
cinate their victims to death. Black
snakes, gopher snakes and racers have
the power to large degree. Rattle
snakes have the most fascinating
power among all the poisonous SER
pents In the Southwest.
''The indications of charming among
poisonous snakes are deceiving some
times: Poisonous snakes fang their
prey once only. The poison does not
kill at once.
''The victim hutters to branch, It
may be. or runs a short distance and
stops. The snake watches it. The
poison does its deadly work, and the
bird falls.
ANY one who comes up, not having
seen the attack, might be readily de-
ceiyed into imagining that it was the
glance of the snake and not the poison
that caused the victim to fall"
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