The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-16

drops that are contained in the head Of,
each blow adder. -,
"Hog-nose snakes are quite plentiful
In the mountainous parts Of Arizona.
After all the talk about sefperfts hissL
ing this is the only specimen. OF, the,
ophidian family which I have ever
heard to utter a sound. Speaking about
the universally false idea that rattler
snakes hiss audibly reminds me Of
when l was in Colorado on one ofomy
natural science jaunts six years ago.
An Arapahoe Indian guide was with me
the others of our party being scate
tered to the right and left chasing coy
otes, which were quite thick in the
country The water lay in pools on
the prairie, and all these pools. without
exception. were more Or less tainted
with alkali salts. While riding near
one of these stagnant pools, out OF
which sprang a rank growth of grass
I heard a peculiar gutteral sound, like
that uttered by a turkey cock, which
at once attributed to a frog. My IN
dian companion heard the same noise
and fastened to the spot. beside which
he halted Again the gutteral sound
proceeded from the place, and by this,
time my aboriginal friend started back
in alarm and made haste to move him.
self and cayuse a little further from
the place.
They Enjoy Thunder and Lightning.
&c What's the matter with you?' II
exclaimed. Are you agraid of a frog"
"Whereupon the buck informed me
that the noise was made by a snake
and not frog. I was unable to secure
| this specimen, as he kept closely hid
In the marsh. and I have never been
able to determine since to what tribe
of heel biters he belonged. Lewis and
Clarke, in the record of their journey
across the continent three quarters of
century ago, mentioned the fact OF
encountering snakes that emitted gut
teral noises. would spend months in
/ searching if I could but find sDeci-
! men Of gutteral- sounding snake.
| That would be fame enough forzn to
leave to posterity.
| MANY writer's on reptiles In America
| say that thunder snakes are common
/ in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
| But they are uncommon in the terrific
ries. They are prairie reptile. where
they are often encountered by prairie
travellers. especially before and after
| thunder storms. FLASHES of lightning
and claps of thunder, which are so
/ terrifying to bipeds and quadrupeds,
seem to have the greatest charm and
delight for these members Of the ophi-
dian family. Whenever thunder.
storm comes up these snakes have a
| regular picnic. They come crawling
out of the holes, from behind rocks
and rotten stumps, and enjoy the fun
while it lasts. Their character Is fierce
and they are aggressive in high de-
| gree, which qualities are remarkable in
! being possessed by serpent that is
both fangless and innecuous. Their.
markings are beautiful in the extreme
| Alternate bands Of black, white and
yellow cover the 1.-THE body.
Coachwhip Snakes are Constructors.
"The black snake is SO well known to
all North America that it is hardly
worth noticing him from this point of
the world. We have two sepcies in
Arizona, one which inhabits marshy
places, ponds, creek bottoms and shady
spots, and another that lives in the
sun baked mountains among the rocks
and in the woods, where dead. dry
leaves are plentiful and young birds
numerous He is a noted constructor.
and he is not poisonous. Nearly all
striking serpents have fangs. usually.