Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-11-01
TO CATCH A RATHER
SIMPLY sTooP AND PICK HIM uf
WITH YOUR HANDS.

II the Snake La Coiled, Lay One Ennd
over Ii aud the Other Under 1t, and
Ii wi. Not aiove TO Get Away.
Some Facts About the Reptiles.
Here are some facts about snakes
given by II. young man who has studied
them since lie WAS ten years old:
The best way to catch Il snake is to
simply stoop down and pick 1t up, as
you would n toad or turtle. Some
times with RATHER 1t is as we'll to
put n stick OH his head until you get
Your hand on hin. If the snake Is
coiled, simply lay one hand over it and
the other under 1t, and the snake will
not move 10 get away.
There is surer cure for snake bite
than any brand Of whisky. 1t is strych-
MIA sulphate, nitroglycerin and potas-
SUM permanganate, which may be
carried in tablet form and must be dis
solved In water and injected hypo-
dermically.
This young naturalist was wi hout
his antidote the first time he was bitten
by RATHER. 1t was on the Mojave
desert. and he was providing around
among some old prospect holes. Stoop-
Ing down to pick up piece of copper
ore lying at the mouth of IL hole, he
disturbed u big RATHER, and 1t struck
him. He placed ligatures on his hand
and arm and started for camp. AT the
first camp he got razor and bleG his
finger rs well as he could, but it was
nine hours before lie could get to his
medicine. The next day his whole side
was numb and stiff, and it was three
weeks before he entirely recovered
from the effects Of the poison. He had
not neglected, however. to catch the
snake, and this became his special pet
The lesson he learned was that Il
quick movement in front of rattlers
eyes Is IL most dangerous proceeding
and It Will make Il snake strike quick
er than anything else. In handling
strange rattlesnakes he is always lit
tie careful and usually draws them
into his hand over his coat sleeve. A
caressing little pat on the head seems
to have the same effect OH snakes as
on other animals.
After putting RATHER ON the floor
OF his room and teasing 1t, to make it
coil and strike, this snake trainer pick
ell 1t up in his hand, patted its head
and then pried open the big mouth
with nail to show Its fangs, seven
on each side, in different stages Of
development, from one like pin
point to one the size of birds claw
The large fang is likely to drop out
at least once year, but If injured 1t
may be replaced three or four times
year.
There is about the same danger
from the bite Of nonvenomous snake
az from the bite of n dog or cat. 1t
may or may not be serious. All de-
ponds upon whether a poisonous germ
Is transmitted and upon the condition
Of the blood of the person bitten.
Baby rattlers are fitted from the be-
ginning with fangs and sacs of poison
and are ready for business, but they
have only little button on their tails
where the rattles are to come later.
In the matter of food snakes vary.
They cannot be treated to cold scraps
of all kinds. In fact, most of them
are rather particular about having
their food served alive. If they are
very hungry they may take something
freshly killed, but they vastly prefer
to do their own killing.
Gopher snakes live principally on
rodents, with birds and occasionally
BIRDS eggs MS delicncies. Rattlers
also prefer rodents. Water snakes
have weakness for frogs. The corral
snake, which is very common in the
southwest, is quite general eater.
He takes birds eggs, lizards, horned
toads, gophers, rats and frogs. He is
cannibal too. A corral snake was