Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1905-11-02
TO CATCH A RATHER
SIMPLY STOOP AND PICK HIM ur
WITH YOUR HANDS.

Over 1t and the other Under 1t, and
II Will Not Move to Get Away.
some Facts About the Reptiles.
Here are some facts about snakes
given by a young man who has studied
them since he was ten years old:
The best way to catch a snake is to
simply stoop down and pick 1t up. as
you would a toad or q turtle. Some
times with q RATHER II Is as well to
put a stick on his head until you get
your hand on him. II the snake is
colled. simply lay one hand over 1t and
the other under It, and the snake will
not move to get away.
There Is a surer cure for snake bite
than any brand of whisky. 1t Is strych.
MIA sulphate. ~nitroglycerin and potas-
sium permanganate. which may be
carried In tablet form and must be dis.
solved In water and injected hypo-
dermically.
This young naturalist was without
his antidote the first time he was bitten
by a RATHER. 1t was on the Mojave
desert, and he was proving around
among some old prospect holes. Stoop-
Ing down to pick up a piece of copper
ore lying at the mouth Of a hole, he
disturbed a big RATHER, and 1t struck
him. He placed ligatures on his hand
and arm and started for camp. At the
first camp he got a razor and bled his
finger as well as he could, but 1t was
nine hours before he could get to his
medicine. The next day his whole side
was numb and stiff, and 1t 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 a
quick movement In front Of a rattler's
eyes Is a most dangerous proceeding
n 1t will make q snake strike quick
er than anything else. In handling
strange rattlesnakes he Is always a 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 on snakes as
on other animals.
After putting a RATHER on the floor
of his room and teasing it, to make 1t
coil and strike, this snake trainer pick
ed 1t up in his hand, patted its head
and then pried open the big mouth
with a nail to show Its fangs, seven
on each side, in different stages of
development, from one like a pin
point to one the size Of a birds claw.
The large fang Is likely to drop out
at least once a year, but IL injured 1t
may be replaced three or four times
a year.
from the bite of a nonvenomous snake
as from the bite Of a dog or a 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 a 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 as d~elicacles. Rattlers
also prefer rodents. Water snakes
have a weakness for frogs. The corral
snake, which is very common In the
southwest, Is quite a general eater.
He takes birds eggs, lizards, horned
toads, gdphers, rats and frogs. He Is
d cannlbal too. A corral snake was
once seen to devour o racer eighteen
inches longer than himself. lie did
moi eat again for some time,
Constructing snakes squeeze their
victims until they can no longer resist.
viperine snakes strike and poison their
prey. Water snakes start right In on
a frog while 1t is alive.
A snakes teeth are fine and sharp
and numerous. They look like fine fish
bones, all curved backward. The I'M
der jawbone Is divided in the middle.
and the food is worked in with an al
ternating movement of the lower jaw,
aided by a forward and back move
ment Of the upper jaw with its row OF
hooked teeth. With such teeth 1t would
seem quite impossible Tor q snake to
disgorge. jet this young man made one
give up a bird which had been partly
swallowed and stuck fast by its beak
having gone through the snakes body.
A snakes digestive organs may be
slow, but they are very sure. Teeth,
skin. hair and every part of the prey Is
digested. The hard, finty teeth Of q
rat will be found, II the snake Is dis
sected within a week, to be soft enough
to crush In the fingers.
Snakes only care to eat nee In three
or four months, though they drink
much water. Through the winter they
hibernate In captivity as when free.
Occasionally they may be reused and
will possibly eat something, but they
are very sluggish.
Constructing snakes have a powerful