Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-27
fconrrlrht br 1nmcs Elverson.l

Copyright by James Elverson)
%N most countries where any snakes
IM at all exist many most surprising
kAAAl stories are preserved concerning
I1fE9OI them; and these every country-ore9
GSs@S boy and girl hears, and feels bounu u
to believe even upon the douDtlu'
testimony of some superannuated Oncie ne nc
mus or ancient lounger about blacNsm'"
shop at the crossroads
From such sources he will hear OF the
"hoop which take their tails in their
mouths and roll down hill after trespasser
upon their doman, with frightful rapidly ana
unerrng aim. No one ever actually saw one
doing it, but many believe that they do 1t.
Then, in the Middle States, we have the
king snake, which winds about other snakes
and squeezes them to death. You can near
about them almost anywhere in the country
but when you come to pin the narrator OF the
story down, he will acknowledge that he had
never seen the thing done, and has only heard
of it from others.
The real King Snake the one that DON'T
mates and feeds upon other snakes, Is not
native of our country, but OF India, and we
will speak of him presently.
But before describing it, we may say that
it is difficult to understand the snake tribe,
for as class, they are harmless to man; and
if we could divest ourselves of the natural re
pugnance we feel toward them we would see
that they are graceful in the extreme, and
sometimes very beautiful. But here and
there, however, a species, for an assignable
reason is provided with an instrument in the
shape of very sharp hollow tooth, with a
little bag above its root sunk In hollow OF
the upper jaw-an instrument contrived to
inhict almost instant death upon an animal
fifty times its own size. This is the poison
fang and sac, which do their work more per-
fectly than any hypodermic syringe IN the
hands of doctor.
A queer thing about it all is that it is not
given to us to see why most of these venom
Gus snakes have this provision of the poison
fang and sac. 1t can hardly be for self-defense
alone or all snakes would have 1T, nor, as
rule can the apparatus be of any very con-
slant service in overcoming their natural prey
although this is the reason usually gwen
rats frogs, lizards and small game, which
they abundantly able to manage without
their poison fangs.
frequently they do not use the poison fangs
upon the creatures they take for food; ana
these fangs are, in nearly all of them, folded
down against the gum, and are erected ana
brought into use at the will of the snake.
Then, again, many snakes which are poison
ous often belong to different genera, and re-
semble each other far less than they resemble
kinds which are harmless, and they thus Ell
fectually throw suspicion on the whole family
of snakes.
In attacking venomous serpent the best
weapon is flexible rod or cane, not too long,
SO as to be well under the control of the hand
1t is seldom safe to throw stones or clods at
them, for certain venomous snakes which
would be glad to get away if let alone are
rendered very aggressive and dangerous by
any missiles which miss their aim. For this
reason, too, one must take good aim with
shotgun, and moving snake is a difficult
mark to hit even with that.
But if one is hit upon the head or neck by
the merest tap from supple stick, he is sure
TO be knocked down, and then another rap in
the middle of the body seriously damages his