The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-03-10
SERPENT'S WISDOM A
MYTH.
SNAKES GOOD As FOOD. BUT
NOT AS PETS. SAYS A
SCIENTIST.

sue Racers the Most Delicate Eating
Snakes NOT Hostile to Man
Their Cunning ard Curiosity
J Good Points Aoc.. Taen'-sEake
Meat Sandmicac5.
! Snakes are all right Is .c9i. But
very unsatisfactory As PCS, tor the
reason that they have no psychologist
cal r#tise. said i SCIENTIST now con
nectcG with Harvard university.
During SIX years residence in the
west ne made a close study OF snakes
and their ways Having them in his
study uncontined ard about his prem
ises in numbers, he became familiar
with them.
( The wisdom OF The serpent he pro
nounces myth, though he admits
, that snakes have much cunning, are
willy 10 a degree AM. perfectly under
stand their power and limitations.
For example, raJtltsnake does not
retreat in haste when disturbed. Real
lzinG that its bite ends the game. it
! is invariably deliberate, but If left to
itself IL its own good time it makes
off
Other venOn!oaS snakes also rccede
slowly. understanding a. does the rat
tier, that they are equal 10 most alner-
sencies Contrary 10 the common no
ton, snakes are ~. hostile TO man,
Inc most venomous and powerful
will run from man II possible. L is
only in sell-deIence that any poison
Gus snake strikes
That a rattle5nake rattles TO give
warning Of is presence is a popular
fallacy. It really los nothing of the
kind. The tails Of all snakes qtiyer
when they arr excited and therefore
the rattle is heard when disturbed.
Why it has rattles OF its tail no one
has been able to find out
1t would be, according 10 this stu
dent Of snakes, quite absurd to con
clude that the handsome, independ-
ent. husky rattlesnake is instinctively
or otherwise cOnsiderate Of others in
giving warning of its presence. As
are all snakes, il is simply negative
IN its attitude toward others, save
when the instinct OF self preservation
is aroused. when it becomes positive
in self defence.
The chief difference between the
ways OF poisonous snake and OF one
whose bite is no worse than the sting
of mosquito, is in the deliberate
withdrawal Of the one and the hasty
retreat of the other in case Of dan
ger. The large majority of snakes
are quite harmless ard slip away with
all speed at the approach of either
human being or an animal. knowing
that the ability to conceal themselves
is their one means Of preservation.
While not creditng snakes with
wisdom. it is stated that in many
ways they are the reverse of stupid. /
They are very curious, and when they
can do so without danger to them
selves. they examine an unfamiliar |
object with keen and repeated atten- |
ton.
1t is related by this scientist that in |
to capture water snake |
he put his foot on it in the soft ooZe
at the creek side, but failed to hold |
it. To see what the snake would do, |
he stood perfectly still. and in a few
moments it came back and, swim
ming slowly round and round his
boot, examined it most carefully, not, |
as might be supposed, by looking at |
it, but by touching it at every point |
with its tongue, not once, but again
and again.
The quick thrusting out and draw
ing in of the tongue is a snakes way
Of finding out what things about it
mean. The tongue is its most import
ant sense organ. 1t really has very
little sensation elsewhere, and those |
that are most poisonous can, if not
restrained or hurt, be moved about
with impunity.
Yet those who handle and study
snakes constantly invariably hold
them by the back of the neck. as a
cat does kitten, and both seize and
liberate them with alacrity. Before
they are seized the rule is to keep
out Of striking distance, which is
one-third the length of the snake.
In the college town where these
studies of snakes were made the anti
pathy and horror with which they are
ordinarily regarded no longer pre-
walls. On one occasion a city visitor
at the scientists house announced in
terror that there was a snake on the
steps Of the porch.
Yes. it's summing ITSELF" her host
ess replied easily Il often fear some
one will step on it. For severa, years
it has been about the grounds 1t is
quite harmless, though occasionally