The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-12-27

he had extracted the poison fangs but
when shown that each of them had de-
veloped a.perfect pair of new ones
there was a sudden rise in the local
snake mortality. One was preserved
and sent to the Bronx Zoo, where it
shortly afterward gave birth toa large
litter of young ones, which could have
easily crawled through the screen be-
hind which the mother had been kept
AS each of them possessed the poison
apparatus in full commission and was
without the power to rattle, they
would have been more dangerous
than adult snakes.
Professional snake handlers are
often ignorant of this power, to quick
ly replace fangs, possessed by rattlers
and this ignorance led to serious ac-
cident to one of them at BoStOck S
at Coney Island last year. He was
badly bitten and narrowly escaped
death, his recovery being attributed to
the generous amount of whisky which
was Immediately administered to him
which illustrates another mistaken
idea 1t is pity to shatter pleas
ant illusion, but alcohol, except in
very small doses, is harmful rather
tnan beneficial as an antidote to
snake-bite poison.
AS a matter of fact although the
symptoms of rattlesnake poisoning
are most painful and alarming, an
adult rarely dies from the bite of the
variety common in the north. The
diamond-blacks of the south attain
much larger size, and consequently
inject more venom and their bite is
proportionately more dangerous
1t is a very common fallacy con-
corning rattlesnakes that each seq
ment of the rattle indicates a year of
the serpent's existence, and it will
probably be accepted until some one
deviseS a safe method of examining
the teeth. One has only to stand for
half hour in front of the rattler's
cage at the geological garden or mu-
scum to hear it repeated several times
together with many other bits of mis-
information which makes the average
Nature Story" seem a statement of
bald fact by comparison.
Although the young rattlesnake
comes into the world equipped with
but single button on the end of it's
tail, when year old it may have as
many as half-dozen segments, while
three a year may be taken as fair
average development. In hunting
crawling over rough country and
through tangled brush the rattles are
apt to be injured or lost, and occa-
sionally a very large specimen is seen
with but two or three segments, while
one of the banded variety procured
in Pennsylvania for the Bronx Zoo,
was less than three feet in length and
possessed seventeen perfect rattles,
the absence of the terminal congenital
button demonstrating that one or
more pieces had been lost.
A segment is added to the rattle
each time the snake casts its SIX
and this may occur each month of the
snakes active season, which in the
northern states lasts from early May
until the first severe snow storm of
winter drives it to the den for it's long
Information. This casting of the skin,
which is common to all serpents and
many of the lizards, is curious pro-
vision to protect the reptile from dis
ease and discomfort and, like most of
Natures provision, is wise one
Since the day when the serpent was
condemned to crawl abiectly on it's
belly. instead of wriggling gracefully
upon it's tail, as a punishment for
whispering suggestions for the Fall
into the eager ear of Eve, it has been
peculiarly liable to irjure sensitive
integ nmfcflt, and spending its exist
ence in close contact with the ground
1t becomes the unwilling host of many
ticks and parasites which are harbor-
Ell by the decaying vegetation.