The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-24
Numerous Varieties of Both Dangerous and Harmless
 Reptiles In Alabama
KING SNAKE HANDS0MEST
 AND IS FEARED BY. OTHERS
Wise Old Citizen Goes Over the List and Gives Some Pecularities of the Snakes Found In
 Alabama.

Talking about snakes" said wise looking old fellow as the police reporter broke into a group Of men, who had evidently been giving personal reminis as bad and about as many different kinds of 'em here in. Alabama as any place I know of, and I have knocked around considerabe.N> They're all out now, too. You know they most generally crawl out of the ground when the buds begin to pop open in the spring, and it ain't ex- actly safe to go a-tramping about over the hills and through the swamps less n you've got out a sharp eye.
 And, by the way, snake medicine is sorter scarce now, aint it?"
 The attention of the reporter was re- warded with information regarding the snakes that habtate Alabama. which is probably not generally known. There is quite a variety here, among them being the king snake, copperhead, cotton mouth, chicken snake, highland moccasin, spreading adder, water moccasion, black racer and blue racer, rattlesnake, rattle snake pilot, garter snake, coach whip, green snake and, cabbage snake
 "I calculate" said the wise-looking fel- low, they ain't no snake wusser'n the copperhead. He ain't much different from the highland moccasion, you know, and them two is pretty much like the rattle snake, only they ain't got no rattlers on I,aip +oi1 head cause his head is sorter rusty copper -colored, you know. Our rattle snake is the diamond rattler, that is his skin is divided off into little sections shaped like the diamond spot.
 "The rattlesnake pilot ain't no more n a little rattle snake. There is usually two of 'em, and they most gen'a ally runs ahead of their nanny to sorter look out and holler if anything's the matter. When they gets to be four years old they aint pilots but they're snakes, cause they get rattlers on their tails then.
 "The han'somest snake we got is the king snake. He's a king, too. Some of them fellers no more'n two feet long can lick the biggest rattler you ever saw. But they get to be big fellows and are nearly black. They're sorter cannibals. You know they kill other snakes and eat any of 'em.
 'The water moccason is a hard 'un to beat. I'd know one in a minute swim min down the creek His back is sorter olive brownsh, barred with black, and when he bites you he can mighty nigh kill yer in minute. Same way with a cotton mouth.
 "One CT the darnest snakes I ever seed is the spreadin adder You can rifle him and his headll spread out flat as a saul cers and as wide as yer hand. He's wus ser'n a bull dog when it comes to fight in.
 "Coach whips ain't nuthin at bitin', but I'll tell yer what l seen once. l seen a big whip ketch a goat and wrap his tail around that goats neck, and then choke him almost to death. What little life was left he beat out of the goat with his head. Whats that? Whips with his tail? I guess not, son, you got the thing hind part before.
 Ever see a racer? ou jest as well git a bucket of water when one of them things runs across the field. They can set things afire runnin'. He's jest the common black snake, and ain't never bit nobody.
 And a milk or bull snake. You can hear them things boiler jest like bull from here to Eighteenth street. They'll wrap around a cows leg and suck every pit of the milk out of her bag. Never