The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-01-11
AUTHENTIC ROMANCES
OF A LIFE
By A. Y. DOCKERY

AT w & etc. wrote in the
Journal Of Philadelphia as long as
eighty years ago some curious matter
regarding the habits of the rat
tlesnake, which has much interest,"
for us, as it is the most feared or all
our reptiles, and makes its home III
swamps as well as III IaSt~
pesses. has long been rec
ognized as an authority on blfd NE
Speaking to the point: ne SdlyS'
THE power Of fascination aScrlbeu 10
most snakes by theoretical naturallsts.
has so Iong rivited the attention of all
persons inclined to think on the sub
iect, but without the means OF 1uds-
ing for themselves, that the tollOWinS
fruits of many years observation IN
countries where snakes abound, VIII
not. I hope, though adverse to the sup
posed power of fascinating. be lookeu
upOn as destitute OF interest.
Rattlesnakes in particular appear
10 have acquired their chief fame
from this supposed charm. The extra
ordinary faculties consist in sWlftleSs
in powers Of extension and dlnunl-
ton of almost all their parts: in quick
ness of sight; in being amphlblous; III
possessing that wonderful ana extra
ordinary benefit of torpidlty during
winter, and lOng-COnJlnued assurance
at other periods, without. however, IN
the meantime, losing the Venomous
faculty, the principal means OF their
defence.
Rattlesnakes hunt and secure for
their prey. with ease, gray squirrels,
therefore they must be possessed OF
sWiftness to obtain them.
Whilst lying on the ground ilSZlt
to watch the habits Of a bird, previous
to shooting it, | heard a smar rust
ling not far from me, and, turning my
head, saw a squirrel bouncing off IN
leaps Of several feet at a time; and
not more than twenty feet behind a
rattlesnake sliding over the ground
so swiftly that l could observe the
snake gain upon the squirrel. Inc
squirrel made for a tree, the snake
performed thu same task. more SLOW
~, yet so fast that the squirrel never
raised its tail, nor barked, but eyed
the enemy a~ttentiVely, as he
and approached. When within a few
yards. the squirrel leaped to another
branch, and the snake followed by
stretching out fully two-thirds OF its
body, whilst the remainder held it
securely from falling. Passing from
branch to branch, with astonishing
rapidity, the squirrel went in and out
of several holes, but remained III
none, knowing hat the snake could
enter: and, at last, exhausted and ter
rified, took u desperate leap and came
10 the earth with legs and tail spread
TO their utmost to ease the fall. That
instant the snake dropped also, and
renewed the chase again on land. Be-
fore another tree could be reaened
the snake seized the squirrel by the
back near the ociput, and soon rolled
itself about 1t in such a way that, al
though I heard the cries Of the Victlr1,
/ scarcely saw any portion of Its BODY.
A few minutes elapsed, when | saw
the reptile loosening gradually n
opening it's folded coils, until the
squirrel was left entirely d~isengaged.
having been killed by suffocation. AS
surfing itself that the squirrel was
dead. the snake took the end or the
squirrels tail and swallowed It, grad
ually bringing first one and then the
other of it's hind legs parallel with II,
and expanding it's Jaws until the whole
remaining parts were swallowed with
apparent ease. The snake then at
tempted to move off, but this was next
TO impossible. I then killed It and
cut it open to see how the squirrel
lay within. I concluded from its
movements, O kind Of heaving, hat
vas going on. This was proved when
I found the squirrel lying perfectly
smooth, even to the hair, from it's
nose to the tip Of it's tail.
I noted all this on the spot. These
facts I trust are quite sufficient to ex-
emplify the faculties of swiftness, and
the powers of extension mt dim1nu-
ton in the rattlesnake.
In regard to the quickness Of sight.
I have discovered, from the rustIing
leaves near me, that some snake was
IL a hurry to get out of sight of a
hawk that was soaring over; and that
after the hawk had passed over, the
snake came out Of it's hiding place.
But, further, / have frequently
seen them move their heads sideways,
looking up to the trees, and discover
ed that they were there in search OF
birds nests: and I may add that these
battles up the tree between the
snakes and the birds, is c~orroborated
by one Of our most eminent natural
lists in America.
Now, then, comes the snake from
the editor who believed himself i'm
posed upon, ana he k some of the
gloss off SO renowned q naturalist as
Audubon; although he does not dis
prove the snake story.
In the edition of the ank Jour-
nal, two month afterwards. aDpears