Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-10-18

Is especially pathetic. After roaming
and dreaming around these old wrecks
for some time the Rambler retraced his
steps to the ferry. pulled to the top
of pole a white canvas ball. which
is the lone ferryman's signal to come
across from Alexandria, and sat down
on a rotting drift log to await de-
velopments. After burning up one pipe
of tobacco the Rambler walked down
the shore to see how the ancient boun-
dairy stone OF the District was coming
on. It's edges are much broken and
worn, and the four faces are eroded
by the years and SCARED by Thought
less men who have cut their initials
in the stone. On the northeast. in
very old-fashioned lettering, you can
trace. by supplying a letter here and
there. Jurisdiction of the United
States. and here the inscription becomes
undecipherable. On the northwest face
is the date, "179-." with a part of the
so" worn away and the figure which
followed it obliterated On the south
east face you may dimly discern 20 81
east"
The tide was out. and there was a
broad stretch of shore between high
water mark and the water. As the
Rambler walked toward the old stone
he disturbed a snake. a big brown or
grayish-black fellow, that wriggled not
hastily. but deliberately. down to the
water. leaving behind him as he en-
tered the river few noiseless ripples.
That snake was interesting. and tended
to relieve the loneliness of the river
shore. The Rambler did not have to
count his upper and lower labials. his'
ventral plates or his subcaudals to ra,.
ognize him as an old friend. the water
snake or Natrix sipedon. He is harm.
less. like nearly all the snakes around
Washington. 80
The incident Of this snake recalls that
about three years ago the Rambler,
vvf ha rUba 1,a
ferry to the high lands and while pass
ing across the sandy meadows, came
upon brilliant snake leisurely travel
ing the same way. The Rambler walked
slowly behind him for about fifty yards
and might easily have killed him before
the snake decided to leave the road ana
go off into the weeds of the bordering
field. That snake was one of the events
Of the Rambler's life. He was not one of
those snakes-Lampropeltis doliatus-
commonly called the house snake, milk
snake or chicken snake. AS everybody
knows who likes snakes. these fellows
are quite sensational. one species being
bright red above, with triple rings OF
which two black ones inclose one of
white or yellow. There is another species
with brownish red or gray above. with a
dorsal series OF numerous CRAVING brown
black-bordered blotches, and there isNa
third species. Lampropeltis doliatus col,
laris, of yellowish red with series of red
dish brown, dark-bordered spots, which
10 not extenu 1urther down than to the
second row of scales. go.
But the snake which impressed the
Rambler on that spring day was not
one of these. He had a narrow head and
a rounded snout Above he was light.
red. becoming paler on the sides. and
on his back were about forty irregular,
dark red spots, each with a darker
border His lower surface was {, ! .cked
with black and yellow, and on his head
were dark bands, one through the eve
to the corner of the mouth and onto
the neck, and one band from the back
OF the head to the neck. He was nearly
five feet long.
When the Rambler got back to the
city he consulted the authorities ON
reptiles In the National Museum and
looked through the works of Frederick,
Z. Test and w. P. Hay, which have
been published in the proceedings NJ
the Biological Society of Washington
From the Ramblers notes that fancw
snake was finally identified as SPOT
ted coluber. and 1t was found that there
were but two records of the capture al.
THIS snake in the region of Washington.
one was captured a good many years
ago at Wheaton. Md, and the other
was captured in the grounds of the
Government Hospital for the Insane
The place where the Rambler and this
snake became acquainted was oniy.
about half a mile from one of tia
farms OF the hospital for the insane.