Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-10-16
OUR FRIEND THE SNAKE
he l7 Net a Bad Fellow And Has
Many Reckoning Quaitic3>

Many Reckoning Qualities
Exceptional love @. music would TEL
d0uad TO the credit OF amy 0tr-r l.y.
ing creature as Indicative Of refined
taste, but in the maljgleI snake even
tAia artistic attribute a mark Of oe.
loeation. Our own Qu.kers for "a.
ample, take up ard Ed5.se Ire Ola.
tribe OF EUiphanUs 5-a.us. ,ha lu,e
play ers. observe the .-are tbal Tie
player makes In blowing Does he
not bend himself UP ana down 20 The
right hand ana The le., Ike unto The
serpent? These forms hath the devil
used TO nantes. his b.asphany
against things heavenly to destroy
things upon earth, TO encompas the
world. capturing right and lett such
as lend an ear to his seductions.' And
SO on. But not a word do We hear in
condemnation OF the unresenerate
birds that carol heedessly even While
the minister is painting the horrors
Of an uncomfortable place.
The fact that some snakes eject
poison against their enemies is held
to justify their indiscrmnate cXtiHc.
Ion. We fail to see how. They did
not have the choice of their means
Of defense, they nece salily took
what the Lord gave them and they act
as instinct directs Clearly reason is
not their guide, else thay would not
notify an intended victim, but would
strike in silence, 1t is pleasing -
think that IN this they are acluateI
by high sense OF honor and fairness,
but We do not venture 50 much as a
supposItion that they possess an at
Tribute so fine. 1t is more likely, as
Darwin maintains, that the rattle.
snake uses is rattle, the cobra eX.
pands its frill and the puff adder
swclls and Kisses in order to alarm
the many birds and beasts which are
known to attack Tho most yenomous
species, acting on the same principle
which impels a hen to ruffle its feath
ers when d dog approaches its chick
ems. In any case, none OF the tradf
tlonal shyeWdnea2 or cunning is mani
fest in its performance.
It is matter Of qualification nat
urally. that our snake was cons derea
to be as intelligent as his predecss.
s0rs, but there was really no need Of
exceptional acumon TO enable him %
play his part success fully. Il the Dew
il took possession OF his body in or
Ger to accomplish d uelaI0us pur-
pose, it was the Devil, not the snake.
WHO framed the entlcns argument tor
the. unsuapecting Eve II, again. il
was Lllith who seized an opportunity
to advance the cause OF woman sufr
rage, clearly twas her keen apple-
citation Of the power OF curiosity that
led to the fall. In either case the
snake was mere dupe used by one
more cunning than himself to further
d project IN which he had no personal
interest and whose method OF accom-.
pllshment was foreign TO his shy in.
ciinations. If he had been as crafty as
he has been reputed, can one suppose
for a moment that he would have as.
sumed a role which was certain to
win the everlasting hatred OF man.
kind? No; there have been and are
good snakes and bad snakes just "a
there have been good Ewes, like God.
Iva, or Goodcva, Of Coventry, and
there are bad Ewes, some of whom
We know; but there is no real ground
for The common belief that snakes are
endowed with peculiar sapience.