The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-06-29
Huge Serpent Gives Piccaninny the
Scare Of His Life-Alligator Puts Up
Terrific Fight, but Loses-Oueer
Frogs, Turtles and loads Bagged

glazed checkerboard and backs and
sides like an Oriental rug pattern.
This rat snake, together with the
black snake and few other species.
has curious habit OF initiating a rat
tier In order to brighten its enemies
away. They lie in the brush and dry
grass, and at the approach of danger
they will coil and hiss and shake their
tails about in the grass. rafting them
against the leaves and giving n very
good imitation Of n RATHER.
Mr.. Ditmars found many birds in
the Great Swamp so tame that he was
able to get close enough to them to
watch them on their nests and take
some very interesting moving pictures
or them. On one occasion Mr. Ditmars
was photographing a cardinal, a gor-
geously colored bird and so tame that
ne was able TO bring his moving pic
lure camera within A few feet of hcz
he was cranking away industrlousiy.
when suddenly the bird got uneasy.
she shook and trembled, her feathers
$1,000 up on her body and she
squawked feebly in terror. Looking
about, Mr.. Ditmars discovered n big
olack snake crawling toward the bird
ana her nest, darting its forked
tongue. swaying its ugly head and
Kissing like miniature steam radia-
'o- Here was a chance to get a very
unusual moving picture OF a snake
killing bird-but Mr.. Ditmars killed
the snake.
MY better nature" he said. got
the better of my scientific instinct
a Tortoise With Parasites.
One OF the curious creatures Mr.
Litmars brought back to the zoo was
the gopher tortoise stable land tur-
Tie OF unusually curious habits OF life
Ihis tortoise has feet like those of an
elephant. and digs a tunnel twelve
feet deep or more, dragging out the
sand and piling 1t in a high mound at
the entrance Horses cannot be made
10 go near one OF these gopher tor
tolse tunnels. They break and run
as soon as they come within sight OF
one.
Naturalists never have found more
than one tortoise in IA tunnel, but liv-
ing with the tortoise often are several
other. kinds OF animal life. which have
speoies- and which are seen nowhere
else. They are the gopher frog. a
beautifully spotted creature varying
IN size; the gopher snake. a long rep
tile something like black snake, and
-FOUR or five varieties OF beetle. about
the size of a mans thumb nail. These
snakes. beetles and frogs are para
sites; they don't help the tortoise dig
his tunnel, yet they live there in per-
feet harmony with the tortoise and
with each other.
These tortoises are difficult 10 catch.
They can go at a tremendous speed,
and the only way to catch one IS to
keep a sharp lookout, and chase it at
sight and as fast as possible. Even
then II is question of luck in finding
the tortoise so far away from his bur-
row that he cannot beat his pursucr
to 1t. The same thing applies to the
gopher snake. All these have one
particular burrow and appear to know
no other place OF refuge. When dan
ger approaches they run for their own
burrow. although there may be others
nearer.
The gopher frog is an exceedingly
CEdly hOit Oh Creature, anu mas the
most foolish looking face of almost
any animal, The way this frog is
caught is TO find one sitting at the
entrance TO a tunnel and then close
up the tunnel by sticking a shovel
into II through the sand. The frog
Immediately dives into the tunnel and
tries frantically to get through the
shovel. He never tries to turn around
and get out of the tunnel: his only
idea appears to be 10 get as far into
the burrow as possible. Then, OF
course, nothing remains but TO pick
him up and put him in n bag.
Catches AIIigators.
Mr.. Dltmars brought back two fine
specimens OF alligators, one of them
weighing 220 pounds and the other
ninety. The small one. some five feet
long, put up terrific battle before he
was dragged out of his hole in a
swamp and loaded into a wagon for
transportation 10 the cabin. 1t is not
so easy TO catch alligators as It used
10 be. In the old days they used 10