New-York tribune., 1921-04-10
LING RATTLESNAKES FOR NEW YORKS zoo

too. am not speaking cr tn. h..
woodsmen who are attracted ~. =.
snakes and are usually known
their neighbors as 'Rattlesnake ps..,
or 'Rattlesnake Bill The m.r
mention are nearly all naturalistss
An Ad Mans Fancy
Arthur Gillian, Of FLUSHING :.
advertising man. His fsvorite hunt. =.
ing ground is Orange County NJ
Jersey. He is planning some rstts'
snake hunting trips with DR. n. ~.
mars at this season. Last wear q,
lam on one trip captured fourt..s
specimens that Ditmars describsas.
beautiful"
Snakes are lively at this tim. ;.
year." DR.. Ditmars said. "We b.s.
to handle them, Of course, but =.
have method, and it is pretty s.ts
although l believe get more thrills
out Of snake hunting than anvhoa.
ever did who was hunting tigers ".
take with US a heavy unbleach.a
muslin bag or sack, a moose on N.
end Of tour-foot stick, a lon.
forked stick, and wear old cloths,
and leather leggings.
"When we get to a snake l.ac.
and usually it is 1900 feet abov.
the plains, we walk mighty carefu,
l can assure you. Five or six w;cl,
ed looking heads will be raised and
pointing in your direction in Aas6
Of time. If they can manage il tbs
snakes will try to slip away into the
assures in the rock. Stand betwae,
them and their getaway and thev
will almost invariably coil and giva
warning. That is when our fun he.
gins.
"The forked stick, and the prong,
are not over two inches long, il
jabbed at snakes head, so az to
pin it to the earth. Then anothe,
stick is laid across his head close IN
his jaws. I usually rest my knee on
the second stick to hold it in place
and then, while the snakes head is
held powerless to move, grasp him
around the neck with one hand in
such a fashion that the thumb and
second finger are firm against the
back of his jaws, and the index
finger pressed against the rear Of
his head. If your fingers are
quarter Of an inch too far back.
though, the snake can whip its head
around and strike. That is what
gives this game its thrill, guess.
When you have him like that it isa
simple matter to drop him tail first
into the sack.
Quickness of Snakes
sometimes when we get such a
bag back here half full of snakes
the muslin is fairly dripping with
venom expelled from the fangs Of
the angry captives.
"There is nothing that lives that's
quicker than a snake. Once | was
reaching for a blacksnake and it
leaped up the opening of my sleeve,
wriggled its way upward and out at
my collar and was gone before |
could turn around. That was quick
ness, but rattlesnake is quicker"
DR.. Ditmars says that where the
human population is abundant snakes
are very few. AS proof of the rarity
of snake bite in this part of the coun-
try he pointed out that the rattle
snake serum kept at the Bronx
Geological Park has been called for
but three times in several years.
eve are sometimes requested by
people who have bought large estates
and who have seen a few snakes to
tell them how to rid their premises
of the reptiles. l always tell them to
wait until fall OR spring, and then,
after finding their dens, notify US.
Well gladly gather them all up then.
At those seasons of the year the
snakes never stray far from the dens.
In that way it is possible to rid
place of reptiles. Usually the calls
of this sort we get refer to copper
heads, of which there are many in
this part of New York. I've got
couple of such dens to clean up this
year. Well cage the captives, how
ever, and not kill them"