The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1924-09-25
DEADLY RATTLES SNAKES.
The sideMnder, thef Back Diamond
and The kaEhasl Find.

'-(@-~~N
Eagle. There are but few Wichitans
who have seen a rattlesnake out in
the open free to crawl at their own
pleasure and to the dispieasure of
Others. The rattlesnake Of the Kan
sas plains are Of a specie known as
the crotalus horidus, or prairie rat
tier. Some scientists have declared
that their bite is more deadly than
that Of the cobra de capelo, of India
Another specie Of the most vene
/ nous of all American snakes is the
crotalus adamanteus, or the black
diamond RATHER. This snake is an in
habitant of the southern states and
is quite familiar to all persons who
have been in the timber lands of the
south. The snake grows TO be very
large, sometimes reaching length
of seven feet 1t is also very large
around the body. In fact, the black
diamond RATHER of Texas have been
known to be eight feet long and nearly
a foot and a half In circumference.
There is also another specie of the
American death-dealing snake. This
specie is not very widely known, and
is found only in the dry, hot regions
of western Texas, New Mexico, Ari-
zona, California, and old Mexico. 1t
| is the crotalus cerastus, or the horned
RATHER. There is a very peculiar spe-
cimen Of this specie in a display win
dow Of an amusement parlor on North
Main street. It Is not a true speci-
men Of the horned RATHER, however,
as 1t has but one horn on its head
when 1t should have two. The true
gpecimen known as the sidewinder.
has two small triangular horns pro-
truding about an inch above the skin
sust inside of the eyes Of larger
horned RATHER. On smaller snakes OF
this variety, the horns, of course, are
smaller.
On q true specimen Of the side
winder, the horns are black; on the
snake in the window on North Main
street, the horn Is very near trans
pareut with a small black streak IN
the center Of the horn reaching about
half an inch above the head. No
reason has ever been set forth by
scientists as to why these horns were
placed on the snakes head by the
Creator. They are never used ana
are an annoyance to the snake.
When a snake sheds its skin, which
] they do every year, an outer coat OF
the horn peels off and is left behind.
Whether 1t does on the one-herned
specimen is not known.
The sidewinder closely resembles
the black diamond RATHER. In fact,
it is a far more beautiful specimen
of what people would fancy for a black
: diamond RATHER than the original
black diamond snake. The tongue
Of the sidewinder is longer than that
of the black diamond, and is OF
blacker hue. It's fangs are also better
placed for tearing and are generally
/ longer. Another difference is In the
| noise made by the rattles. the
black diamond RATHER and the prairie
RATHER make more of a singing noise
| than the sidewinder. AS for the bite,
there is but little difference between
the sidewinder and the black diamond.
Both are very poisonous. but not SO
much as the prairie
If anything, the sidewinder is more
sluggish than the prairie RATHER IN
It's movements. Neither specie is as
active as the black diamond. The
most dreaded enemy the horned rat
tler has is the maybe. This bird Is
above the rattler's charms, and has
been known to construct fence OF
urickly cactus around sidewinder
which could not be passed by the
snake. Then the maybe will fly over
the head of the snake, teasing it into
frenzy and at last the RATHER VIII
| become so angry that it tears an ug-
" cash in its side with its fangs and
dies in a few minutes from the ef
fects of the poison from the pouch
IN the upper Jaw which exudes the
noison when the pouch is forcibly
thrown in contact with any resisting
object.
r. the specimen now on exhibit here
was turned loose it would not live
through the next winter, as it requires
a very hot country. 1t is very slug
gish in its movements, but IL nand
was thrust into the cage. its fangs
would be jerked through the flesh be-
fore one could wink an eye. There
must be an exception to this, however
There are men who could reach in
the cage and pick up the snake and
never be bitten. These men are
scarce. It is not so much in the
mans hand as it is the scent about
their person that obviates all danger
of being bitten. Every person could
charm the snake In the window by
a careful attention to few rules.
First, the person who could charm
the snake must have q very steady
nerve. They must be competent TO
look the snake in The eye without
batting the eyelids. Not a muscle
about them must move until the snake
begins to get uneasy. Then a quick
movement of the body with the eyes
still glued upon the snakes head viii
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