Evening star., 1948-10-09
This and That
By Charles E. TrdceUeu
"BLADENSBURG. Md.

Dear Sir:
Il read your recent article about snakes, and
it brought to mind my own experiences Re-
garding whether children are born afraid of
them or have fear instilled into them think
the former may be the case. One OF nv earliest
memories is of pounding snake to jelly on olr
porch. l evidently felt not the emotion of fear,
but inherent hatred of the creature Later,
another small child in the family picked up q
garter snake without fear and was bitten by 1t.
Last summer stepped on a small snake
with tan-patterned back and scarlet stomach.
Can you identify it? Also, here near our place
bright green fellow slithered across the street
recently, almost soaring the wits out of us, for
we thought it long blade of grass at first. 1t
was the same kind once picked from berry
bush accidentally. Do you know its variety?
Many snake incidents were connected with
our lives in the country as children including
some very humorous ones. One time, when
berry picking, we came across 6-foot blue
racer later lost it, and my brother climbed
tree the better to search for it. Suddenly
branch right over his head began to move
it was the snake! He jumped to the ground
from that height, narrowly escaping injury.
and we watched fascinated while the magnifi-
cent thing slowly dropped in great coils 1t
reached the ground and like lightning raced
away, We foolish children following, barely able
to see its movements through the grass.
1T headed for tall tree stump and hid
within it. With forked stick we little idiots
hauled it out and after fierce battle killed
the poor thing, dragging 1t proudly home to
hang on the fence. We were unaware that it
actually was our friend and that many a
mouse's family tree would remain unbroken to
consume bushels of grain.
"In our barn was perfect snake skin, on
the wall above the hayloft and we once
watched in hypnotized horror while q large
house snake with brown markings swallowed
a young frog, unable to save 1t, following the
lump it made on its way down the snakes
gullet. Another time we were in time to rescue
a baby rabbit after its agonized cries had
brought us running in curiosity.
"Once my brother and were wading in our
creek when large water snake swan between
my poor brothers knees without stopping or
touching him!
selves on the banks along with the turtles.
Perhaps I should add here that during this
period we watched an entire afternoon toad
shedding its skin. 1t pulled the old skin of
methodically, swallowing is as 1t came, and
the skin underneath was shiny and beautiful
This summer we caught praying mantis
here in our yard, and brought it inside, where
it lived for week on our living room curtain.
During that time it shed its entire skin whole
(eerie sight and consumed whole grasshop-
per- 1t was bright green when caught in
the grass, but changed color slightly to match
its environment
Sincerely, and truthfully. F. M. B."
n X
1t is good to get sheaf of snake stories, for
they have decreased, as the cities have grown;
but fish stories have grown in number-and
size-aS city people went back to fishing, as
the last tie with the old country life.
Snakes always have exerted a real fascina-
ton on mankind. There, of course, was that
snake in the garden of Eden And the story
of LAGOON and the serpent-headed Medusa
in Greek mythology. Cleopatra let an asp bite
her. In this country we have the Hopi snake
Dances and in some States sort Of pseudo
snake worship. Some people believe in hoop
snakes, also milk snakes, but no snake really
rolls like q hoop, nor milks cows.
Bull snakes are terrible looking creatures, but
harmless, even docile although you wouldn't
think it to look at them. They have q neat
trick of swallowing birds egg for 1S inches
before cracking it, when they digest 1t. shell
and all
Less than 20 of the 146 species of snakes in
| the United States are poisonous. An authority
| writes: "One should never be blind to the fact
| that some serpents are dangerous, but it is an
| injustice to disregard their cleanliness, their
| beauty and their economic value. The un.
| canny Pickering motion of the forked tongue
| often leads to the belief that it is the fang
| of a venomous snake. On the contrary, 1t is
but the organ with which the snake feels its
| way or better smells its way, for the senses of
smell and taste are very closely allied. and
| the snake tastes ones presence in the atmos-
| phere."
| Our correspondents two snakes probably
| were the mud snake and the common green or
grass snake.