The Rat Snakes or Colubers 



had been washed and the snake was very restless, that the reptile 

 escaped, by prying back one of the sliding doors. 



The room was searched when it was discovered that the 

 snake had escaped from the window, carrying several flower pots 

 with it, which were found broken in the yard beneath. A careful 

 detour of the neighborhood resulted in no trace of the reptile. 

 After several months' time it was discovered in a cellar, about 

 half a mile away from the writer's home. A general alarm 

 spread quickly, but failed to reach the owner in time to rescue 

 the snake. Before he arrived upon the scene a party armed with 

 several shotguns and revolvers had killed the "monster" and 

 incidentally broken considerable glass. Into a cellar reeking 

 with gunpowder fumes, the writer was directed by a corps of 

 indignant neighbours. The mangled reptile appeared to be very 

 stout and well-nourished. A mild suggestion to the effect that 

 the snake was perfectly harmless, and had been ridding the place 

 of rats and mice, was met by an emphatic explanation that the 

 use of traps composed a more dignified method of dealing with 

 the pests. 



THE GRAY COLUBER; GRAY RAT SNAKE; 



SPOTTED CHICKEN SNAKE 

 Coluber obsolefus, variety confinis, (B. & G.) 



Size and conformation like the typical form. This variety 

 represents a phase on which the markings of the young are re- 

 tained with maturity. 



Colouration. Pale gray, with a series of large, dark brown 

 saddles on the back; on the neck these blotches are long and 

 send out narrow extensions from their corners, thus assuming 

 an H-shaped formation. On each side of the body is a series 

 of smaller blotches, and beneath this another, smaller series 

 at the edges of the abdominal plates. 



On the back and the sides, numerous scales show white 

 edges when the skin is distended, as seen on the typical form 

 the Pilot Blacksnake. The head is gray, dotted with black. 

 There is often a dark band in front of the eyes and usually a 

 wide, dark band from behind each eye to the angle of the mouth. 

 The lip plates are white, bordered with black. The eye is sil- 

 very. 



37 



