80 



The Ottawa Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXII. 



this, but to the turtle dove; the Mud Turtle is be- 

 lieved to be mute, except for the slight hiss it utters 

 on retiring into its shell. 



SNAPPING TURTLE OR SNAPPER, 

 Chelydra serpentina (Linn). 



In 1848, Richardson wrote: "As a contribution 

 to what is known of the geographical distribution of 

 reptiles, on the east side of the Rocky Mountains, 

 frogs may be set down as attaining the 68th parallel 

 of latitude; snakes as reaching the 56th; and tor- 

 toises as disappearing beyond the 51st, at the south 

 end of Lake Winnipeg. There the Emys geographica 

 of Le Seur [probably this refers to the preceding 

 C. m. bellii] named Asate by the Chippeways, 

 occurs; and also, one with a flexible neck, called by 

 the same people, Mislfinnah, which is probably the 

 Snapping Turtle." (Arc. Search. Expd. 1851. Vol. 

 L, p. 204). 



The first and only Snapper I ever saw in Mani- 

 toba, was taken in the Assiniboine, near the Little 

 Souris, in 1896, by John S. Charleson (now in 

 possession of John Riddington, of Winnipeg). It 

 was 30 inches long; the shell 12 inches long and 

 1 1 '/2 inches wide. I have heard of several speci- 

 mens taken near Winnipeg, but the species must be 

 considered rare in Manitoba ; for this we should be 

 thankful, for it is a ferocious reptile of great strength 

 and insatiable appetite. It preys on fish, ducks, 

 goslings, and, indeed, all aquatic animals big enough 

 for its food and smaller than itself. I have seen 

 this turtle take down a full-grown duck, seizing it by 

 the legs from below; and, as an ordinary Snapper 

 weighs ten or fifteen pounds, the duck, one-quarter 

 his weight, has no chance of escape. 



The nest of this turtle is much like that of the 

 foregoing, but its eggs are larger and less round, 

 and more numerous, as those of a single nest often 

 number as high as two dozen. 



In the latter part of August, 1917, a pile of 

 building-sand was dumped about 100 feet from the 

 lake on my land at Greenwich, Connecticut. Next 

 morning, we found six good-sized Snappers on it. 

 They were each about six or eight pounds in weight. 

 We found no eggs and could see no reason for their 

 congregating there, or how they all found it so 

 quickly. 



The Snapper is of very slow growth. The en- 

 ormous specimens sometimes found are undoubtedly 

 of great age. 



COMMON GARTERSNAKE, 

 Thamnophis sirialis parietalis (Say). 



This Gartersnake is found at least throughout the 

 southern half of Manitoba. I expect to find it in 

 every part of the province, for Preble found it 



common about Edmonton, Alta. (N. A. Fauna No. 

 27, p. 500). I got two specimens in the Salt River 

 County, near Great Slave river; and Richardson 

 records it north to lat. 56, near Isle a la Grosse, 

 Arctic Search. Exp., Vol. I., p. 98. In a footnote, 

 p. 204, ibid, he records the killing of a snake on 

 "Porcupine river far within the Arctic Circle." It 

 is readily recognized by the two black stripes separ- 

 ated by green, that run the whole length of its body. 

 It is about two feet long when fully grown, but 

 specimens over thirty inches long have been found. 

 Though a small snake, it is the largest of those that 

 have hitherto been found in the province. 



It is perfectly harmless, and its usual prey is 

 frogs, minnows and msects. 



Near Carberry, I once heard a loud squealing, in 

 a marsh. On going near, I saw a frog with a 

 Gartersnake holding to its hind legs. The frog was 

 kicking with the other leg and, at the same time, 

 clinging to a tuft of grass with his arms and squeal- 

 ing lustily. According to the laws of the chase, he 

 belonged to the Gartersnake; but the ancient quarrel 

 of man and the snake put me on the side of the 

 frog, and I saved his life. 



When camping at Lake Winnipegosis in 1904, I 

 was warned not to go near Snake Island, as it was 

 "swarming with all kinds of venomous snakes." That 

 was enough; I made straight for Snake Island, and 

 camped there a day-and-a-half, with my friend E. 

 W. Darbey, but saw only four harmless Garter- 

 snakes. When we left the place, and were over 

 two miles away, we found in the water two snakes 

 swimming toward the island. They seemed perfectly 

 at home in the water, and I doubt not the rocky 

 cliffs of the island furnish attractive winter dens 

 that bring many snakes from their summer range in 

 the far-reaching marshy shores of the adjoining parts 

 of Lake Winnipegosis. 



There are several places in the province that are, 

 or were, noted for their vast congregations of Garter- 

 snakes, one of the most famous being that at Stony 

 Mountain. These places are usually high, dry, 

 rocky dens, surrounded by a region of swamps; the 

 latter furnish the snakes with a congenial summer 

 range, and the former a dry denning place for 

 hibernation. 



There is no doubt that Stony Mountain was an 

 island at one stage of the ancient Lake Agassiz; 

 as the lake grew shallow and marshy, the snakes 

 would increase. The island became a natural 

 gathering-place, and the annual resort thither of the 

 snakes en masse to-day is, possibly, an instinctive 

 local migration, established in those remote times. 



In the early fall of 1881 or 1882, I am told, there 

 was a general and fierce prairie fire between Wm- 

 nipeg and Stony Mountain. After it, thousands of 



