270 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



wound the coils of the King Snake. The moccasin soon 

 recovered its breath and strength. 



Deeply wounded by the fangs of the poisonous ser- 

 pent, the King Snake became an object of much interest. 

 The average reptile would have died within a few min- 

 utes after receiving such injections; not so with this 

 creature. A blood-stained, serous oozing was noted at 

 the wounds, the skin about which was slightly raised in 

 a soft swelling. Within forty-eight hours the swelling 

 had subsided, while the wounds became quite dry. The 

 snake refused food for a couple of weeks, when it re- 

 gained its normal appetite and vigor. Since that time 

 the writer has made some experiments with King Snakes. 

 He finds them apparently immune to the venom of 

 such deadly species as the rattlesnakes, the copperhead, 

 moccasin and the South American lance-headed snakes — 

 Lachesis; injected with the poison of the Old World 

 cobras, they evince marked symptoms of distress, usually 

 dying within an hour. 



With all its pugnacity and immunity against the virus 

 of most serpents, the King Snake is not the sworn 

 enemy of the rattler. It does not prowl for the mere 

 purpose of starting a duel to the death. Summing up 

 the habits, we might explain the King Snake to be can- 

 nibalistic, feeding largely upon other kinds of snakes 

 and lizards; gifted with a quarrelsome disposition, it 

 fights with any of the larger snakes crossing its path. 

 It is fond of small rodents and young birds. Why 

 it should be immune to the bites of poisonous snakes 

 is difficult to explain, although here is a romantic field 

 for theory. Most cannibalistic snakes exhibit a similar 

 immunity, among them, kinds that never attack the 

 venomous snakes. Another odd characteristic has been 

 appreciated by the student: — The docile attitude of the 



