164 ANIMAL LIFE OF CARLSBAD CAVERN 



several were seen by Doctor Lee and his assistants, and 

 a number of others were known to have been killed in 

 the general region during the summer. Hunting rattle- 

 snakes, here, as elsewhere, is generally not very success- 

 ful, and rarely exciting or dangerous. Nevertheless, the 

 habit of wearing high boots or leather leggings when 

 tramping over the desert country is to many people a 

 source of real protection from the strain on their nerves. 

 Some of the diamond-backed rattlesnakes grow to large 

 size, attaining several feet in length, with thick and 

 powerful bodies, strongly marked with a row of trans- 

 verse quadrangles along the back. On account of their 

 large size their bite is sometimes very deep and dan- 

 gerous, and every precaution should be taken to avoid 

 being bitten by them. 



The black-tailed, or green, rattlesnake (Crotalus 

 molossus) (Fig. 61) is occasionally met with in the 

 Guadalupe Mountains, and was perfectly described to 

 me by Jim White, who knows it in the vicinity of the 

 Carlsbad Cave. There are specimens from near Queen. 

 These snakes seem to belong to the mountains rather 

 than to the valley. They are rarely as large as the 

 diamond-back and are generally of an olive or greenish 

 color, sometimes having distinct bands, blotches, or 

 diamonds along the back and velvety black tails. 

 The danger from the bite of these or other rattlesnakes 

 increases with their size and the amount of poison 

 which they are able to inject into the circulation of 

 their victim. 



The prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus confluentus) (Fig. 

 60) are found over the higher plains country to the 



