WITH BEAK AND CLAW 21 



venom fangs when surprised, alarmed or attacked. 



Snakes, as the boy knew, like all other creatures 

 of the wild, fear Man. He is incomprehensible 

 to them and therefore terrible. Escape is the uni- 

 versal instinct. 



Of all the poisonous snakes found in North 

 America (sixteen species) probably the only one 

 which will actually force an attack on Man is 

 the fer-de-lance, common enough in South Amer- 

 ica and some islands of the West Indies. The 

 rattlesnake will give warning, even when cor- 

 nered; the copperhead is a lazy little beggar and 

 will crawl away without a thought of harm, unless 

 trod on; and the cotton-mouth will content him- 

 self with frogs and small fishes unless suddenly 

 driven to irritation in his watery domain. 



Shan had hardly taken a dozen steps into the 

 marsh when he heard a distant ' ' Gooey ! ' ' from his 

 uncle, and, looking round, he saw that the pot- 

 hunter had stopped rowing, and, holding the 

 handles of both oars in one hand, was pointing up- 

 wards with the other. 



''There's yo' bird!" Shan heard him call, the 

 words coming faintly over the vapor-laden water. 



The boy waved his hand in reply, and stared up- 

 ward into the sky. 



