312 SNAKES. 



living up to the laws of honour, and by his rattles giving 

 challenge in an honourable way.' 



That the sound has a language of its own is known by the 

 fact that when disturbed and one rattle is sprung, all other 

 rattlesnakes within hearing take up the chorus. That the 

 sexes also understand each other through crotaline eloquence 

 is generally believed. In fact, to each other and to them- 

 selves they have, no doubt, as many variations in the use of 

 their rattles, as any other animal in the expression of its tail ; 

 and probably all the above enumerated examples are at one 

 time or another its legitimate uses. Those who have most 

 closely observed them have detected a variety of cadences in 

 one and the same rattle. 



Those also who have carefully watched rattlesnakes 

 under various circumstances, must perceive that timidity is one 

 of the strongest features in this reptile. In chap. xxx. I 

 will give examples of this. Already convinced by observa- 

 tion, I attributed to excessive timidity the chief agitation of 

 the rattle, when writing on the Ophidia in the Dublin 

 University Magazine^ December 1875, and again in Aiuit 

 Jiuifs Magazi7ie, July 1877. Fear causes some snakes to 

 puff themselves ; others to expand or flatten the body ; 

 fear excites the cobra to erect its anterior ribs and display 

 its * hood ; ' and, above all, fear causes most snakes to hiss. 

 Fear is coupled with anger, in these attempts to do their 

 best towards repelling the offender. Dr. E. Coues, in 

 speaking of the rattle, supposes it to have possibly 

 ' resulted in the course of time from the continual agita- 

 tion of the caudal extremity of these highly nervous and 

 irritable creatures' Dr. Weir Mitchell has known captive 



