THE CROTALIDAl. 393 



In the case of the rattlesnake, and the injured limb 'turns the 

 colour of the snake.' In regard to this latter symptom, said 

 to show itself in the case of so many snakes, the bitten limb 

 assumes all manner of horrible tints in most cases, and it 

 does not require a great stretch of imagination to detect 

 colours resembling the also many-tinted aggressors. Still 

 there may be more in this than we at present know of 



In the cranberry swamps and tamarack marshes in the 

 northern districts of Ohio formerly were found immense 

 numbers of a small and very dark brown rattlesnake known 

 as the Massasauga. It is seen lying in clusters like small 

 twigs on dry leaves, and still is found in considerable numbers 

 in some remote districts. The illustration of the small rattle 

 (p. 302) was sent me from that neighbourhood, and is, I believe, 

 from a true ' Massasauga.' This is the one (as I think I am 

 safe in stating) that was first (1810) described by Dr. Kirtland, 

 a distinguished naturalist of Ohio, and after him named 

 Crotalophoriis Kirtlandi. Its range is confined to the swampy 

 districts of Northern Ohio and Southern Michigan. Its 

 rattle being scarcely audible, this little snake gets frequently 

 trodden upon, and persons are as frequently bitten ; but Dr. 

 Kirtland stated that he had never known any one to die of 

 its bite, which is scarcely worse than the sting of a hornet. 

 It is a link between the last-named snake, the 'copper-head,' 

 and the rattlesnake, having head-shields like the former, and 

 tail of the latter. These small species no doubt help to add 

 to the confusion of evidence regarding the virulence of 

 rattlesnake bites, one person affirming that they are deadly, 

 and another, that recovery is common. The degree of venom 

 between the smallest and the largest of the CrotalidcB can no 



