TOO 



the flanks by red spot?, which extend down to the ventral phites. Some- 

 times the red spots lie just below the dark dorsal blotches, and are sep- 

 arated by narrow dusky bauds that connect above with the dorsal blotches. 

 Underneath the color is reddish white, and there may be some dark 

 marbling. 



This variety is abundant in the Southern States, and has been taken 

 by Mr. Robert Ridgway at Wheatland. 



N. ^ipedon erythrogaster. In this variety the upper surface is almost or 

 entirely without dark blotches, the color being a uniform blue-black. The 

 head and neck may be almost black. The belly, as its name implies, is 

 more or less red in life, yellow in alcohol. Holbrook's figure of this 

 snake represents its under surface as being of a coppery red. It, too, is 

 found mostly in the South, but has been reported from Southern Illinois, 

 and from Mt. Carmel, on the Wabash River. A specimen from that 

 place is in the National Museum. It may, therefore, be regarded as an 

 Indiana serpent. Mr. F. C. Test, of the National Museum, tells me that 

 this snake is found in Hamilton county. Mr. Robert Ridgway says that 

 it is very abundant at some points along the Wabash River. Mr. A. B. 

 Ulrey, of Wabash county, has shown me a large specimen which was 

 obsoletely blotched above, red below, with some brown mottliugs. It 

 appears to be intermediate between sipedon and erythrogaster. 



N. sipedon woodhousei. This variety has not yet been reported from. 

 Indiana, but it is in the National Museum from St. Louis, Mo. , and even 

 from Northern Illinois. Its range is toward Texas. It is distinguished 

 by having the scales in twenty-five rows. The lateral blotches alternate 

 with the dorsal and are elongated downward, and are separated by spaces 

 wider than themselves. It deserves to be sought for in our State. 



Natrix sipedon, known as the " Water-snake," " Water Moccasin," is 

 extremely abundant in all our streams. Under the impression that it is 

 poisonous it is greatly feared by many people, who suppose it to be the 

 same as the poisonous moccasin of the Southern rivers. This is a mis- 

 take, and the name moccasin ought not to be applied to our species. It 

 has no poison fangs whatever, and its bite would produce nothing more 

 serious than a fright and a i'ew scratches. This snake is, however, of an 

 ugly and sullen disposition, and when caught will struggle and strike and 

 bite. It may be seen along the river banks, gliding from stone to stone, 

 or swimming hastily away, to escape observation. When pursued it Avili 

 dive to the bottom and C(mceal itself among stones and vegetation. Hol- 

 brook states that it is frequently seen resting on the low branches of trees 

 that overhang the water.' Of faseiata, whose habits are doubtless iden- 

 tical with those of our form, Holbrook says that it is a bold animal, and 

 is one of the very few snakes that will, in confinement, devour its prey. 

 These serpents all probably leave the water at times during the night and 



