"Spreading Adder." "Blowing Viper." ' 73 



"SPREADING ADDER." "BLOWING VIPER" 



Heterodon platyrhinus, Lat. 

 By Chas. Dury 



I was recently asked the question, "Do any of our snakes 

 hiss?" The species that most frequently does so is the above. 

 September 11, 1909, I came suddenly near one of these snakes. 

 It was in a ravine alongside of a woods. I intercepted the 

 retreat of the snake by holding my net in front of it. Instantly 

 it coiled, flattened its head and body laterally and emitted a 

 disagreeable odor and a series of hissing sounds interspersed 

 with blowing puffs. The mouth was opened in a very threat- 

 ening manner. Finding I was not to be frightened in this way, 

 it changed its tactics entirely by resuming its normal circum- 

 ference, turning on its back and feigning death, laying limp 

 and motionless with mouth partly open and tongue hanging out. 

 I picked it up, examined its teeth and body, then laid it down 

 on its b'ack and watched it. After a few minutes it began to 

 slowly turn its head, but when I made a movement it dropped 

 back into its apparently lifeless condition again. This was 

 repeated several times, so I was convinced that it was an in- 

 genious attempt to deceive me and thus escape. I withdrew 

 a short distance and kept motionless and had the satisfaction 

 of seeing this ill-looking but harmless creature glide away to a 

 place of safety. 



In 1906, in the same woods (the only locality, now, where 

 I ever see Heterodon in the vicinity of Cincinnati), I came onto 

 a large specimen of this species. It started for a brush heap. 

 To intercept it, I tapped it lightly on the' head, when it rolled 

 over apparently dead. Fearing I had killed it, and after an 

 examination of its mouth and teeth, I placed it in a safe place 

 and left it. When I returned it was gone. I am sure it was 

 playing "possum." Never destroy a harmless snake. 



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