INHERITED FEAR OF SNAKES. 213 



pens to catch a glimpse of a long slender form 

 lying stretched at full length on the rail. My 

 hand is within three inches of its head, and be- 

 fore the nerve impressions can reach my brain 

 and travel back there is an involuntary spas- 

 modic jerk of my arm, which causes me to lose 

 my balance and splash shoe-top deep in the 

 water. That inherited, involuntary fear which 

 comes to man and many animals at the sight of 

 a snake is back of the action, for the form thus 

 basking in peaceful ease is the body of a cow 

 snake, about four and a half feet in length. 

 Perfectly motionless it remains, depending ap- 

 parently upon its harmony of color and form to 

 shield it from discovery. The whitish or gray- 

 ish markings on its sides harmonize well with 

 the hue of the lichens. It has doubtless been 

 making its way slowly along this easy highway, 

 in search of tree-toad, katydid or bird, or was 

 quietly waiting and watching for some of these 

 various forms to approach. 



I step back and gaze at it for a few minutes 

 in order to see if it will move. Several times I 

 approach closely its head, but am ever met by 



