The Rattlesnakes 



cover the rattle, this is "sprung" with the abruptness of an elec- 

 tric bell. There is no hysterical striking, but careful watching, 

 and if the opportunity to effect a blow with the long fangs is 

 presented, the result is generally mortal. 



If outstretched, when surprised, the snake invariably throws 

 the body into a symmetrical coil, doubling the neck into an 

 S-shaped loop with the head drawn well back and within the circle 

 of the body. Various rattlesnakes of the West, the copperhead 

 snake and the moccasin will strike from various positions and 

 often aim blows while crawling, but the Diamond-back persists 

 in its perfectly round and graceful coil, while on the defensive. 

 To observe a large specimen taken unawares and literally fling 

 itself into fighting position, is to see determination and courage 

 that exists among few reptiles. Occasionally, though rarely, a 

 Diamond-back will glide for cover if disturbed. This is the case 

 when a hiding place is immediately adjacent. Generally described 

 this serpent might be said to be the most courageous of the North 

 American snakes. 



Pine swamps and hummock lands are the abodes of the 

 Diamond Rattler. In the South Carolina lowgrounds we found that 

 these reptiles displayed the habit of hiding under the broad 

 leaves of the dwarf palmettoes during the day, and issuing for 

 their food at twilight. So closely do the body-colours blend 

 with the vegetation and the effect of sunlight and shadow, that 

 the coiled snake is seen with difficulty. The writer was shown 

 the large, hollow stump of a tree on the edge of a pine swamp, 

 in South Carolina. From this hiding place a big Rattlesnake 

 had several times been seen to emerge and glide into the growth 

 of the swamp. Rabbits were common in the vicinity and these 

 animals appear to form a large percentage of the snakes' food. 

 While some weeks were spent collecting in this vicinity, but two 

 rattlesnakes were taken, although their tracks across the sandy 

 roads were frequently seen, and always demonstrating their 

 prowlings to be at night. 



When progressing in leisurely fashion, this species adopts 

 tactics characteristic of the thick-bodied poisonous snakes gen- 

 erally slow progress in a perfectly straight line, with head 

 slightly upraised. Thus the flattened trails of the big Diamond- 

 backs across the dry, sandy roads, as they crossed from swamp 

 to swamp were as straight as the course of a wheel. Aside from 



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