THE RATTLESNAKE 127 



tongue of the creature, so often protruded from the front 

 of its muzzle, is its "sting"; the rattlesnake poisons by 

 biting, and the only practical sting it possesses consists of 

 a pair of peculiarly modified teeth. The lower jaw is 

 furnished on either side with a series of small, simple- 

 pointed teeth, and two series of small, simple-pointed teeth 

 traverse the palate from before backward. The outer 

 margin of the upper jaw, however, has nothing of the kind, 

 but is furnished instead on either side with one large, 

 powerful curved and very pointed tooth, which is the 

 " poison fang." This poison fang is very deeply grooved 

 in front. It is, indeed, grooved so deeply that the two 

 margins of the groove quite join in front, save at its upper 

 and lower ends ; the groove is thus practically converted 

 into a canal which traverses the substance of the tooth. 

 Into the upper unclosed end of the groove a small tube 

 passes, and this conveys the poison from the gland which 

 secretes it, into the cavity of the tooth. It then passes 

 down the canal and escapes from the small unclosed end of 

 the groove which opens near the point of the tooth. The 

 poison gland is placed on either side of the upper jaw 

 (extending backward beyond the eye), and the poison 

 itself is but a form of saliva. Its deadly effect almost 

 every one knows. Even if an adult man escapes with 

 his life he must suffer from prolonged illness and often 

 from the loss of a limb. When the rattlesnake is at 

 rest, the poison fangs lie back against the roof of the 

 mouth, but when excited, as he opens his mouth the 

 fangs become erected by a peculiar mechanism which 

 cannot be here described, as its description would involve 

 so many technical anatomical details. Suffice it to say, 

 that when, being erected, the snake strikes, his poison 

 fangs bury themselves in the flesh of his victim, while 

 simultaneously the poison is ejected down the canal which 



