REPTILES. 379 



made for size, it will answer for all. The Doctor put a live rat into the 

 cage occupied by one of these snakes. "Incited by some cause, the ral 

 made a run for the other side of the box. Alas ! this movement was the 

 one fatal movement of this little hero's life. In attempting this, it had to 

 cross over a portion of its enemy's body. It was the merest touch, but 

 that touch was death. Instantly every part of the serpent's body (lashed 

 into activity, as if the whole had been powder, and a spark of fire had 

 fallen on it. In the merest fraction of a second of time, the reptile that 

 seemed to be lying so languid was transformed into an inverted nest, 

 under which was the poor rat. I looked for the head of the snake. It 

 was under this living nest, holding at the hinder part of its victim, which 

 was doubled up in this strange compression. And stranger still was the 

 wonderful adjustment that half a minute of time served to accomplish. 

 The inverted nest of coils opened at its upper or convex end, like the 

 crater of a miniature volcano. Out of this was evolved the head and front 

 feet of the little rodent, whose dark, lustrous eyes stood out, and neck 

 grew thick from the fearful compression. As the pretty little flesh-colored 

 hands lay upon that fatal upper coil, it did so look like the intercession of 

 helpless suffering with pitiless power. This terrible constrictor, although 

 the act was done in an instant, had fully exhausted all her ingenuity in 

 throwing up this fearful engine of strangulation. It was not merely a 

 series of nest-like constricting coils, but one great coil went transversely 

 over all the others ; as when the hand squeezes a lemon, and the other 

 hand is made to help the compression. One could hear the bones 

 crack! . . . Happily, death is almost instantaneous, for it is a literal 

 crushing out of life." 



The name bull-snake is derived from its wonderful bellowing note which 

 is much like that of a bull, — loud and without a particle of hiss about it. 

 The reptile fills his body with air, and "then expels it with a bellowing 

 that is really formidable." This snake is extremely active, and when 

 alarmed, if possible, it quickly beats a retreat. If escape is impossible, the 

 bellowing begins, and at the same time the snake emits a most sickening 

 stench, but in what way is uncertain. This smell also serves to call the 

 sexes together, and specimens kept in captivity frequently attract others. 



Others of our common snakes abound in damp places, and at times 

 even take to the water, where they swim with great readiness. These 

 water-snakes are frequently regarded as poisonous, but such is not the 

 case. They are utterly without poison-organs, and they do not even wait 

 to kill their prey before they begin to swallow it. A near relative of our 

 common water-snake lives in India, and is remarkable for the case of 

 mimicry it affords. As we shall see further on, the cobra, one of the mos 



