SNAKE LORE FOR FOREST LOVERS 



453 



scription- The writer has had many experiences with 

 moccasins and rattlesnakes in many parts of the United 

 States. In a few instances he has had some narrow es- 

 capes where he has been far removed from surgical aid, 

 beyond what he could do for himself sometimes with 

 none of the life 

 saving appli- 

 ances at hand. 

 On one occa- 

 sion, when at- 

 tached as sur- 

 geon to a regi- 

 ment of United 

 States Cavalry 

 operating 

 a g a in s t the 

 Sioux Indians 

 i n Wyoming, 

 he came within 

 an ace, proba- 

 bly, of losing 

 his life from 

 the bite of a 

 Prairie R a t - 

 tier. After a 

 hard day's ride 

 o f over fifty 

 miles, the col- 

 umn went into 

 camp on a 

 broad, level and 

 treeless prairie. 

 The "A-tents" 

 of the officers 

 were, as usual, 

 i m m e d i ately 

 pitched. In the 

 writer's tent hi." 

 saddle was 

 placed on the 

 ground to serve 

 as a pillow, 

 and, the weath- 

 er being cool, a 

 couple of army 

 blankets were 

 spread for his 

 use, the occu- 

 pant to get be- 

 tween them, 

 one being next 

 the ground, the other to serve as cover. Placing a loaded 

 carbine on one side and an army revolver on the other, the 

 command's surgeon was soon sound asleep between the 

 aforesaid blankets. 



The camp gradually quieted down, and many were 

 enjoying a well-earned rest after the day's march. Pres- 



BROWN WATER SNAKE, THE LARGEST OF ITS KIND IN NORTH AMERICA 



Fig. 15. A big, ill-tempered fellow belonging to a group of perfectly harmless snakes. (Up- 

 per cut as viewed from below.) Potomac River swarms with this species of snake, espec- 

 ially along the Virginia shore. This is a six-foot specimen. 



ently the writer became conscious of a peculiar heaving 

 on his chest, with a sense of some few pounds' weight 

 there. Without making any movement, and cautiously 

 opening his eyes, he was confronted with a big Prairie 

 Rattler coiled on the blanket within a few inches of his 



face. The ser- 

 pent had as- 

 sumed the usu- 

 al attitude pri- 

 or to striking; 

 its head was 

 flattened and 

 moved deliber- 

 ately backward 

 and forward ; 

 its eyes pos- 

 sessed a most 

 vicious gleam, 

 and the move- 

 ment of its bel- 

 ly muscles 

 could be dis- 

 tinctly felt 

 through the 

 blanket. 



The position 

 was one de- 

 manding great 

 coolness, delib- 

 eration and 

 tact. The bite, 

 if give'i, would 

 be received in 

 the face, and 

 all hope of sav- 

 ing life would 

 be out of the 

 question. A 1 1 

 that the writer 

 could do was to 

 whistle to this 

 snake in a pe- 

 culiar way, in 

 that it might 

 charm it, as i' 

 were, a n d at 

 the same time 

 summon one of 

 the field hos- 

 pital attendants 

 from without. 

 Fortunately this ruse succeeded, and in a few moments 

 a young attendant appeared at the door of the tent. At 

 first he was horrified at the plight of his commanding of- 

 ficer, but soon recovered his composure. Between closed 

 teeth, and in a low, monotonous tone, the writer directed 

 him to send two cool men of the Heaquarters party to the 



