SNAKES AND SNAKE STORIES 401 



beaten it to a jelly had I not restrained him. The 

 snake was killed and I cut off its head. It is cus- 

 tomary in Pike County, Pennsylvania, always to 

 cut off the head of a dead rattler and put it under 

 a stone where no harm can come from foolish peo- 

 ple or children meddling with the poisoned fangs. 

 I then reached for the snake for the purpose of 

 skinning it, but no sooner did my fingers touch 

 the body than it instantly assumed a striking pose ; 

 although I instinctively jumped away 



THE SNAKE STRUCK ME 



on the wrist with the bloody stump of 

 its neck. It almost seemed as if the headless body 

 not only possessed nerves, but also sight. How- 

 ever, I'll leave this act to be explained by men 

 who make a study of these things. 



LOOPING THE LOOP. 



While out in the woods during the early sum- 

 mer I became much interested in the tree-climb- 

 ing snakes, and while making some colored sketches 

 of live specimens I was surprised at the facility 

 and rapidity with which these snakes could tie a 

 knot with their bodies, and also the strength they 

 exhibited. In a recent issue of Recreation there 

 was a note telling how a young man of Bohemia, 

 Pike County, Pennsylvania, was 



BITTEN ON THE HAND BY A RATTLER. 

 What interests me in connection with this subject 



