102 POISON OF THE RATTLESNAKE. 



sound of the rattle will prance, plunge, and snort in deadly fear, and cannot be induced to 

 pass within striking distance of the angry Snake. 



It has already been mentioned that swine are comparatively indifferent to the Battle- 

 snake, and will trample it to death and eat it afterwards. It is certain that they will 

 eat a dead Rattlesnake, though almost any other animal will flee from the lifeless carcase 

 nearly as swiftly as from the living reptile. Perhaps the thick coating of fat that clothes 

 the body of the well-fed swine may neutralize the poison of the venomed teeth, and so 

 enable the hog to receive the stroke with comparative impunity. The peccary is also said 

 to kill and devour the Rattlesnake without injury, and deer are reported to jump upon it 

 and kick its life out with their sharp hoofs. 



Fortunately for the human inhabitants of the same land, the Rattlesnake is slow and 

 torpid in its movements, and seldom attempts to bite unless it is provoked, even suffering 

 itself to be handled without avenging itself. Mr. Waterton tells me in connexion with 

 these reptiles : " I never feared the bite of a Snake, relying entirely on my own movements. 

 Thus, in presence of several professional gentlemen, I once transferred twenty-seven 

 Rattlesnakes from one apartment to another, with my hand alone. They hissed and 

 rattled when I meddled with them, but they did not offer to bite me." The fer-de-lance Snake 

 is, as has already been mentioned, most fierce and irritable in character, taking the initiative, 

 and attacking without reason. But the Rattlesnake always gives notice of its deadly 

 intentions, and never strikes without going through the usual preliminaries. When about 

 to inflict the fatal blow, the reptile seems to swell with anger, its throat dilating, and its 

 whole body rising and sinking as if inflated by bellows. The tail is agitated with increasing 

 vehemence, the rattle sounds its threatening war-note with sharper ruffle, the head becomes 

 flattened as it is drawn back ready for the stroke, and the whole creature seems a very 

 incarnation of deadly rage. Yet, even in such moments, if the intruder withdraw, the 

 reptile will gradually lay aside its angry aspect, the coils settle down in their place, the 

 flashing eyes lose their lustre, the rattle becomes stationary, and the Serpent sinks back 

 into its previous state of lethargy. 



It is rather curious that the Rattlesnake varies much in its powers of venom and its 

 irritability of temper according to the season of the year. During the months of spring it 

 will seldom attempt to bite, and if it does strike a foe, the poison is comparatively mild 

 in its effects. But after August, and before it seeks its winter quarters, the Rattlesnake is 

 not only more fierce than at any other time of the year, but the venom seems to be of 

 more fearful, intensity, inflicting wounds from which nothing escapes with life. 



The rapidity of the effects depends necessarily on the part which is bitten. Should 

 the points of the teeth wound a moderately large vein or an artery, the venom courses 

 swiftly through the blood, and the victim dies in a few minutes. But if, perchance, the 

 tooth should pierce some fleshy and muscular part of the body, the poison does not have 

 such rapid effect, and the injured person may be saved by the timely administration of 

 powerful remedies. There seems, indeed, to be no one specific for the bite of this reptile, as 

 the effects vary according to the individual who happens to be bitten, and the state of 

 health in which the sufferer may be at the time. Immediate suction, however, and the 

 unsparing use of the knife appear to be the most efficacious means of neutralizing the 

 poison, and strong ammonia and oil have been employed with good results. Catesby, in 

 writing about this reptile, remarks that he has known instances where death has occurred 

 within two minutes after the infliction of the bite. 



The food of the Rattlesnake consists of rats, mice, reptiles, and small birds, the latter 

 of which creatures it is said to obtain by the exercise of a mysterious power termed 

 fascination, the victim being held, as it were, by the gaze of its destroyer, and compelled 

 to remain in the same spot until the Serpent can approach sufficiently near to seize it. It 

 is even said that the Rattlesnake can coil itself at the foot of a tree, and by the mere power 

 of its gaze force a squirrel or bird to descend and fling itself into the open mouth waiting 

 to receive it. 



These phenomena have been strongly asserted by persons who say that they have seen 

 them, and are violently denied by other persons who have never witnessed the process, 

 and therefore believe that the circumstances could not have happened. For my own part 



