60 



N E Wi' ENGLAND FARMER, 



AUG. 83, 1843. 



THE RA'I'TLKSNAKE. 

 Tlie followiiii; interesting account of Iho raltle- 

 Bn;i!ii^, CDinimiriicaleil by a medical gentlenKin, is 

 copitd Ironi tlie Sonlliern Sportsman: 



Siiine years ago, I became possessed of a fine 

 specimen of llie rattlesnake, which I kept alive in 

 an iron cage durincj a whole year. VVIiile he was 

 in my ■ possession, I hnd ample opportunities of 

 studyintf all his characteristics, his mode of U'e, 

 epoiitaneous instincts, in short, many new features 

 in this terrible creature's peculiar pliysiolou-y. 



At first, when the negro from whom I bought 

 him, exhibited him to me on the veriindah of my 

 residence, he had a small cord fastened around his 

 neck. On my seeing liiin, I asked if his fangs had 

 been extracted. It appears from what happened 

 afterwards, that my fpiestion was badly put, or ill 

 understood, since the negro readily answered that 

 they had. 



To give me a complete idea of the size and 

 beauty of the creature, he took him out of the 

 small wooden box in which he had brought liim to 

 me, fearlessly detached the string, and let him 

 loose on the ground. The reptile began to glide 

 in a sinuous, undulating, but gentle course, along 

 tlie Court. Seeing him approach the limits of my 

 plantation, and for fear of his trespassing on my 

 neighbor's, I desired the negro to bring him back. 

 Obeying my instructions, the man immediately 

 recaptured him, which he eftected by applying his 

 fingers to the back of his head, and brought hiin 

 to me again. I then Liegan to examine him atten- 

 tively ; and after having caused his mouth to be 

 opened, what were my astonishment and concern 

 in perceiving two long and terrible fangs project- 

 ing from the sides of his upper jaw! I thought 

 for a moment how endangered we had been in 

 leaving him free for an instant. However, I said 

 nothing, but went forthwiili for a pair of small 

 forceps, and instantly extracted them. 



I questioned the negro as to his fearlessness in 

 seizing such a dangerous animal, seemingly with- 

 out the least precaution. He replied tliat there 

 was never any danger when the snake was not 

 coiled up preparatory to making a spring. I had 

 already heard of this peculiarity in the reptile, but 

 this was the first occular deinonstralion of its be- 

 ing taken advantage nf, that I had experienced. 



At first, I sought diligently to procure for him 

 liis usual food, which consists of small living ani- 

 mals, such as birds, the young of rabbits, squirrels, 

 &.C., but, for the whole of the time he was alive 

 with me, I never once knew him to eat. The only 

 appetite he seemed to consult was that of drink, in 

 which lie indulged most abundantly, plunging his 

 liead into the water furnished him, and swallowing 

 large draughts at a time. 



When in a state of excitement. 



When he was lying at his length, if I ventured 

 to come near to threaten him with my finger, or 

 with any other object, passing briskly over the wire 

 of the cage, 1 used to see him prepare for defence, 

 gathering his folds into a spiral form, which fre- 

 quently became a double spiral — one of which be- 

 ing formed by the lower half of the body, in the 

 middle of which his rattle was perpendicular, vi- 

 brating: the other in an inverted way, by the up- 

 per part ; but this incompletely terminaled, on ac- 

 count of the position of his head, which ho turned 

 against the middle of his body, as if he would 

 there take a point d'appui, to overlook the object 

 by which he was disturbed. 



1 he animal remained thus enclosed nearly one 

 year, without taking any food wliptever — (from 28th 

 June, 1840, to Jlth of June, I84I.) 



In tiie spring of 1841 , he changed his skin, or 

 rather epidermis, by which 1 was enabled to re- 

 mark liow he increased the number of rings in his 

 rattle. There were ten of these when I bought 

 him ; on this event occurring, I numbered eleven. 

 The last fragments remaining of the old epidermis 

 were stuck to the new rattle. It is very well 

 known that these appendages are a continuation 

 of the epidermis in the rattlesnake, as the nails are 

 a continuation of the epideimis in man. 



During his captivity, two long venomous fangs 

 had replaced those which I had at first torn out. 



Having had frequent opportunities of talking 



about this animal ivitli my friends and visitors in in hi 



ments about the room, after which he approache. 

 the bed, and at last all became silent. We shal 

 see in the end, that he had come to place liimsel 

 precisely under the bed, bad rolled himself up, am 

 from that moment moved no more. 



At daylight, my friend heard the steps of a ser 

 vant, who was coming, according to his custom, v 

 perforin his morning duty. The Doctor cried ou 

 to him not to open the door, but to go for an oh 

 African negro, named Isaac, who was known t 

 approach these reptiles without fear. The latte 

 arrived, entered confidently, and saw the snaki 

 rolled lip under the bed. The three others had re 

 niained in the cage, although the door was open 

 his first care uao to sliul it. I»Iy friend insisted oi 

 his sliooting the snake. Isaac refused, and declar 

 ed hiiiisell able to seize the animal without th( 

 least fear of being bitten by him. In effect, hi 

 advanced to the bed, whistling softly with hia lips 

 pronouncing some words in English in a caressint 

 tone, and then, after some minutes, he ventured U 

 pass his hand over the back of the snake, all the 

 time trying to soothe him. Afterwards, lifiinr 

 him gently by the head, whilst he continued tc 

 whistle, talk, and southe him, he induced the ani. 

 mal to place himself on his arm and body. The 

 snake let the negro carry him thus through the 

 chamber, without betraying either fright or any 

 offensive emotion. 



The Doctor asked Isaac to replace the reptile 



lenlly agitate his tail, giving forth that noise of 

 the rattle which inspires so much terror in his nat- 

 ural wilds amongst all the beasts of the field ; and 

 looking with intentness of purpose, to which some 

 people fancifully ascribe fascination, would dart on 

 the object which displeased him, with the rapidity 

 of lightning. There is a peculiarity in the struc- 

 ture of the mouth of this serpent, which I liad fre- 

 ([uent opportunity of observing. The two fangs 

 are bent inward to such an extent, that, to enable 

 him to make use of them, it is necessary that the 

 upper jaw should be thrown very far back. Thus, 

 when he intends to bite, nothing can equal this ex- 

 traordinary appearance of his mouth so expanded, 

 It absolutely appears as if his head were half olT. 



the country, I learned many peculiarities of the 

 habits and instinct of his kind. 



The rattlesnake, whether met with in his excur- 

 sions on the ground, or surprised in his private re- 

 cesses, unless provoked, either on purpose or 

 through inadvertence, is never the aggressor. 



A physician — one of my intimate friends — who 

 has, like nic, a desire of observing the habits of 

 these terrible reptiles, succeeded in furnisliing liim- 

 self with four of them, of various sizes. For fear 

 of some accident, on account of the negligence of 

 his negroes, he had placed the cage which enclosed 

 them, in a spacious room, which he made his bed- 

 chamber. A negro was selected to feed and at- 

 tend to iheni. It was my friend's custom, on his 

 return home, to take a glance at his animals, to 

 assure himself of their being well shut. One 

 night, having come home very late and tired, he 

 neglected this precaution, and went to bed. The 

 weather was very hot, and notwithstanding his 

 state of fatigue, several hours glided away without 

 his obtaining any sleep. He suddenly heard a 

 light sliding noise on the floor, which ceased very 

 soon, and ho ceased to give any more attention to 

 the circumstance. After some moments, the same 

 noise revived, and he then cautiously looked out of 

 le would vio- I bed to ascertain what might be the cause of it. 



s cage. " Oh, massa, that 's impossible," says 



The moonlight shining full into the room, he ob 

 served the largest of the snakes (he had 18 rattles) 

 roaming free along the floor ! I leave the reader to 

 imagine what were his impressions at this unex- 

 pected sight ! What was he to do in this case ? 

 A loaded gun was hanging in the extremity of the 

 room. How to reach it was the question. Fur- 

 t'lPr — was this animal the only one out of the 

 cage, or were the others, too, at liberty ? The 

 whole of the servants were asleep. He resolved 

 to wait for the morning : but he first took the pre- 

 caution of slowly and carefully drawing up his 

 mus<]uilo curtain around the bed ; afterwards he 

 sat down and carefully watched the issue. The 

 animal continued to make some undulatory move- 



he — "if I tried to do it, he 'd get angry and bite 

 me— look !" Indeed, scarcely did Isaac stoop and 

 lean towards the cage, before the animal began to 

 move briskly and sound his rattle. 



Isaac immediately got up, began again his sooth- 

 ing caresses, and the animal fell calm. He then 

 asked for a strong sheet ; by degrees accustomed 

 the snake to the view of this object, and then pass- 

 ed one end of the edges of it between his arm and 

 the animal's body, continuing his wheedling and 

 walking about all the time. As soon as he was 

 certain that he could in a moment envelope the 

 animal in the sheet, he rapidly threw it around him,, 

 and thus was the snake mastered. All that re- 

 mained now to be done was to reinstate him in 

 the cage; of which the door was very small com- 

 paratively with the mass which formed the animal 

 so wrapped up. 



Isaac displayed the same dexterity in unrolling 

 the sheet that he had exhibited in his other manoeu° 

 vres. He succeeded, by a series of quick and 

 skilful movements, in getting the snake back to 

 his old quarters, without receiving the slightest in- 

 jury ; shut the cage, and thus my friend's unplea- 

 sant afl^air terminaled. The negro, however, said, 

 if a similar affair happened again with the same 

 snake, he could never venture to approach him, for 

 fear of being bitten, because he had in this man- 

 ner deceived him. 



These facts are of undoubted authenticity, since 

 I had them from the mouth of my friend. 



There is an attribute peculiar to the hog, in re- 

 lation to the rattlesnake, which may be new to 

 some of your readers. On the approach of the 

 hog, the snake seems terrified, and tries to escape. 

 But the grunter pursues, seizes, and devours him 

 with the most absolute indiflxvcnoe to his rattle 

 and fangs. If it be a sow, accompanied by a lit- 

 ter of young ones, she even divides the prey among 

 the little squeakers. 



I will close these remarks with the relation of 

 mother adventure, which threatened in its effects, 



