210 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



annually by high water from the Mississippi Eiver. May 

 15, 1890, my son and I went over to West Prairie. The 

 night before the water from Cahokia Creek had over- 

 flowed the whole prairie from 3 to 6 inches. On every 

 small elevation or heap of ground we found several Mas- 

 sasaugas, utterly exhausted. Within two hours we had 

 collected fifty-nine, mostly half grown, but some very 

 large specimens — over 730 mm. long. We searched for 

 the sixtieth but did not find it. We packed the fifty-nine 

 in two medium sized minnow buckets and found them all 

 alive on reaching home some three hours later. From 

 August 22 to September 2 their young were born, from 

 seven to nine by each female. They were about 135 mm. 

 long. All had a yellow tip to the tail provided with a 

 button. They were ejected in a thin yellowish covering 

 or egg shell, which broke immediately. The first thing 

 the young ones did was to open their mouths as if trying 

 their fangs. At present a large part of that prairie has 

 been drained and cultivated, and the Massasaugas have 

 disappeared. Other animals bitten by this snake suffer 

 much and have troublesome swellings. On the average 

 this species is considerably smaller than the Timber Rat- 

 tlesnake, and hence less to be feared. The fangs are pro- 

 portionally smaller and the amount of poison injected in 

 a wound consequently less. They should not, however, 

 be tampered with. Goode includes this snake among those 

 which allow the young a place of safety in the stomachs 

 of the females. 



Dates of capture.— April 15; May 20, 28. 



83. SiSTRURUS MiLiARius Liunacus. Ground Rattlesnake. 

 Pigmy Rattlesnake. 



Crotalophorus miliarius, Caudisona m.ilim'ia, Crotalus miliarius, Le 

 Millet, Vipera caudisona americana minor. 



Description. — Rostral deeper than broad, perpendicular, truncate at 

 top. Nasals two, higher than long. Frontal as long as its distance 

 from the end of the snout, shorter than the parietals. Loral present. 



