1923] 



POPE, HUNTING WISCONSIN RATTLESNAKES 



19 



to get. To begin with, nearly all of the snakes were coiled under the 

 rocks or under a protecting ledge where the shade precluded a good 

 view. Or, if one was found entirely out in the sunlight, it would in- 

 variably glide away to safety before photographing was possible. We 

 did not usually find the serpents willing to pose in the open. Practi- 

 cally all of the photographs taken during this trip, especially on this 

 first day, were of reptiles half concealed among the rocks or dragged 

 out by the tongs and held by force in the open. 



Fig. 7. — 8nake-hunting party. From left to rie;ht, Messrs. Keitel, Pope, 

 Dickinson, Gastrow, Tyrrell, and Ochsner. 



Dinner time came all too soon. For a dining-table we simply 

 turned our snake-box with its living contents upside down, as shown 

 in figure 7. 



The afternoon operations were of short duration, for the majority 

 of the snakes had retreated far under the rocks out of reach of the tongs 

 or camera. In the forenoon the snakes are frequently found entirely 

 out of the crevices and often basking on top of the rocks or at the en- 

 trances to their retreats. During the middle of the day, when the 

 rocks and ground become too heated, they crawl into the shade. Late 



