1496 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



BROWN WATER SNAKE 

 A harmless species that attains a weight of ten pounds. 



per-bellied snake also appears to linger in the 

 drying area, as frogs are fairly plentiful. It 

 often falls prey to hungry moccasins, which be- 

 come cannibalistic during the droughts. A 

 heavy summer rain will often raise the river 

 high enough to refill the pools and causeways, 

 thus floating back another myriad of fish and 

 a consequent visitation up the causeways of 

 snakes from the river grounds. 



The prevalence of the formidable moccasin 

 dates back to before the Civil War, when much 

 of the countrj^ behind the river swamps that 

 was cultivated for rice, became so infested with 

 poisonous reptiles, that vast areas of it were 

 exceedingly dangerous to work, and some were 

 actually abandoned. Days may be consumed 

 in wandering along the labyrinth of ancient rice 

 dams, which is now a veritable jungle of bushes 

 and trees, and the moccasin holds undisputed 

 sway, undisturbed and among perfect conditions 

 for multiplication. Our only limitation to the 

 hunting of these powerful and savage reptiles 

 was the weight in captive specimens we could 

 carry out M'ith us to the trail, where our patient 

 horse had been standing for hours. 



Some interesting notes were made relating to 

 the habits of the little-known mud snakes, 

 which are large, brilliantly-colored reptiles. 

 Bej^ond the fact that they live in swamps, and 

 burrow, their habits are practically unknown. 

 In the digging of canals, these snakes have been 

 exumed from a depth of eight or ten feet. Thej^ 

 appear to be well adapted to a burrowing life, 

 as the head is proportionately small, and so flat- 

 tened that it may be used as a wedge in forcing 

 a way through damp soil. The eyes are set 

 flush against the head, with little more indi- 

 cation of protuberance than the glossy head 

 shields. The entire scalation of the reptile is 

 as polished as glass and reflects a brilliant ir- 

 ridescence. The larger species, called by the 

 negroes the hoop snake or red-bellied mud 

 snake, is technically known as Farancia abacura. 

 It attains a length of six feet and is lustrous 

 purplish black with vermilion bands extend- 

 ing upward from the brilliant red abdomen. 

 This is the snake Col. Theodore Roosevelt men- 

 tions in his hunting experiences in the Louisiana 

 swamps. He explains that the negroes declare 

 the reptile capable of inflicting a sting with its 



