144 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINTSCENOES. 



the Geronimp, regions. In glan- 

 cing over the yard "enclosure 

 I noticed a long table in the yard 

 and on it were stretched out 

 two huge rattlesnakes, or rather 

 the skins of them. Beautiful 

 speckled skins they were, indeed, 

 of the diamond rattlesnake variety. 

 The carcasses of the snakes were 

 near by, and after severing the 

 head parts of one of the reptiles, 

 (see photo reproduced above by 

 the writer) it was put in a closed 

 box and removed to a large anthole 

 at Mr. Henderson's ranch, where it 

 remained about two weeks. After 

 examining the specimen it was 

 then seen that the head had 

 nearly entirely been denuded by 

 the ants,/ leaving only parts of 

 the upper front head intact, but 

 also partly gnawed u-^ by the ants 

 (as seen in the photo) . The balance 

 of the integuments were nearly 

 all gnawed off and exposing the 

 venom fangs with the reserve 

 fangs and the grab fangs of both 

 upper and lower jawbones nicely, 

 as shown in the illustration. Had 

 the specimen been left a few days 

 or weeks longer the bony parts 

 .would have been still more denud- 

 ed; but, as it is, the photo shows 

 how nature has supplied these 

 animals with the diabolically ar- 

 ranged weapons of defense. 



One noteworthy and interesting 

 point in connection with the above 

 snake head skeleton, and the ants 

 which prepared it, is the fact that 

 not one of the hundreds of ants 

 in and around the ant-hole were 

 noticed to be the least affected 

 or killed by the snake venom during 

 the carving process. Those red 

 ants, we all know, are themselves 

 very poisonous, the poison being 

 stored away in a separate venom 

 bladder of the ant's abdominal 

 viscera, and communicating with 

 the canal of the sharp sting. In 

 the above instance, the ants had 

 not alone removed most of the in- 

 teguments covering the bony struc- 

 ture, including the fangs; but, also 



both venom bladders (small parts 

 of them being seen in the photo at 

 the upper roof of the snakehead) 

 were tackled by the ants, and no 

 trace of the yellowish and glitter- 

 ing venom could be seen on the 

 original specimen when examined 

 at the ant-hole. Even in man, 

 this highly poisonous venom also 

 has no detrimental effect when 

 accidentally swallowed during suc- 

 tion of an inflicted fang- wound; 

 the snake poison only and often 

 very seriously, and at times fatally 

 affects the human system when it 

 is absorbed in the fang-wound, 

 and especially when it enters a 

 blood-vessel directly, by disinteg- 

 rating and destroying the blood- 

 cells and tissues, and paralyzing 

 the main nerve centers. Super- 

 ficial gangrene with deep destruc- 

 tion of tissue around the fang- 

 wound occurs in the majority of 

 cases, and the writer has seen 

 fearful havoc done in exceptionally 

 serious cases, years ago, during 

 his many years' term as City- 

 Physician. 'There can be no doubt 

 that the venom of the crotalus 

 and moccasin is deadly poison, as 

 attested by the numerous fatal 

 cases in former years, and to-day 

 occasionally reported by conscien- 

 tious physicians throughout the 

 continent, and our early practi-, 

 tioners, especially the venerableDr. 

 I'erdinaud Herff, could have writ- ^ 

 ten volumes on their extensive ex- 

 perience with inoculated wounds 

 of vnomous reptiles and insects. 

 One of the sadest eases of fatal 

 rattlesnake bite on record perhaps 

 is the following, which occurred 

 outside of Texas, in Beach, North 

 Dakota, and of which the dis- 

 patches reported: 



Dead in Bed With a Snake. 



Beach, N. D., June ^3, 1913.— 

 ' ' When Mrs. Dave Grant, residing 

 14 miles southwest of Beach, went 

 to call her two sons, 5 :ind 7 y6ars 

 old this morning, she found them 

 dead in bed with a rattlesnake 

 lying between them. It is believed 



