TEXAS NATURJ! OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCEiS. 145 



the reptile crawled into the bed- 

 clothes during the day while they 

 were being aired outdoors." 



Also a noteworthy fatal ease of 

 rattlesnake bite may be recorded 

 here, which occurred years ago 

 at the farm of a Medina County 

 ranchman. The man was plowing 

 in his field and, his plow coming 

 in contact with a rattler, severed 

 its neck. The farmer, thinking the 

 snake dead, kept on plowing. How- 

 ever, upon returning from the op- 

 posite end to the place where the 

 plow had run over the reptile, he no- 

 ticed something like a stick among 



on West Commerce Street, and 

 severed its neck by a stroke of the 

 hatchet, and for several hours the 

 head and neck part (nailed down to 

 a board and seen photoreproduced 

 elsewhere in connection with the 

 eel matter) v/as alive as ever, and, 

 after placing a plug between its 

 jaws, the reptile ejected several 

 yellowish and glittering venom 

 drops from both fangs, resembling 

 egg albumen. 



In looking at the photograph 

 again, of the head skeleton herein, 

 it is noticed how widely these 



KiNGSNAKE Devouring Another Snakb, Encountered at River Bottom, 12 Miles 



Below San Antonio 

 (Described Previously in the Miniature Photo Collection Matter on Texas Reptiles— Page 13) 



the weeds, and, in the endeavor 

 of picking it up, he unfortunately 

 seized the severed part with the 

 head on, which was still alive. 

 With a sudden strike the rattler 

 plunged its fangs deeply into the 

 man's hand, and before a few hours 

 had elapsed the man was dead. 

 This shows the immense vitality 

 of these animals, and I recollect, 

 years ago, for experimental pur- 

 poses, I had procured a cotton- 

 mouth moccasin from the. reptile 

 establishment of Mr. Wm. Learn, 



beasts can open their mouth in 

 devouring their victims, especially 

 a full-sized cotton-tail rabbit. One 

 such occurrence — and it may be 

 a lifetime before it is witnessed in 

 nature again, was presented to me 

 and my friend Dr. Robert Lee 

 Withers some years ago, whilst 

 hunting in the old Withers pasture 

 west of San Antonio. Dr. Withers 

 was just getting ready to pop a 

 few doves from a mesquite tree 

 close to one of the large tanks, 

 when, lo! what a surprise! Only 



