TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 147 



Leeted by two flat, large scales, 

 partly eoverinsr the eyeball at its 

 upper curvature; and also the 

 front and rear parts of the eyeball 

 are protected by large flat and 

 whitish scales; whilst the neck 

 parts are covered by a row of dark 

 brown and black and brown pig- 

 mented scales of quite even size. 



it shows only a thin black line 

 across the eyeball in life time ; but 

 when death sets in the pupils di- 

 late considerable — as seen on this 

 photograph. 



During anger, the JJupils — 

 through the iris, glitter like a fiery 

 red ball, and I have often noticed 

 this in olden days during hunting 



Coiled-Up Rattler in Cactus Jungle, at Leona Hills 



This interesting- viev/ I had pre- 

 pared by means of a powerful 

 magnifying lens of the camera; 

 and it shows the sharp outlines of 

 highly reflected light on the glassy 

 and highly refractive eyeball, and 

 also a light spot inside the pupil. 

 This pupil is of ellyptieal shape, 

 and it changes its width acording 

 to the light influence, and usually 

 is contracted in bright light, when 



trips in the hilly Leona valley 

 where these reptiles abounded nu- 

 merously amongst the cactus 

 jungles, and where they also un- 

 doubtedly were of some good pur- 

 pose to the pastures and fields, as 

 they exterminated large numbers 

 of rodents, especially prairie rats 

 and ^roxjiud equirrels and' also 

 various insects. 



