94 SERPENTS 



upon tlae ground on its back, it will slowly turn back again, 

 take in its tongue, and crawl away. 



When a small boy I once had a thrilling encounter on a 

 bare prairie with one of these snakes, which sought to take 

 refuge in its hole while I fought it off with my hat. At last 

 the snake fled, and I blocked up the mouth of the hole. While 

 I was ploughing the next round, the snake returned, and 

 with its nose dug a new opening running diagonally down 

 into the old one, and entered. 



This snake is flat-headed and thick-bodied, and varies in 

 length from 30 to 37 inches. Its colors are a mixture of 

 brown, yellow and black, with no definite pattern, and are 

 almost impossible to describe successfully. This species lays 

 eggs, which are about \}4 inches in length, covered with a 

 thick, tough, flexible shell. When hatched, the young are 

 from 7 to 8 inches long, and they hiss very soon after they 

 emerge. The embryo serpent possesses an "egg-tooth," for 

 cutting the shell of the egg, but it loosens and drops out 

 within a day or two after the serpent is hatched. 



THE POISONOUS SNAKES OF NORTH AMERICA 



Fortunately for us, all save one of our species of poison- 

 ous serpents are so peculiarly marked it is possible for any 

 intelligent person to know them all, and recognize their dan- 

 gerous character in a moment. This knowledge once ac- 

 quired, all the other snakes of North America cease to be 

 objects of dread or terror, and become merely so many in- 

 teresting specimens of natural history. 



