102 



SERPENTS 



It is possible to lengthen a snake's rattles, after they have 

 been cut off, by joining on other joints of the same size, up 

 to the number desired. The slow vibration of a large set 

 of rattles gives a sort of clicking sound, but when the wearer 

 is thoroughly alarmed and angry, the spiteful "whir" sounds 



N. Y. ZooloKical Park. 



DIAMOND RATTLESNAKE. 



like meat frying. The motion then is so rapid the eye cannot 

 follow it. 



Rattlers are not fond of bathing, but when swimming is 

 necessary they swim well. The species which live in the 

 North pass the cold months in burrows below the frost line, 

 either in the earth or among rocks. If the situation chosen 

 proves to be a cold one, the serpent becomes so torpid that 

 it seems lifeless. 



I once found a Prairie Rattlesnake abroad in northern 

 Montana on October 10, two weeks after the first fall of 

 snow. When })rought to a realizing sense of its weakness 

 and unworthiness, it crawled into a hole like a shallow post 



