THE HARLEQUIN SNAKE 



115 



southward and westward to the Pecos River in Texas. It 

 ascends the Mississippi states to southern Indiana. It is 

 a verj^ persistent ground-dweller, and in captivity it spends 

 three-fourths of its time buried in the sand of its cage, c^uite 

 out of sight. It eats garter snakes and black snakes vora- 

 ciously. Although its bite is undoubtedly poisonous, I have 



FEE-DE-LANCE: LANCE-HEAD SNAKE. 



never known of any one having been bitten. In fact, it is 

 difficult to see how any one can be bitten by this serpent 

 without having it done by special appointment. 



The Sonoran Coral Snake,^ of southern Arizona and 

 northern Mexico, is in appearance much like the harlequin 

 snake, and it is mentioned only because it is so little known, 

 and to remark that it is a good subject for observation. 



The Fer-de-Lance, or Lance-Head Snake,^ is the ser- 

 pent terror of the West Indies. It is a small snake, only 



' E'laps eu-ryx-an'thus. ' Bo'tkrops lan-ce-o-la'tus. 



