SNAKES SHELTERING YOUNG 375 



in twenty-four different States and Provinces, and 

 altogether 120 letters came into his possession. 

 Sixty-seven witnesses saw the young snakes enter 

 the parent's mouth, twenty-two of these heard the 

 young called by a hiss or sound of rattle, five 

 waited and saw the young reappear, one of them 

 seeing the act repeated several times ; three saw 

 young ones issue from the old one's mouth, and 

 thirty-six of those who saw the young enter the 

 mouth found them there on killing the parent. 



Of these observations thirty-four relate to 

 Eutcenia sirtalis and E. saurita (the Garter and 

 Ribbon Snakes), seventeen refer to the Water Snake 

 ( Tropidonotus sipedon), nine to the Rattlesnake, two 

 to the Copperhead, three to the Moccasin, one to 

 the Massasanga {Crotalus tergeminus), one to the 

 Blowing Adder {Heierodon platyrhynchus), and three 

 to the Mountain Black Snake {Coluber alle- 

 ghaniensis). 



The writer believes the case proved — and I 

 must say I am disposed to agree with him — proved, 

 that is to say, by the accumulated testimony of eye- 

 witnesses, and many a man has been hanged upon 

 no better evidence. It may be urged that this is 

 not strict scientific proof, nor would it be so if double 

 the number of observers had stated what they be- 

 lieved they had seen. It would, of course, have 

 been far more convincing if any one of them, after 

 seeing the young adders enter the parent's mouth, 

 had slipped a noose over the head of the latter, and 

 imprisoned them until the parent was killed, and 

 the young liberated from the oesophagus in the 



