WATER-SNAKES, AND THE HOG-NOSED SNAKE 



3-17 



its neck with air, and hisses until it can be heard 

 twenty-five feet. 



In spite of all this bluffing, however, the Hog- 

 Nosed Snake is really a harmless creature. It 

 strikes viciously, but always with its mouth 

 closed! Mr. Ditmars says it is almost impossible 

 to induce one of these snakes to bite. When 

 greatly annoyed, or tickled on the back, it will 



HOG-NOSED SNAKE. 



turn over on its back, open its mouth, allow its 

 tongue to hang out, and permit the experimenter 

 to hang it over a stick, as if dead. If thrown 

 upon the 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 en- 

 counter 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 impos- 

 sible to describe successfully. This species lays 

 eggs, which are about one and one-half 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 poisonous serpents are so peculiarly marked 

 it is possible for any intelligent person to know 

 them all, and recognize their dangerous charac- 

 ter in a moment. This knowledge once acquired, 

 all the other snakes of North America cease to 

 be objects of dread or terror, and become merely 

 so many interesting specimens of natural history. 



A bird's-eye view of our venomous serpents 

 reveals the following assemblage: 



Venomous Serpents 

 of North America. 



Rattlesnakes, 11 species, 

 Massasaugas, 3 species, 

 Water-Moccasin, 

 Copperhead, 

 Harlequin Snake, 

 Sonoran Coral Snake. 



Out of the 75,000,000 people in the United 

 States, probably not more than two die each 

 year as the result of snake-bites. The number 

 of timid people who are frightened by harmless 

 snakes, each year, must be about 1,000,000. 

 Now, if all the latter could be so fully informed 

 as to be free for all time from groundless fear, 

 what a relief to suffering nerves it would be. 



And why should any one remain in ignorance? 

 In reality, there are only five types to learn, all 

 the rattlesnakes and massasaugas being referable 

 to one group by reason of the rattles and "but- 

 tons" on their tails. 



Come, then! Let us address ourselves to the 

 very simple task of learning from a book how to 

 recognize the venomous serpents of North Amer- 

 ica, as readily as one recognizes the dogs and 

 horses of our next-door neighbor. Excepting the 

 water-moccasin, they are all so plainly marked 

 that all persons except those who are blind may 

 know them ; and there is no excuse for forgetting 

 them. Instead of going into their anatomy at 

 length, our efforts for this occasion will be con- 

 centrated upon their external characters, habits 

 and homes. 



Fortunately, we have not in North America 

 any house-haunting serpents of great cunning 

 and unfailing deadliness like the Hooded Cobra, 

 or Cobra-de-Capello,' of India. The bite of 

 this species is very deadly, and whether wholly 

 guilty or not, in India it is debited annually 

 1 Na'ja tri-pu' di-ans . 



