284 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Utitr, S, 1883. 



Ihe late impIeasatttnGss. An infant child of Mi*. Alexander 

 Stringer was playing in the yard, and being attracted by the 

 bright ■■-■'■ ■ ; ■■ ■ ■ :i r'.nake, grasped it neat the middle. The 

 screams of the child brought, its parents to its relief, but. too 

 late, the. snake had done its work. The child lingered in 

 grsal agony until Lite following morning, and died as above 

 slated. Thesriakc, as described to me, was about eighteen 

 inches long, ana it is u matter of doubt with raewhether the 



bite of so small a snake would have proved fatal to an adult. 

 The year following this in, fortunate occurrence 1 became a 

 resident of Corpus C'hristi. and resided for peveral years 

 within 100 yards of Mr. Stringer, and he. as also many of 

 the citizens, 'told me of the sutlerings anddeath of that child, 

 and I will here add that Stringer always contended that the 

 snake did not bile the child, but inflicted the fatal wounds 

 with the sting of its tail, and in this opinion he was not 

 alone. About two years after this I was on a visit to my 



I, Capt. R. Kins, the proprietor of a ureal stock ranch'e 



at Santa Gerti .id,-,, forty miles from Corpus Christi. Walk- 

 ing across the courtyard one evening In company with Mr. 

 Holbein, the bunk keeper, 1 saw in the glass a 'small coral 

 snake about sixteen or eighteen inches. I commenced an- 

 noying it with my cane to satisfy mvself whether it had a 

 . pi' not: Holbein remarked. 'Be very careful, that is the 

 same kind of snake that killed Stringer's child.' Holbein 

 was living in Corpus Christi when the child died. 

 1 pinned the snake to the ground with my cane, 

 but could not. induce Holbein to make a close 

 examination, he was afiaid of it. My eyesight was very 

 defective. I culled Mr. Greer, the superintendent of the 

 ranch, who happened to be passing at the time, and requested 

 him to notice closely whether he could see a sting or not; be 

 assured rue he could see the stiug very plainly whenever I 

 preyed upon the snake sufficiently ha'rd to cause it to strike 

 with it« tail. The motions of its tail indicated that it was 

 used as a weapon Of defense, whether it iiad a sting or not. 

 1 killed the snake, and cut off an inch or more of its tail. 

 The foUowing morning I examined it. as closely as T could ; I 

 found the terminal tip was constituted of bone of extreme, 

 hardness, almost flinty, in dividing it I had to force the knife 

 through with a hammer. 1 found in the outer a dark sub- 

 stance like a hog bristle attached only at its lioper parti 

 about one-half an inch from the apex of the tail. This 

 limited examination gave me no satisfactory results, as my 

 sight was defective and 1 iiad no magnifying glass to aid me, 

 and notwithstanding Mr. Greer's assertion that, he had seen 

 the sting. I came to the conclusion that the black thread-like 

 matter 1 had noticed in the center of the bony case was prob- 

 ably the caudal terminus of the spinal cord. Since then no 

 opportunity has presented itself to me for further investiga- 

 tion." In a case related by Dr. Herff of Texas, a gentleman 

 had a coral snake as a plaything, and frequently put his 

 fingers in its mouth to prove it innocuous, one day 'he forced 

 his linger in too far and in extricating it was bitten by the 

 fang-like teeth; the result was that he nearly lost his life 

 'I his would srem to show that this reptile is not, viciously in- 

 clined, Mr. True, in closing up the article referred to, stuns 

 Up as follows: 'That coral snake bites are of quite rare oc- 

 currence seems due Uj to the lack of abundance of these 

 serpents, especially about towns; (2) to their sluggish dispo- 

 siiion. and (3) as Duineril has remarked, to the small size of 

 the mouth, which prevents them from fastening upon any 

 but a sharply curved surface. Elapsoid serpents are not so 

 little obnoxious in all countries as North America, They 

 oourge of India." 



Numerous writers of the first half of the present, century, 

 [tore as well, refer to the habits and character ' 

 "sties of the North American and smaller South American 

 coral snakes. Themajoritj . while alluding to their close re- 

 lations to the very venomous sections of the family Mapidce, 

 regard them as innocent member- of the group. 'The inl'or- 

 n regai-din; .'. . ; - - may be careful 



not to mistake the scarlet snake for the coral. 



Many naturalists of the present day whose knowledge of 

 the fossil forms leads them to believe that almost anything is 

 possible in nature, no longer consider the sea serpent' a myth, 

 and 1 myself unhesitatingly join the credulous baud, a ml 

 this requires some courage, for. as Prof. VV^feon aptly re- 

 marks, •' Notwithstanding the inter.. si which the discussions 

 of the sea serpent question inevitably evokes, there are Com- 

 paratively few persons to be found who regard the question 

 from other than u purely sceptical point of view. The in- 

 telligence ili.it the si a serpent has been seen again, is usually 

 reckoned as equivalent to the statement thai some grog-laden 

 mariner has, been exhibiting that phenomenon known to 

 physiologists a-, unconscious cerebration, or that some ob- 

 server has been interpreting an unusual appearance in : he 

 sea by the light of lac serpentine myth, Occasionally the 

 subject affords an opportunity for the display of the" any- 

 thing but scientific use of the imagination of some feeble 

 jokers who succeed in imposing upon the credulity of some 

 editors, and in seeing their absurd descriptions of fictitious 



animals in all the prominence of large type. To the many 

 leaders Of FOSMST and S-nci:,«r who have carefully fol- 

 lowed the discussion in its columns about the sea serpent, 

 and have weighed the evidence collected by Prof. Baird, it 



would seem almost superfluous toallude to the matter, but my 

 attention has recently been attracted to a little work called 

 ' • Facts aaad Fictions of Zoology." by Prof. Andrew Wilson, 

 in which evidence seems lo bo carefully balanced and a con- 

 clusion arrived at. The instances lie furnishes of the appear- 

 .. of .supposed sea serpents are numerous, and a few will 

 be given here. Probably the first writer who alludes lo the 

 sea serpent was OlausMagnUB, Archbishop of Upsala, whose 

 reptile, according to his description, must have been 300 feel 

 long, 20 feet thick I he had hair; his scales were sharp and 

 his skin black. Why not? This writer lived many years 

 ago, and it is more than likely, although he had never seen 

 such an animal, tradition mac have, handed down the story 

 of some fossil rcpiile such as he describes. We know that 

 in prehistoric tunes sharks roamed the ocean beds, which, 

 judging from the size of their teeth, must have been from 90 

 to 150 feet in length, and yet if we had not the indubitable 

 proof of it, in the remains of such fishes, our stories would 

 be laughed at. Thai something has been seen at sea, and 

 that, tolerably often, must be' admitted or else we must 

 believe that many of our fellow men are deliberate falsifiers. 

 It is true that persons suffer under optical delusion, and thai 

 what may have been taken for a living animal, was the 

 tronk of a tree, a long string of sea weed moving on the 

 swell of the ocean; but these would not account for all the 

 times the. supposed sea serpent has been seen. Some 

 ago. while in the territory of Utah, a gentleman informed 

 me that a person living near Utah Lake declared that he had 

 seeu a large water-snake, and begged him to accompany him 

 to the border aadaee for himself: My informant willingly 

 did so, and at first sight discovered what appeared to him to 



Ion;;;, black serpent 



iout half a mile from shore. This 



in 1 iile uiidulatory swell of the 



as seen to turn from side to -ide. An 

 revealed the presence of an otter on 

 i ia an example of how easily persons 

 when the}' art not. expecting "to see 



ndd 

 waves, and the h 

 inspection with l 

 the end of a log. 

 may be 1 1 

 any particular ol 



Without doubt one of the most circumstantial accounts of 

 the sea serpent, having been seen was published in the Loudon 

 /■...■ in is IS. and is mentioned in the little work by Prof. 

 Wilson, already alluded to, This narrative is related by 

 Capi. McQuhae, who commanded H. M, S. Daedalus, ft 

 states that when the ship was on her passage home from the 

 Last Indies, and when between the Cape of Good Hope and 

 St. Helena, the captain and most of the officers and men 

 sav, r an animal which, from its 



Slimed lo 1 

 the matter 

 of the an in 

 The captaii 

 with head 

 above the s 

 have been a 

 The animal 

 tain states 1 

 at that flistn 

 ith yellov 



nl. It 



serpent. The 

 Admiralty, and 

 ippeare' 



-.li i 



tld hs 



The colo 



d ahap 



made a report of 

 he exact habitat 

 1 August 6, 1848, at 5 P. M. 

 t lo be an enormous serpent, 

 tpt constantly about four feet 

 n-diug to estimate there must 

 the animal beneath the water. 

 quarter so closely that the cap- 

 ignized the features of a friend 

 was described as a dark brown, 

 hitc above the throat. Tt had no fins ap- 

 parently, but had a sort of mane, like a bunch of sea weed. 

 on its back. One of the watch officers, Lieut. Drummond, 

 states in his report that the animal had a back fin which 

 was about, perhaps, twenty feet in rear of the head. 

 Tiiis. is evidently what, the captain calls a. mane. There can 

 be no question that, in this instance a marine monster of 

 large size was certainly seen, and no one of the ship's com- 

 pany ever denied the facts as given. 



Still more circumstantial is "an account given by the mas- 

 ter and crew of the bark Pauline, who declared under oath 

 that on July 8. 1875. when in hit. 5 18 8., Ion. 33° W., 

 they observed three sperm whales, and that one of them 

 was gripped around the body with two turns of what ap- 

 peared to be a huge serpent. " The head and tail appeared to 

 have a length beyond the coils of about thirty feet and 

 its girth eight or nine feet. The serpent whirled its victim 

 round and round for about fifteen minutes, and then suddenly 

 dragged the whale to the bottom head first. On July 13. a 

 similar monster was seen. Prof. R. A. Procter, publishes an 

 account of a remarkable marine monster in the' Echo, Jan, 

 15, 1877, but this I think was evidently a gigantic oetopod. 

 It was seen in the straiis of .Malacca. Prof. "Wilson gives a 

 number of other examples, and states that the monsters de- 

 scribed and seen may have been either the large basking 

 shark, SelaeJie twtimtt, or a kind of l'h.xim 

 or the well-known ribbon-fish. I^gt/bcu* . 

 latter being taken some years ago off the 

 measuring'sixty feet in "leugth. In closi 

 Prof. Wilson sums up as follows: "First 

 Che tales of sea serpents are amply veritiei; 

 rules of evidence; this con. 

 ted by the want of any win 

 i. Secondly— That, laying 

 : proved to be deceptive and 

 cts or by the unusual attiti ' 



the ordinary 

 dally |ippo 



which can t 

 animate obj< 

 mals, there' remains a 1 

 on the hypothesis that 



present unfamiliar, or urtkuo 

 ist ; and Thirdly— That the 



lg tht 



y-Tl 



nttle fishes 



, one of the 



of Scotland 



discussion, 



whei 



being espfr 



- reason for 



I , . , | . 1, . . 



aused by in- 



fa 



fact perfectly c 



■ins 



istent 



edge, and ismi 



St 1 



.■tidily 



of the occasions 



Id 



■:-!., 



ol marine auim 



ds 



famil 



With these fi 



ml 



remai 



dismiss for the 



jre 



sent, t 



reptiles, pronus 







! urnish it to oi 







Forest and i 







those living in t 



tie 



smith 



in ha hit ants alio 





•cot ill 



gratefully aekn 





edge 



f evidence only to be .explained 



in gigantic marine animals, at 



ee of such animals is „ 

 illi scientific opinion and knowl- 

 ixplained by recognizing the fact 

 lent of gigantic members of groups 



s upon sea serpents we may now 

 subject of popular ideas "about 

 natter n cumulates, Lo promptly 

 and in this the correspondents of 

 D ably aid. Let them (especially 

 find out all (hey can from the oldest 

 and thewriler of ibis paper will 

 eir gleanings if sent to him. 



DEEP-SEA FISHING FISHES. 



ON the last trip of the U. S. Fish Commission steamer 

 Albatross, among other remarkable types two 

 the singular family of Ceraliids were obtained, which prove 

 to be not only specifically but generlcally distinct from the 

 previous known forms." The, Ceratiid.s" are related to the 

 Anglers or Lophiids, but, are far more entitled to that name 

 than are the ones generally so called, and the OantUilta are 

 the most SO of all, These' las! have a real fishing rod, and 



three of the types have a notable one. The rod is reptt 



by the first spine of oidinary fishes, which is situated on the 

 back part of the head; it Is long and borne aloft, and in the 

 typical species rod and line are developed. The rod is rep- 

 resented by tbe basal joint, and the line by the distal one: 

 the rod is stiffened, but the line quite flexible, and at its end 

 there is a bait in the form of a bulb, which is generally more 

 or less pyriform in outline. The fish doubtless lies on the 

 ground, carrying the rod curyed over its bead, and 

 other fishes are attracted by the bulb, which may be moved 

 to and fro, When the incautious inquirer approaches near 

 enough the angler rises upward and engulfs him in his ca- 

 pacious mftw. The mouth, be it observed, opens upward, 

 and even to a slight extent backward, and is thus eminently 

 adapted for its angling life; Both of the new speciOS arc of 

 small size, and were • <i- ■:; ..-, ai depths. One of them, 



which has been called T^pJopnaraf^tufOdti, is nearly related 

 to a fish obtained by the Challenger Expedition in the At- 

 lantic Ocean, between the Canary and Cape Verde islands, 

 from a depth of 2,400 fathoms. 



Tfypfopmras. — Ocratiiues with an elongated trunk, recti- 

 linear hack, obsolete or no eyes, far esserted basal joint of 

 the anterior spine and shortened terminal joint, a small in- 

 termediate and a pair of pedunculated dorsal appendages 

 some distance in advance of ihe dorsal tin, and red need pec- 

 toral fins with about 5 or 6 rays. 



Tfyplopsaras shifddti.— The first joint of the rod-like spine 

 reaches to the axil of the dorsal fin, and the bulb to the hase 



tht 



;al has 4 



ed 



of the caudal fin, when the spine is ben! : 



is pear-shaped and without any appendages; the di 



rays, the anal 4, the caudal' 8 (Ihe median, 4 of 



forked), and there are 4 or 5 pectoral rays, A si 



men was found. I have dedicated the species to m 



friend. Dr. R. W. Shufekif. L. S. A., the w.ell-ki'iowu urm- 



tbotomisl.. 



The name 'i'yj,l<,p>«irii* is a compound from the Creek 

 htphlas (blind), and ymarn.s (angler), meaning --blind angler ' 



Qryptop»(fflUt.— r'eratiines with shortened trunk, longitu- 



dinally convex back, ami 

 basal "joint of the antei 

 joint, a large iutcrmed 

 pedunculated iar -•:■:' ■ •■ 

 dorsal fin, and well-devel 



Oryptopttmu i i 

 spine is almost entirely r 

 distal joint alone fri 



at conspicuous eves, concealed 

 spine and elongated terminal 



and a pair of sub- 

 ages act it of the 

 1 pectorals of about 15 raj .-. 



joint of the rod like 

 tiled and procumbent, and the 

 filing backward to the dorsal 



tubercles: the bulb is pyriform and surmounted l.v a long 

 whitish filament; the dorsal and anal-have each 4 spines, 

 the caudal 8 (Ihe 4 middle dichotomous), and tbe pivto 

 nils each about 15 rays. The spe, ':■•■ in. i„.n named 



after the eminent ornithologist, Dr Ellibl , 



name is derived from the (concealed), 

 pmras (fisherman), and has reference to the concealed 

 "rod" or basal joint of the anterior spine or fishing appa- 

 i'i"ns. Tiaso. Oi ii.: 



The Black Hacki;.— Editor Fovea .... .,.'. | i 



say a word in regard-to two communications Wbfcli followed 

 mine of July :;.'; on the black racer, f made no claim to a 



■old identification consequently 1 I] 

 But I did claim tnai in markings, character and habits 

 V. i»« was entitled to a place in natural history not givi n 

 '-is. When 1 see reason to retract a sinj I p liul 

 advanced 1 shall be happy to do so. I v a indirect] 

 cused of stretching my 8- footer, as the racer . 

 reach that length." and such was tbe titled diirnil 

 accuser f dared uof say a word tfl] Mr, ritdgway.'sfru'ek with 

 (he beauty of its composition, unwittingly came to my re- 

 lief. Then, as in Ihe case of Biinyan's Pilgrim, my burden 

 i-i il led down the hill. What, the Fun est VXD STREAM, now 

 needs is explanation. If I stretched my snake to reach 8 feet, 

 by what process did Mr. Ftidgwav bring his to lit I'd give 

 a quarter to know-, as in these days oft... I , . term) 



stories, I am bound if I ever get another he sLai ■_ two 

 inches better thau Mr. Kidgway, if nothing leva- !.-'.,■ 

 Besacommon," several tiuies repealed, would help 

 stretch him as well as anything I now think of. One thing 

 more. If any man doubts (please put my quotation marks 



in full-face caps after this), if any man doubts ti 



Woodman's absurd vagaries of "tradition." I give him ihe 

 full benefit of his doubts" It isstupidity I did notexpect, ami 

 perhaps not. sufficiently explained*; I will be more careful in 

 future. What Woodman did is historical fact, v, h. ■. : I,. . 

 is just, what I have reported.— B. HoEsTortii. 



MobePahtkidgb Mystery. — I spent a few mam] - Uu 



pasl . summer at niybinhplae" en the Conueciicui Kb ■ '. i.m! 

 way in the Slate ofYemiouf, My next door neighbor, 



Jackman Wise, has lived a hunter and trap] I 



ground where in early life ray own (rap and gun knew not 

 defeat, Rehearsing stories of craft and cunning among 

 birds and animals, one oaj . be said. - Tin ,- 

 could never see through or account for. 1 was oii i 

 tramping through the woods and started an Old partridge 



from her nest at my feet: I marked the place and v. .,, 



the next day to gel tbe eggs and set tin in under my bantam 



hen. I went" directly to ih'e spot, hut could - . iota bird 



nest or eggs. Concluding at last thai .-ia- bad removed or 

 covered them up, I e e ay hands and knees and 



began feeling for them in the leave* . ' . , ;M I dis- 



cover tiD my hand was laid 'flat and square' on the bird's 

 back, when she flew off,'' Now I indorse this statement, and 

 incident, with ihe same confidence I have in my o 

 perience already recorded in FoBJSST and STREAM 

 that there is both fascimtlioii and seclusion in animal life 

 Uttder certain conditions, bringing up at the same time the 

 question of equal blindness on the part of the bird in her 



fancied socmity. I ackno.', f i " oi blindness ou 



myself, broken' by the winking of a ! i, e Tie same 



rested on my friend Wise, and 1 believe the same rested on 

 '■■■ili ii ids at that moment. — B. HoiisFOltD. 



UivMATtllAL HtsTiniV IK IHE KEWSi'AFKns.— (lieu - 



Falls, N. V., Oct. 30.— Editor l',->: ,t „,,<; si,, ,„„. .- Iran 

 the following slip from a recent issue of the Troy (IS. V.i 

 Tifiifit as a fair sample of the instruction oue gets In natural 



history from the columns 



grumble about the discomfort caused by flies and mosquitoes 

 should look at the window of a Fulton street drug store and 

 learrrhow much worse it. might be, There are on e ""■■ 



in the window a tarantula, wlnis, < ■ ,. , .dly than 



that of a rattlesnake, and a centipede, whose bite i m 



danger . '. ! ,....', oads and 



scorpipu are :..-■■ to be seen. The "Gila monster/ a lizard 



about a fool long, lias a breath which ia eaill to paralyze the 



human tongue, even worse than wh ■'■ . ' Pin Bum to. 

 be no excuse for printing such .stuff when there mu bean 



abundance of copy of a political nature, with a Stale elec- 

 tion only a week away. — A. N. ( .'. 



A Hawk Takes hs.— Eoughkeepsie, N, Y.. Oct 



Sunday last. a s Messrs. Lattin and Moore, of Moore's .Mills, 

 were on their way to Poughkeepde. their attention was 

 attracted to quite a number of crows, who wqrchi 

 noisy jubilee nvei- ti hawk of unusiia) size perched Upon a 

 stake in the fence,., short distance In 

 course the crow is a terror to the hawk, when both are on 

 the wing, and the latter dared not leave the Biahe, for the 

 c ■ .... -. '.■■ ere numerous, Vet. he Bpjj lai d verj unsettled it) 



his position, and the mystery was soon solved', for while the 



gentlemen were looking at the show B fox slowly ami oi 



ingly mounted the fence, and reaching up 



from his resling place and bore him away, amid 



of the crows, wiiich seemed to be much incensed ai the 



loss of their prize. 



Rev. Db. John 6. Wood, who is now lecturing on n.atu 

 ral history at the Lowell In.-nmre. Boston, will soon le 

 heard in New.' York at the Cooper Union. He illustrates his 

 lectures with crayon pictures, drawn on a blackboard with 

 great skill and rapidity. He is now fifty-six year.- old. and 

 for some years has received a pen-ion I mm ila i.'ritisli cloy 

 eminent in recognition of his services to science. 



■ niilTALS AT THE pHII-ADELPHm 2l. 



Heeeiveil l.v niiiWi'-ir— One male Savannah leer ■ 



m ia i, el tree porcupine ■ ' e 



vellow baboons ■e'.vc-. ' ..one .smily mangl 



(•ocWx.s filli'h- ■'■■'• ■■■ . ■■■ '■■ ■■ •'.. '■■■ ." .■• 



nil eiee.li liiiieaijU.- i J/. ICItC I v ■ ■ ■ 



.. '.'... ." ■■'■.■■. i . ■ e ii ■ ,: i -;■ ■ v - i ■ ■ ■■■, 



... ■'■■'..■.<!. an. I . me. bi>,--..i>s.-il sriuke i/7Wi- 



i lue black spider 

 .. ■ ■ two opossums i . ■ 



iv. -.1 iiii-.l // .... . iv.-. iee.. 



:■ , , ... ... horned toad \Pliry 



■ ' .. i ' 



Born la tin 

 GoI'den One no 1 [all. ■■' ■ i fi untl L ""= bvhi-io 



