■ The coach-whip snake ( Coluber fla.s^cllum ) of the South is the object of 

 a curioUs superstition prevalent among the negroes and even among many of 

 the whites. This. sn<-.kc has long been a terror to the colored population 

 of. the South, :.nd mi.ny are the stories that rel^ite to negroes found dead in 

 the. road from being whipped to death bj coach-whip snake. These stories no 

 doubt had their origin in vvarnings given years ago to restrain th^. negro 

 slaves from straying off at night. The .coach-»fhio is a' slender, swift- ' 

 moving, brownish-black snake of the southern and southwestern parts of the 

 United States, and is entirely harmless to man. Its habit of raising the 

 fore part of the body when tr.veling confirmed, so far as the negro was con- 

 cerned, the stories that had been told hin. 



O^^^RRAL HABITS OF SIIAI^ES 



There are many kinds of smokes and their habits are nearly as varied 

 as those of birds ind majimals. Some snakes burrow into Lhe ground and are 

 rarely seen; others are gliders and move svdftly; some are svv'in'imers and 

 spend most, of their lives in swamps, ponds, or strepjris; a few climb trees. 

 There are certain kinds that are found only in desert regions, others only 

 in marshes, and m ny that live in the fields and woods about hum.?-n habita- 

 tions. 



Host snakes are "gliders." Along the entire length of the ventral sur- 

 face of the body are large transverse scales of shields, as many as there 

 are pairs of ribs. As the snake glides, the fore nart of its body is first 

 advanced; the ventral transverse scales on this p:^.rt are then partially 

 erected, the vreight of this part of the body is throvm on these erected 

 transverse sc?.les, and a rather firm hold is obtained on the "surface; the 

 rest of the body is then drawn forward by the contraction of muscles. This 

 process is rapidly repeated, as the ribs are active agents in this pecu- 

 liar method of propulsion, snakes are sometiiries referred to as "rib-walkers." 



Snakes that climb are more agile tlian terrestrial species. Some wind 

 their bodies a.round the tree; ethers, like blacksnakes, can blimb rough- 

 barked trees by progressing in wide sinuous curves. 



In sv^rimndng, a snake depends as ir.uch upon undul ting miovements of the 

 body as upon short strokes of the tail. 



HIB^RPIATION 



In temperate climates all snakes hibernate, 'Their chance of survival 

 in northern latitudes depends on their evading frost. Snakes are extremely 

 sensitive to cold; many of the comxaon North American forms do not range 

 much further north than the Canadian border, and others st-iy south of the 

 Ohio River. The exceptionally wide range of the garter snake is known 

 to extend northv/ard to the region around Great Slave Lake, and there are 

 records of it that seem, to be authentic from 'the Yukon region. In re- 

 latively mild climates blacksnpJces have been found hibernating in cavities 

 in trees several feet from the ground. Rattlesnakes, copperheads, and 



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