11 



But the desire came at last. Near the close of September, 

 1873, at 1 p. m., looking into the box, I saw that the snake had 

 started the skin from her head. It was a little torn at the snout, 

 and I found that the head and neck were denuded for about two 

 inches. The denuding process was going on, but very slowly. 

 Doubtless the chief difficulty was in starting the skin, and I felt 

 sorry that I did not see the start. The neck was slowly becoming 

 divested of the old cuticle, which, at first glance, had a sort of 

 rolling aspect. What surprised me was the fact that there was 

 not the least friction in the act ; that is, there was no rubbing 

 against any exterior object. As the old skin at this time is very 

 moist and soft, any swelling of the body stretches and loosens it. 

 So soon as the exuviation has reached the part of the body con- 

 taining the larger ribs, this doffing of the old suit proceeds more 

 rapidly, and with a singular system. It is done just in this way. 

 Exactly at the place where the skin seems to be moving backward, 

 a pair of ribs expands. This action enlarges the body and loos- 

 ens the skin at that place. In this movement both ribs in the pair 

 act at the same time, just as the two blades of the scissors open 

 together. Now comes in a second movement of this pair of ribs. 

 One of them — say the one on the right side — is pushed forward, 

 and made to slip out of the constriction, when it is immediately 

 drawn backward, that is, against the neck of the old skin. Now 

 the left rib makes a like advance, and in a like manner presses 

 backward. Thus the final action of the ribs is not synchronous, 

 but alternate. And how notable becomes the sameness of result 

 in this action with that of the alternate hitching of each side of 

 the mouth when swallowing. Indeed, swallowing by a serpent is 

 a misnomer ; for that laborious hitching is not a pushing of the 

 prey down the gullet, but a drawing of the body over it. The 

 western man said, he always felt better after getting himself 

 around a two-pound steak. With the serpent, this is a literal fact : 

 it puts itself outside of its victim. And so with the singular action 

 of the ribs — it seems to push the skin backwards ; but this is an 

 illusion, for it actually pushes itself forward, and advances out of 

 the skin, thus with each movement or advance, lengthening the 

 double cylinder behind ; that is, the old hose evolves from itself 

 forward, though it appears to be rolled on itself backward. 



The ribs of a serpent, which extend very nearly throughout its 

 whole length, are very much smaller in the neck and tail. At 



