24 



NATUBAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



Among marine water snakes, it 

 serves as a swimming bladder, and 

 when inflated it gives the frightful 

 and threatening appearance to the 

 venomous species (solenoglypha. ) 

 Prof. Cope says that the H. platyr- 

 hinus inflates its diverticulum in 

 this way, but I have never seen it 

 resort to this method of displaying 

 its anger. 



The action, of these snakes when 

 molested are remarkable, but are 

 not always the same in different in- 

 dividuals. 



One that I teased spread out its 

 head and anterior third of its body 

 very flat and broad, inflated the 

 posterior portion of its body to 

 more than double its normal dia- 

 meter, raised its head from four to 

 six inches from the ground, and 

 emitted a series of vigorous hisses, 

 "similar," as Prof. S. F. Baird 

 says, "on a very small scale to an 

 engine letting off steam. " In this 

 attitude it bore a startling resem- 

 blance to the hooded cobra. Its 

 head had a black band running 

 from the eye to the corner of the 

 mouth, and a dark band from one 

 eye to the other, and another 

 across the occipatal plates suggest- 

 ed the "spectacle marks" of the 

 Nay a. 



I did not strike the reptile but 

 threatened him with a switch until 

 he abandoned his threatening at- 

 titude and tried to crawl away. It 

 frequently happens that these 

 snakes after making the most ex- 

 travagant demonstrations of hostil- 

 ity, will turn upon their backs and 

 lie still until they are left alone, 

 when they will quickly recover and 

 glide away. Mr. C. S. Brimley 

 the Naturalist and Collector, of 

 Raleigh, N. C a careful observer 

 who has had wide experience with 

 snakes of many species says, that 

 of several of these snakes kept by 

 him one appeared to die when first 

 captured, but could with difficulty 

 be induced to repeat the perfor- 

 mance, although it persisted in 

 hissing and "spreading" whenever 

 approached. 



Another would only spread it- 

 self a little and never would "die," 

 while a third, the most violent of 

 all at hissing and spreading "died" 

 on the slightest provocation. 



Dr. Weir describing, in Ameri- 

 can Naturalist what he calls "a per- 

 fect act of letisimulation" in this 

 case he says, "The snake bent back 

 and drew his widely open mouth 

 violently along his body, as if en- 

 deavoring to rip himself open. He 

 then turned upon his back and 

 died at once. " 



When in this attitude of apparent 



death the snake is usually describ- 

 ed as being perfectly limp, though 

 I have sometimes found it to be 

 rigid, the body drawn in unyield- 

 ing curves. 



On one occasion two were 

 brought me that had been tied with 

 a string and carried four miles on 

 a stick. They had both received 

 the same harsh treatment, but on- 

 ly one of them was in a state of 

 apparent death, the other still 

 struggling vigorously. Untieing 

 the apparently dead snake. I put 

 it in a bucket of water and it came 

 at 'once to the surface, back down- 

 ward. Taking it in both hands I 

 attempted to hold it in a more nat- 

 ural position but it persistently 

 turned its ventral surface upward, 

 exerting considerable force in do- 

 ing so, but making no other strug 

 gles for some time, though it fi- 

 nally resumed its normal position 

 and tried to escape. These snakes 

 were placed in a box of not more 

 than half their own length, yet in 

 spite of rough treatment and close 

 quarters they ate toads the day af- 

 ter their capture. 



Another time five small snakes 

 of this species were brought me, 

 all apparently dead. On putting 

 them upon the ground I found 

 that three of them persistenly hir- 

 ed upon their backs, while the oth- 

 er two would lie in a normal posi- 

 tion. They were kept separate 

 and all soon became active, but 

 only the three that turned upon 

 their backs lived, the other two 

 dying that night. This would 

 seem to indicate that two of them 

 had been really injured while the 

 other three had been merely thrown 

 into a fit, or, according to the pre- 

 vailing opinion, had simulated 

 death. If they did deliberately 

 simulate death why did they not 

 assume the natural position kept 

 by the fatally injured ones? 



I have found but one writer who 

 protests against the theory of letis- 

 imulation as an explanation of the 

 actions of the Heterodon, and he 

 suggests, in Popular Science News, 

 that the snake turns on its back as 

 a sign of complete surrender and 

 an appeal for mercy. This ex- 

 planation appears even more im- 

 probable than the first, and I be- 

 lieve the true view may be found 

 in G. R. O'Reillys' account of the 

 somewhat similar actions of the 

 cobra. Popular Science Monthly. 



Mr. O'Reilly says that the most 

 striking peculiarity of that serpent 

 is "the fit of temporary lockjaw in- 

 to which he is liable to fall," for 

 he sometimes gives his captors "a 

 most wonderful exhibition of repti- 



lian hysterics — lying motionless, 

 half on his back, with his mouth 

 fixedly open and as stiff as if in 

 death. " 



I suggested to Mr. Brimley that 

 the actions of the H. platyrhinus 

 might not be voluntary, but mere- 

 ly "reptilian hysterics," or fits of 

 temporary lockjaw," but he insist- 

 ed that the reptiles w r ere really 

 shamming, for they would lie still 

 as long as they were molested and 

 recover as soon as they were left 

 alone. Cobras, however, recover 

 as soon as they are thrown down, 

 and this does not lead Mr. O'Reilly 

 to regard them as letisimulants. 



In considering this matter the 

 questions would naturally arise, 

 how does the snake know that it 

 will some day be dead, and that 

 snakes that have turned upon their 

 backs dead will not be molested? 

 By theway,do dead snakes lie upon 

 their backs? My experience would 

 lead me to answer the last ques- 

 tion in the negative. Dr. Weir 

 thinks that as snakes eat only liv- 

 ing food they imagine that other 

 animals have the same tastes, and 

 so simulate death to make them- 

 selves appear unpalatable. Rev. 

 Samuel Lockwood deprives this 

 argument of part of its force when 

 he assures us, in American Natura- 

 list., that he has known this snake 

 to eat the heads of eels left on the 

 river bank by fishermen. 



Angus Gaines, 

 Vincennes, Indiana. 

 ( Concluded next week. ) 



An Albino Deer. 



Last October, while on Moose 

 River, near Brassna Lake, in this 

 county, Mr. O. E. Libby of De- 

 troit killed two buck deer, one of 

 which is pure white with the ex- 

 ception of part of the head, which 

 is brown. The brown extending 

 from back of the ears around the 

 base of the horns to the eyes. The 

 ears are dark, almost black on the 

 outside, while the inside is mostly 

 white. This deer is now mounted 

 and on exhibition in a store win- 

 dow in this place. It is a hand- 

 some specimen, and attracts much 

 attention. 



C. H. M., PlTTSFIEU), 



Somerset Co., Me. 



BLACK FOX.— Had a rare 

 specimen brought in day or two ago. 

 A Black Fox ( Vulpes argentatns). 

 Have made it up in a nice skin 

 with skull, &c. It is jet black ex- 

 cept tip of tail is white and on the 

 rump are a very few silver tipped 

 hairs. — Chas. K. Reed, Worcester, 

 Mass. 



