July 25, 1903.!! 
not half an iiieh m diameter by my aide, struck my 
hand, nearly scalding it. Miss Jones defied the fatigue 
that prompted the Consul and myself to accept the 
hot seats tendered us by yEtna and remained stand- 
ing. The sun was low down in the west. He seemed 
to swim in a sea of glory. A stratus of clouds lie low 
in the heavens shutting off all view from the west. The 
stratus did not resemble clouds, but looked like a vast 
sea flecked with gold by the setting sun. As the sun 
neared the western horizon, it cast a great purple 
shadow of .^tna against the eastern sky. It was tri- 
angular shaped and seemed to hang vertically in the 
heavens. For a time the rising moon shone with its 
silver light in the very apex of the purple pyramid. 
It was the strangest and most beautiful scene my eyes 
ever beheld. Mr. Jones and I held the fort upon our 
bowlders until the sun disappeared. Then came the 
descent, which was easy enough. For every three 
steps made we gained one by sliding. We were but 
half an hour in making the desceiit. While descending 
the Consul and myself engaged in a snowball battle. 
He, though reared in a country where they have no 
snow, was the victor. 
When assembled about the dinner table in the even- 
ing, tired and weary though we were, each one was 
full of stories about the wonders of ^tna. Our dinner 
dispatched, we were soon in bed, dreaming of climbing 
inaccessible heights, or falling into yawning sulphurous 
gulfs, that is to say, I suppose the others of the party 
so dreamed, but I slept like a log, and was perfectly 
unconscious until 3 o'clock A. M. of Aug. 15^ when 
the Alpine horn sounded reveille. 
Albert Woodcock. 
Our Batrachians and Reptiles. — V. 
Perhaps it began with the sad experience of our 
earliest ancestors with the serpent in the Garden of Eden, 
but however much dependence we can put in that story, it 
I is certain that from time immeniorial snakes have played 
an important part in the affairs of mankind. Among 
all peoples and in all times they have been regarded with 
horror or veneration. They have formed the basis of 
liundreds of myths and fables and have left their_ im- 
press on literature and art. At the present day it is 
' only among savage races that they are worshipped and 
given credit for great wisdom and cunning, but among 
civilized people they are surrounded by a wall of miscon- 
■ ception and superstition through which the naturalist 
tries almost in vain to break. 
, The reason for these exaggerated ideas can readily be 
understood. The method of locomotion, the manner of 
securing and swallowing the prey, and the whole ap- 
pearance of the snakes is unusual and almost unique 
• among vertebrated animals. They are usually silent, but 
may give vent to a startling blowing or hissing sound, 
and their lidless eyes seem always to be on the alert. 
I Their colors, although often brilliant, are such_ as to 
harmonize in the most perfect manner with their sur- 
roundings. Their movements are often exceedingly rapid 
and are apparently controlled by an intelligence too subtle 
for our comprehension. Add to these the facts that a 
goodly number of snakes are veiiomous, and that the 
dangerous ones are often distinguished from the harm- 
less ones with some difficulty, and it is_ easy to see that 
all snakes have come to be regarded with suspicion and 
horror. 
To the minds of most people this condition of affairs 
does not seem to be undesirable, nevertheless it is un- 
reasonable, for a careful study of the serpent fauna of 
the world has shown that the great majority of these 
I ,'jiimals are not only harmless but useful, and as exter- 
in'nators of vermin deserve our protection. In the 
CJnited States about 170 species of snakes are known to 
occur. Of these, perhaps 20, including two coral snakes, 
the copperhead, the water moccasin, and twelve kinds 
of rattlesnakes are known to be venomous. The remain- 
ing 150 are non-venomous, and, as far as their bite is 
concerned, are to be regarded as harmless. 
, With the exception of thirteen species all of our harm- 
less snakes belong to a single family known to zoologists 
' as the Colubridm. The members of this group are char- 
1 acterized by having both jaws fully provided with teeth 
which are sharp, recurved, and conical, but not in any 
case specially enlarged and grooved or perforated (as 
are the fangs of all venomous species). The top and 
sides of the head are covered with large shields, the back 
is protected by medium sized, overlapping scales, and the 
I belly, from the throat to the vent is covered with broad, 
band-like plates. The tail is conical and tapering, and 
the plates which cover its lower surface are, almost 
always, arranged in two alternating rows. Within the 
family the genera and species are distinguished by the 
modifications of the above characters. The arrangement 
and number of the head shields, the number of rows of 
scales around the body, the number of plates on the belly, 
and lastly by the color and size. 
So far as habitat and habits are concerned these 
animals present the greatest variety. The little_ worm 
snakes seem to spend almost the whole of their time be- 
neath the stones and decaying vegetation of the forests, 
while the beautiful green grass snakes are very perfectly 
fitted for a life among the growing vegetation, and are 
often found coiled up in some low tree or are seen slip- 
ping about among its leaves. In the large blacksnakes, 
house snakes, and garter snakes we _ find species which 
move about a good deal in the daylight, pursuing their 
prey wherever it may happen to be and relying upon their 
own sw iftness to carry them out of danger. The water 
snakes, as their name indicates, live in the neighborhood 
of water, where they find the frogs and fish which con- 
stitute their food and into which they can retreat on the 
approach of an enemy. 
Of these snakes probably the best known, certainly 
the most frequently mentioned in the newspaper stories, 
is the blacksnake {Bascanion constrictor). It is one 
of our largest species, and perhaps the swiftest and most 
graceful. It is a long, slender animal, with a distinctly 
FORESt AND STREAM. 
marked head, and a slender, whip-like tail, which con- 
stitutes about one-fourth of the entire length. In color it 
varies among the adults according to locality, from a lus- 
trous black to lead color or yellowish olive, the darker 
varieties being found in the Eastern States and the yellow- 
ish ones in the Southwest, The young differ greatly from 
the adults. With them the ground color is grayish or 
greenish-brown relieved by a series of brown, black- 
bordered blotches on the back and numerous small, scat- 
tered specks on the sides and the head. Their color be- 
neath is greenisli-white, with three or four dark specks on 
each scale. They begin to assume the appearance of the 
adult when about 18 inches in length. 
It cannot be denied that the blacksnake is a bold and 
saucy animal, full of curiosity, and not at all reluctant to 
fight viciously if cornered. The reports of its powers, 
Fig, 1, — The Blacksnake (.Bascanion conslriclor). 
however, are so often grossly exaggerated that it has 
come to be much more feared than it deserves to be. 
The common belief that it will pursue a fleeing person 
who has aroused its anger may be based on fact, but the 
stories of its having caused death by squeezing have 
never been authenticated. Its antipathy to the rattlesnake 
is vouched for by several competent observers, and they 
all aver that in a fair fight the blacksnake is more than 
a match for its venomous adversary. Dr. Elliott Coues, 
in describing such an encounter, says that the blacksnake 
threw several coils of its body behind the rattlesnake's 
head and several more further back and then, by a power- 
ful muscular effort, tore the rattler in two. A family 
living in Mississippi once saw a blacksnake come crawl- 
ing up the steps of their veranda, as if in search of some- 
Fig. 2. — The Hognose Snake (Heterodon platyrhinos.") 
thing. Curious to know what it was after, they did not 
disturb it, but followed it quietly. The reptile went from 
room to room examining all the corners. At length it 
reached one of the bedrooms, and almost immediately 
there was heard the humming of a rattlesnake, which 
had by some means entered the house and secreted itself 
under the bed. Without a moment's hesitation a fight 
began, which did not end until the rattlesnake lay dead 
on the floor. It is needless to say that the blacksnake 
was allowed to go about its business with the best wishes 
of those who witnessed the encounter. Prof. A. E. 
Verrill, of Yale University, states that one of his students 
once caught a large blacksnake, which, on being choked, 
vomited a copperhead two feet long, and a few minutes 
later a large frog was disgorged. 
The ordinary food of this creature consists largely of 
small mammals, such as rats, mice, and ground squirrels, 
but it is also a great destrojer of birds, climbing to their 
Fig. 3,— The Watersnake Qfalrix fasciata.) 
nests and swallowing eggs or the young. The wild 
antics of the parent birds when their home is invaded has 
probably given rise to the notion that this snake has the 
power to charm the animals which it wishes to devour, 
and thus to deprive them of the power to escape. 
The ability to swallow morsels of the most dispropor- 
tionate size is as markedly a characteristic of the black- 
snake as it is of any other species. This is made possible 
by the extremely loose structure of the jaws, all the bones 
being held together by ligaments instead of firm sutures, 
so that when occasion arises the gap of the mouth 
can be stretched far beyond its ordinary size. The teeth 
are like recurved hooks, and by reaching forward alter- 
nately with the lower and upper jaws the prey is worked 
down the snake's throat. No previous lubrication is 
necessary, the idea that the snake first covers its victim 
with saliva being erroneous. 
On the approach of cold weather the blacksnake begins 
to search for some secure hiding place in which to lie 
torpid during the winter months, and as sometimes many 
as 
individuals select the same place, entwining together lot 
warmth, "balls of snakes" are formed, the_ finding and 
destruction of which are widely published in the news- 
papers. 
Sometime during ^ the summer, the exact tirne being 
unknown, the eggs are laid. These are about an inch and 
a half long and are covered with a white, tough parch- 
ment-like skin. When first hatched the young are nearly 
a foot in length. It is not known whether they are cared 
for by the parent or are left to shift for themselves. 
On the whole the blacksnake is a useful reptile, and by 
those who are able to let their knowledge of its va.lue 
outweigh their antipathy to snakes in general, is encour- 
aged to remain about the premises. The presence 01 a 
single one in a stable or corn crib will do more toward 
ridding the place of rats and mice than will half a dozen 
cats. 
One of the most interesting members of_ this group of 
harmless snakes, and a very common one in the Eastern 
States, is the hog-nose snake. It is also known locally 
as the dry land moccasin, blowing viper and spreading 
adder, all three names referring to its supposed veno- 
mous qualities. It is a snake of medium size, rarely ex- 
ceeding three feet in length, and in color varies from 
almost uniform black in soiiie specimens, to light yellow- 
ish-brown in others. The lighter colored individuals are 
always strongly marked with dark spots and irregular 
bars. It may always be easily recognized, however, by 
its nose, which bears a large scale, triangularly pointed 
and up-curved, so as to give the head a most peculiar 
appearance when seen either from above or in profile.^ 
When this snake is undisturbed it does not differ 
greatly in its general appearance from several other spe- 
cies, except that its body is rather short and clumsy, but 
let it be suddenly surprised by another animal and it 
begins a performance which one has but to witness to 
understand why it has been given its local names. It 
will flatten out its body until it is twice or thrice the 
ordinary width, and with violent blowings and hissings 
throw itself into a coil ready to strike. If the enemy is 
not frightened away by this demonstration the snake 
will lunge forward and appear to make every effort to 
bite. 
It seems to work itself into a frenzy and no animal could 
appear more dangerous, but if the investigator has cour- 
;is:e enough to continue his experiments he^ will discover 
that this snake is the greatest "bluffer" in the animal 
kmgdom. The author has repeatedly tried to get the 
hog-nose to bite him, but so far has been unsuccessful. 
The mad lunges seem to be delivered with a closed 
mouth, and even if a finger is purposely forced in among 
the teeth, the snake will not close the jaws. 
As a last resort the animal pretends to be dead, rolls 
over on its back, becomes nearly rigid, and with open 
mouth and protruding tongue lies motionless. It is 
amusing to notice that if turned right side up again it 
will quickly turn over, seeming to realize that a really 
. dead snake must lie on its back. It will remain in this 
condition as long as danger threatens, but as soon as 
safety seems assured will slyly creep away. This habit 
of feigning death has been observed many times, but it is 
possible that it is not practiced by every individual. Out 
of a lot of eighteen young, just hatched, three were ob- 
served to perform this act with all the ability of the 
adults, but the others could not be induced to try it. 
The hog-nose snake is most often found in dry and 
dusty fields, but is at times discovered in the neighbor- 
hood of the water. It feeds on frogs, toads, insects and 
probably various small mammals. We do not know as 
yet what use is made of the curious scale on the snout, 
but the theory has been advanced that it is employed in 
rooting up the ground in search of food. The eggs are 
laid during the spring or summer and hatch in the early 
fall. Various observers differ greatly in recording the 
number of eggs which may be laid, some testifying to 
over 80 and others to less than 25. Others state that 
the snake gives birth to living young, but this is to be 
doubted. When the young emerge from the eggs they 
are about 8 inches long and for a time they seem to be 
cared for by the adults. It is reported that when danger 
threatens such a brood the mother will seek to protect 
her babies by letting them run down her throat, an act 
seemingly very improbable, but one which in the case 
of certain other snakes at least, is now accepted as quite 
well authenticated. 
Even at the risk of tiring the reader, the author can- 
not close this brief account of the harmless snakes with- 
out mention of the group of watersnakes belonging to 
the genus Natrix. About twelve species are known from 
the United States, most of them occurring in the eastern 
and southern half of the country in the neighborhood 
of water. They are rather thick bodied and clumsy 
snakes, and are usually more or less blotched or striped 
with blackish on a ground color of oark brown. In 
several of the species the head is rather large, flattish, and 
quite well marked off from the bodyt They are vicious 
animals and when discovered and attacked on land flatten 
out their bodies and do. not hesitate to bite. Their ap- 
pearance and habits are so similar to the true water 
moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus) that the name "moc- 
casin" has come to be very generally applied to them, a 
fact which has undoubtedly led to much confusion among 
those who are not familiar enough with snakes to detect 
the mistake. As the next chapter will be devoted ex- 
clusively to the venomous snakes, it is not necessary here 
to enter into discussion of the differences between the 
harmless watersnake and the dangerous water moccasin, 
but it cannot . be out of place to say that the great 
majority of water moccasin stories in the newspapers 
are, beyond the shadow- of a doubt, based on the water- 
snake. 
In addition to the family Colubridce three other families 
of undoubted hannless snakes are represented in our 
country. In the extreme south and southwest an occas- 
ional specimen of blind snake (family Glauconiidce) is 
collected. They are all burrowing species of small size 
and have the eyes almost completely hidden by the head 
shields. The boas (family Boidm), so well known from 
the great boa constrictor and anaconda of the tropics, are 
represented in our fauna by two species which occur in 
the States along the Mexican border. They attain a 
length of four or five feet and may be known by the 
absence of the large head shields and by the vertical pupil 
o'f the eye. 
Two species of btunt-tailed snakes (family Charinidee\ 
