August, 1919 
415 
FOREST AND STREAM 
TIMING A RATTLE-SNAKE’S 
TAIL 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream : 
N O one but a fool scientist would have 
thought of it in the first place, and 
in the second place common sense would 
have come to the rescue of any one else; 
only he was such a nice, vigorous snake 
and rattled so obligingly; and we got 
some interesting results anyhow which 
we have sent to a dignified scientific 
magazine. But the story part, and a 
brief account of the facts, properly be- 
long to Forest and Stream. 
Hoover is his name, obviously because 
he is a food conservationist. He has 
been in Professor Dill’s laboratory at 
the University of Iowa for nine months 
and has steadfastly refused to eat of his 
own accord. About seven months after 
his arrival he was forcibly fed two Eng- 
lish sparrows, feathers, bones, and all, 
though he protested violently. Water is 
plentiful, however, and he sticks his 
head out and drinks like a cow. His 
fangs and poison glands have not been 
removed. 
Hoover came from Texas about nine 
months ago and is a diamond-back, five 
feet four inches in length. He has about 
ten rattles, though some have been 
broken off, and he gets a new one every 
six months when he moults. We dumped 
him carefully upon the floor after loos- 
ening the wire netting from one comer 
of his cage. Then, by judiciously hold 
ing a stick on his head and pinning 
him down, he was grasped just back 
of the ears by an assistant, who held 
on for dear life. Then, I myself, cour- 
ageously grabbed his tail and held on 
too. We took him to a table where we 
had some complicated electrical machin- 
ery and carefully connected him up with 
it so that we could get a permanent 
record of the lashing of his tail. 
After we had made one record, he got 
tired of rattling since, from his point 
of view, it did not get him anywhere, 
80 we turned him loose on the floor in 
order to arouse his wrath by catching 
him again. He very discourteously, 
started in my direction, and, directly and| 
immediately, I was standing upon the 
table, quite out of his reach, looking dis- 
dainfully down at him from my high 
vantage ground, glad of my agility, and 
exceedingly proud that no word of terror 
had passed my lips. 
Safely corralled again, we made an- 
other record and returned him to his box 
to sulk it out in peace and quiet. 
Now, if you would like to know some- 
thing about his tail. I’ll tell you. He 
vibrated it on the average once in thirty 
thousandths of a second, but he was not 
constant. The extreme range was be- 
tween ten and fifty thousandths of a 
second. Rather rapid, you think? But 
I expected better things of him. 
However, the vibrations do not make 
the tone; the movement merely jostles 
the rattles together and they give off 
their own resonant tone, which has a 
pitch about that of the C below middle 
c on the piano. This tone is practically 
independent of fhe rate of the tail. 
Mr. Dill has observed that Hoover, and 
probably all of his kin do not give a 
warning rattle when about to strike. On 
the contrary, he strikes first and then 
rattles, the further to terrorize his vic- 
tim, anxious to escape. The first strike 
probably rarely kills immediately. He 
also uses his rattle as a defensive weap- 
on, a signal to intruders to get out of 
the way. 
Hoover’s residence at college has 
taught him one fact at least. He has 
learned not to strike when in the cage, 
except under extreme provocation, since 
to do so means a violently bumped nose 
and no victim. 
Mabel C. Williams, Ph.D., Iowa. 
INFORMATION DESIRED 
We have received a number of letters 
from correspondents asking for the ad- 
dress of Mr. Ashley L. Houghton of Ore- 
gon. If he, or any other reader of 
Forest and Stream who knows his ad- 
dress, udll kindly send it to us we will be 
greatly obliged. — [Editors.] 
CANOEING ON THE CONNECTI 
C-UT RIVER 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream : 
I RE AD with interest the request in 
the June number of Forest and 
Stream for information in regard to 
the upper reaches of the Connecticut 
River. I am quite familiar with that 
country and for the benefit of parties 
wishing to make a canoe trip in that 
region will state that West Stewarts- 
town is as far up the river as anyone 
should attempt to go to start a trip down 
the river. Above Stewartstown the river 
is almost a continuous rapids until the 
Connecticut Lakes are reached. 
Below West Stewartstown, however, 
there are no rapids of any extent for 
nearly twenty miles — more than that, if 
you take the crooked course of the river 
into consideration. At about two miles 
above North Stratford a fall called 
Hyman’s Falls, is encountered, and for 
two miles canoeing is difficult. 
Below North Stratford there is a 
long stretch of level stream, extremely 
crooked; then comes Guildhall Falls (a 
short stretch only), then nearly twenty 
miles of fine canoeing ending at Fitzdale, 
Vt., where another fall is encountered. 
Below Fitzdale I have no personal 
knowledge of the river. Parties will 
find ideal camping conditions every- 
where. Farms are numerous all along 
the river and the people very friendly. 
There are pickerel, perch and eels every 
where above Guildhall Falls, and an oc- 
casional rainbow trout can be secured at 
the foot of falls or near the mouth of 
some small stream. 
At Colebrook, nine miles below Stew- 
artstown, several streams flow into the 
Connecticut, all of which contain brook 
trout in good numbers. I especially rec- 
ommend a trip to the upper reaches of 
Sim’s Stream for brook trout. Parties 
making this trip should obtain an auto 
to take them to the fishing grounds. 
Catfish are found everywhere along 
the river in the small lagoons. Below 
Guildhall Falls bass are quite plentiful 
and are not fished for much. It is an ex- 
tremely beautiful country and will well 
repay one for the trouble of the trip. 
I want to advise everyone who goes to 
Stewartstown to start, to lay over there 
one day and take an auto-trip to Con- 
necticut Lakes. It is an inexpensive trip 
and one that you will never forget or 
regret. 
Ernest A. Brown, Nashua, N. H. 
A ’COON HUNT 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream : 
O NE clear, sunny afternoon, during 
the latter part of October, 1918, 
while out squirrel hunting in the forest 
of southern West Virginia, the thought 
suddenly flashed into my head that the 
coming night would be a fine time for 
taking a scout in quest of old ring-tail. 
Hurrying home I lost no time in get- 
ting in communication with my friend, 
Frank Smith, a born lover of the wilds 
and a true admirer of coon-hunting. 
Frank was highly in favor of the adven- 
Posed by Ledieu. Photographed by Hendee. 
The rattler v/as grasped just back of the ears by an assistant. 
