THE KING-SNAKE 
343 
HARMLESS SNAKES OF THE UNITED 
STATES. 
Of the grand army of harmless snakes inhab- 
iting North America, the King-Snake' is un- 
questionably the king. It is also called the 
Chain-Snake and Thunder-Snake. It is the 
most courageous of all snakes, and in proportion 
to its size it is also the strongest. Toward man 
it is by no means especially vicious; but on the 
contrary, its manner is quite tolerant. 
Toward all other serpents, however, it man- 
ifests as great aversion as any snake-hating 
woman, and it is pugnacious and aggressive 
to an astonishing degree. The King-Snake is, 
for its size, the most powerful of all the con- 
strictors, and does not hesitate to attack a 
snake of another species several times larger 
than itself. It is cannibalistic in its tastes, and 
not only attacks and kills other snakes, but de- 
vours them. 
In our Reptile House, a snake of this species 
once attacked a Cuban boa, fully three times its 
own size, and tried to swallow it! Had not the 
boa been rescued, it would undoubtedly have been 
quickly suffocated by the coils which its antag- 
onist had wrapped tightly around its body. On 
another occasion a King-Snake that was placed 
for a very short time in the cage of the water moc- 
casins, attacked one of the latter, wrapped around 
it, and killed it. Several times the moccasin bit 
its assailant, but the King-Snake is immune to 
the venom of serpents, and paid no attention to 
the counter-attack. 
In some portions of the South, the King-Snake 
is believed to be a special enemy of rattlesnakes 
and moccasins, and on this account it is pre- 
served from general slaughter. It is well at- 
tested that it does sometimes kill and devour 
snakes of both those species. 
This bold serpent is found from Maryland to 
southern Florida, thence westward through the 
Gulf states to the Indian Territory, Texas and 
Matamoras, Mexico. Its average length is about 
34 feet, and it rarely exceeds 4 feet. From 
Maryland to Georgia it is a black snake with < 
thirty white bands or rings around it, and is 
called the Chain-Snake. Farther south its body- 
color is greenish, with white rings, and is called 
the Thunder-Snake. Its favorite food is rats, 
1 0-phi-bo'lus ge-tu'lus. 
mice, lizards, birds, and other snakes; but no 
frogs are eaten. 
It reproduces by laying eggs. In Texas, New 
Mexico and Sonora, Mexico, the Splendid King- 
Snake is found. In Arizona, California and 
Nevada occurs Bogle’s King-Snake, a conspicuous 
black serpent, marked by thirty broad, cream- 
colored bands. The latter sometimes predomi- 
nate so effectively as to give the snake a general 
cream-colored appearance, with black rings. An 
entirely black variety, without rings, is found in 
Indiana and Illinois. 
The Corn-Snake , 2 sometimes called the Red 
Racer, is one of the handsomest serpents in 
North America. Its general color-tone is mot- 
tled yellowish-red, or reddish-yellow. In detail 
its color-pattern consists of about forty squarish 
blocks along the back, each of which is dull 
KING-SNAKE. 
brick-red, with a deep margin of black, outside 
of which is a lighter ground-color. Its length 
is a little over three feet, and its form is slender 
and graceful. 
Like the king-snake, this serpent is a powerful 
constrictor, a good climber, and seldom is seen 
on the ground. In the fields and forests, it is 
usually found in or upon low bushes. It fre- 
quents the habitations of man, and the roofs of 
old out-buildings are its favorite hunting-grounds 
for rats and mice. It is fond of rats, and because 
of this is considered a useful ally of the southern 
farmer, by whom it is often called the Rat-Snake. 
(Raymond L. Ditmars.) 
2 Co-lu'ler gut-ta'tus. 
