350 
ORDERS OF REPTILES— SERPENTS 
The slow vibration of a large set of rattles gives 
a sort of clicking sound, but when the wearer 
is thoroughly alarmed and angry, the spiteful 
“whirr” sounds like meat frying. The motion 
then is so rapid the eye cannot follow it. 
Rattlers are not fond of bathing, but when 
swimming is necessary they swim well. The 
species which live in the North, pass the cold 
months in burrows below the frost line, either 
in the earth, or among rocks. If the situation 
chosen proves to be a cold one, the serpent be- 
comes so torpid that it seems lifeless. 
I once found a Prairie Rattlesnake abroad in 
northern Montana on October 10, two weeks 
is the skin of the largest individual known to me. 
The wearer measured, before it was skinned, 
8 feet 5 inches, and its girth at the thickest part 
of its body was 1 foot 3 inches. 
This brown-and-gold species is most at home 
in Florida, on clean sand, among the cabbage- 
palmettos, saw-palmettos, and long-leafed pines. 
Although it rarely takes to water, it is some- 
times called the Water-Rattler. It ranges 
northward into the Carolinas, westward through 
the Gulf states to the Mississippi River, and 
probably beyond. In Texas begins the home 
of the big Texas Rattlesnake , 2 of the same size 
and appearance as the Diamond, color-pattern 
New York Zoological Park. 
DIAMOND RATTLESNAKE. 
after the first fall of snow. When brought to a 
realizing sense of its weakness and unworthiness, 
it crawled into a hole like a shallow post hole, 
and lay on the bottom completely exposed. 
This species is very wise in sheltering in the bur- 
rows of the prairie-” dog,” but where none of 
those are to be found, the wash-out holes in cut 
banks can always be relied upon to furnish warm 
shelter for Rattler, bob-cat. or wolf. 
The Diamond Rattlesnake 1 is a royal ser- 
pent, the largest of the rattlers, and the hand- 
somest snake in North America. A specimen 
6 feet long, in good condition, will be accepted 
anywhere as a large one, but the largest speci- 
mens far exceed that size. At Oak Lodge, 
Florida, in the possession of Mrs. C. F. Latham, 
1 Cro'ta-lus ad-a-man' te-us . 
and all, but of a very light color, as becomes a 
serpent of the arid regions. 
In captivity the Diamond Rattler is, like all 
members of its genus, a timid and erratic feeder. 
Unless all conditions are entirely to its liking- 
perfect quietness, choice food, and no one look- 
ing, it will not swallow a morsel. When its 
views on the subject of food and service have 
been fully met, it will partake of a young rabbit, 
a rat or a guinea-pig. 
The Timber, or Banded, Rattlesnake 3 of 
the eastern United States shows a wide range in 
color, varying from a handsome sulphur yellow 
to brown, and finally to almost black. Young 
specimens are always lighter in color than old 
ones. One of the popular names of this creature 
2 Cro'ta-lus a’trox. 3 Cro'ta-lus hor'ri-dus. 
