CO’JCORD 
1313* 
10 ' 
1 ck ::..ake 
and 
Deer House 
As I was strolling through our berry pasture at 
the Farm and near the and about 2 P. f*, I heard a shrill, 
zee-ing 
locust-like ~ ¥ee- lng which at once suggested that of a 
Dottle-snake and indeed was almost exactly like and posi¬ 
tively startling in its sharp, i .cisive quality, A second 
later I c ught sight of the tail of a Black Snake vibrating 
rapidly among dry leaves arid ’wood-stems at the edge of a 
thicket of hushes within two yards of me. Presently I made 
out the entire snake, a good-sized one perhaps 4 feet in 
length. His body was stretched out, his head towards me. In 
his jaws he held the head of a full-grown Deer Mouse still 
alive and kicking convulsively with all four legs. After I 
had stood still for a half minute, the - ke stop ed vibrating 
his tail : nd proceeded to swallow he Mouse. At each succes- 
• * 
sive gulp it afl.ip>ped further and further in and at the end of 
the fifth or sixth was lost to sight, the total time it took 
the Snake to accomplish this being less than & minute. Boon 
after this the Snake ya ned twice and then d.rted out his 
forked tongue. /hen I moved he resumed his tail motion and 
"rattling* 1 . At my second step forward he raised his head 
o foot or more above the ground and began gliding swiftly 
straight towards me.• Dhen I stepped back, he stopped and 
with head stil': elevated,fixed me with his glittering, 
basilisk eyes. Altogether his behavior was so impressively 
threatening that I was rather glad to leave him, as 1 did not 
