THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
209 
The Bull Snake {Pity op his melanoleucus) , more commonly called the cow- 
snake , is also an inhabitant of the Middle States, where it grows to a length 
of more than seven feet. The name is given out of belief that the reptile will 
spring upon a cow and while whipping her with its tail will drain her udder. 
I have often heard people declare that they knew of instances where cows have 
been ridden to death by this reptile, and their bags sucked until nothing but 
blood would be yielded. This is of course an idle fancy, with no more 
foundation than the belief that there is a reptile called hoop-snake that takes 
its tail in its mouth and goes rolling on a straight line like a hoop until 
it strikes the object of its wrath, when it launches forth a horn that is upon 
the head with direful results. A stroke of this horn, it is said, will blast a tree 
or kill any animal. 
The bull snake feeds off frogs, rats, squirrels and birds. It is a good climber, 
and, like the blacksnake, is often 
found in bushes in search of 
birds’ nests. But so timid is 
the nature of this reptile that 
it will retreat before the assaults 
of the birds it attempts to rob, 
especially if the attacking force 
be re-enforced as frequently hap¬ 
pens. The markings of this 
snake are quite handsome, its 
body being covered with gray, 
irregular spots with brown bands 
between. 
The Common Blacksnake 
{Coluber constrictor) is one of 
the most common snakes in the 
United States, and is found 
everywhere from the British 
possessions to Mexico. It is of 
a lustrous solid black color, and 
a slaty gray underneath. To 
this species belong the blue 
racer and coach whip , which are 
no doubt one and the same. The 
blacksnake is courageous only when he discovers that his presence has excited 
fear, and has been known to pursue a fleeing person, but he is an arrant 
coward in the face of resistance. They grow to a length of six feet and are 
most graceful and active in their movements, being able to crawl at great 
speed. It is usually found in the woods and prefers dry places, though I have 
frequently met them in ravines, but generally on bushes, which it climbs with 
facility in quest of eggs and young birds. 
The King Snake {Coluber rex) is also common to the Western and Mid¬ 
dle States, where it is frequently confounded with the chicken snake, which it 
very much resembles, though its body is much slimmer. This snake derives 
its name from the implacable hostility it manifests to all other of the ophidian 
species. Nor are its attacks confined to the non-venomous, for I once saw a 
T4 
COW SNAKE ATTACKED BY BIRDS. 
