28 
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 
THE GILA MONSTER 
This and a closely allied Mexican species are the only known poisonous lizards. The fangs are in the 
lower jaw 
absorb water and swell accordingly. This water 
serves them the remainder of the year. An 
active species of lizard—the swift—darted like 
gray streaks over the rocks. 
Our progress continued over the rocks up¬ 
grade and into Palm Canyon. Immediately in 
front rise the formidable slopes of a mountain 
composed absolutely of shattered rock. The 
whole picture quivers with ascending heat waves 
as the car toils up the sterile grade. The car 
tops a slight rise and an almost unbelievable 
panorama is flashed into view. A procession of 
stately palms stretches through the canyon, and 
placidly murmuring among their broad bases is 
a stream. These palms are hundreds of years 
old. How they ever sprang into being in that 
strange spot is a mystery. Some are date palms. 
We noted two-foot masses of hanging dates. 
Palm Canyon was our destination. Within a 
minute after arrival the writer stepped on a 
drab-colored rattlesnake that buzzed angrily 
and caused us all to jump, then flung itself into 
a crevice. 
There are several species of serpents that 
thrive in these desert canyons. One of these is 
the red racer, a whip-like, coral-red creature 
attaining a length of six feet that wanders out 
over the open wastes and is extremely difficult 
to capture. Its speed is like that of an arrow 
and it has little difficulty in capturing lizards 
that run so fast they appear like a streak and 
in stopping seem to utterly disappear. Another 
serpent of the open is a curious rattlesnake 
commonly called the Sidewinder. Here is a 
SPINY SWIFT 
Exceptionally rapid in movement 
THE SIDEWINDER RATTLESNAKE 
One of several species found in the deserts 
