Show HES POSSUM OF SNAKE TRIBE spreading adder seeks to terrify but really Is nothing more than a big bluff he a a sly creature this snake when he s discovered and trapped he 11 II make such a hullabaloo about it with his hissing and contortions that if you re not wise to the fact that he s only bluffing you re sure to be frightened says the philadelphia north ameri amert can it youre you re acquainted with him however and refuse to run hell give one final twist and roll over on his back just as though he had made up j f a his mind to die and save you the trou brou ble of killing him but don t be fooled he s only playing possum lies he s the spreading adder his ills tricks have resulted in all sort sorts of wild stories about him many peo pie believe lies he s poisonous because he ie spreads his head out flat and hisses then ahen he s disturbed As a matter ot of tact he couldn t hurt you it if you picked him up by the head he lie s only bluffing luf fing when he hisses then there a another story about the thel spreading adder to the effect that he will bite himself and tall fall over dead this belief comes from his habit of playing possum when he sees be he s cor and can t escape the spreading adder Is about thirty inches long a reddish brown and blotched and spotted he lie lives in dry woods and on sandy hillsides and eats toads and insects iles he s also called the blowing viper or the hog nosed adder |