Show STORIES ABOUT SNAKES use ue of a 1 S ingersoll writing in the for july upon tho use of a rattlesnakes rattle asks what then i ii ij j the raison detre of this rattle it is not itself a weapon nor lias has it anything to do with the mechanism or cal act of the poison fangs a g for it is not heard when the stroke is 13 made in in a natural and unalarmed way for the sake of killing food the composure with which mice and squirrels els listen to his strong and characteristic te racket argues this b by y inference a as 8 showing that they do not connect the souna sound with any idea of harm if it is true that the tendency to make rattles in this is group of ophidians ns ni h has as been seized upon by natural selection aad and made functional then it seems to me that everything goes to show allow that this function is not foraging but is chiefly one of defense through a defiant wal warning riling and slid secondly a means of ca calling ailing the sexes together thus ministering to the propagation Z of the race fear or the restless desire for companionship companion companionship shit arc are the only influences that evo evoke e sounds from serpents or any other reptiles re tiles the batrachians ns may croak and pipe for fun but the bellowing oil of t the ee c pine snake the tile blowing of the hognose the hissing of the black and various grass snakes is only heard when they arc are calling to the other sex in the pairing season or when they are aro attacked the rattlesnake however has no voice can make none oft of these liese sounds with his throat so that his means of communication and expression are confined to his rattles es and alid the more you attack or annoy him the louder his expression of pl protest otest this is to be seen plainly with fresh captives full of alarm at confinement and observation A strong illustration occurred to me once when I 1 was one of a it party encamped in southern wyoming where these serpents were most plentiful among the sage brudi going a ft short distance from in my y tent one evening I 1 was sud suddenly duly moved to make a most active leap cap by the baleful whirr of a rattlers rattier rattle rj just ast beside me Reca regaining ining my composure and returning to the charge with my revolver in my hand I 1 found that liis his had betaken betoken himself to a gopher hole where I 1 could hear n lulled SL ing above the burrow caused cat I 1 sed the tune to assume a crescendo instantly whereupon I 1 sent down a long to further wake up the musician ll 11 his is rattling now was loud and rapid I 1 fired a second time and thes the song ong accelerated until all rattling blended into a steady buzz jel had hit lit him I 1 killed him it was evident so a third ball and stream of fire was ahot down tho the hole out of the report camo came a shrill high pitched humming which lold told of swifter vibration than even the buzzing had showed surely a snake was never more excited since tince the tile world began put speedily this came cam 0 feeble intermittent and soon ceased altogether so that I 1 concluded my shots allots had finally reached him with fatal deflect that the rattling of the answers the purpose of a call wo we know from the tile fact recorded in man many places that other rattle L snakes snaky es quickly respond and alid hasten toward the tile one ringing his alarum moreover in the latter part of the summer the snakes sometimes make the sound loudly and long when they have no apparent reason to be alarmed bur but by the argument from analogy can reasonably bo be supposed to be calling the appo a tesca ee sex that the rattling of one serpent in captivity lias has immediate cn act upon other within I 1 hearing carin 9 is is constantly observe dand in the cases where the young have been been to run ruu into the mouth of an nn old one for protection they ill appear to have been summoned and informed of their danger bv by hii signal the instant the snake 0 suspects danger tt it throbs itself into the coil of vantage and sounds ita its long roll varying theo alie swiftness swift nea nes of the vibration and the co loudness of its note its its apprehensions hen increase or diminish the tile noise itself may not be instinctively instinctive y fear inspiring nor perhaps is the prowling growling ofa lion but in each case experience has taught men and tho tile large quadrupeds that that growl and this rattle mean not only a willingness to defend but the certain ability to do harm th this is terrible tarri blo roen acine mee message sige clicked from the vibrating tail lias has caused causi ad many a man mail to turn back and give the snake a chance to escape and at tho the same time it ans h lq been a warning to all other within hearing to prepare for battle or seek safety in in flight though roan man and his hold arc are now the worst enemies of the rattle snaky ho he has various others principally lubrino co serpent r ants who delight in chasing an and ye killing him tho the chief examples are the blacksnake black snake and blue racer in the north several far western species and tho the king snake anake of the south leaping upon llie tile fleeing cill all and I 1 demoralized rattier rattler they seize hia his neck ju in their teeth and quick as thought wrap their folds about him hi n with crushing cru diina power 0 |