Snakes.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 268, 9 November 1895, Page 4 (Supplement)

Snakes.

Sundowner's Storieh,

Interesting Stories,

(FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

London, September 20. An Australian who chooses to be known 88 'Sundowner,' haa broughb oub bhrough bhe ' European Mail' Office an entertaining libblo volume of snake sbories. His experience of rhoae reptiles haa naturally been gained principally in your part of the world. In hia preface he implies that he is a ' man of good character and reliability '— a fact which it is, perhaps, aa well thab hia readers should know. Whether even the moab exemplary character will suffice to carry off all the following yarns, we must leave bhe reader to decide. The Snake as Mother. Much discussion took place recently as to whether snakes were given to swallowing their kind. ' Sundowner' affirms thab when one of them ia hard pressed by its enemies and there are young ones playing about, the latter promptly crawl down their mother's throat out; of harm's way. He ! adds :—' I- ia painful to witness bhe agony of a mother snake sometimes when, in the flurry and excicemenb following the appearance of a man amongst a group of the reptiles, the offspring of some other snake accidentally take refuge down her throat, She has not bhe capacity to hold her neighbour's young and her own, of course, and when she has been filled upjvith strangers, and a couple of stray ones of her own ap- \ pear on the scene and clamour for admi--sion, ber position indeed becomes a trying one.' Her own offspring ia, in fact, often left to perish, while ahe reluctantly saves the lives of obhers which do not belong to her. 'Sundowner' thinks thab the maternal affections of snakes, whatever may be said of their poiaonous qualifications and biting propensities, entitle them to some consideration, and many will agree with him. Love-making Among Snake...

Snakee, according bo our author, make love to one another, and in a method which ia very pleading -. —' The graceful way in which a couple of youthful snakes will gambol, together on the gra«.s, twisting around each other, and hissing playfully and affectionately in each other's face, is a sight, once seen, to be long remembered. The sight is, of cource, a somewhat rare one, for as soon aa the intruder ia observed the buck anake immediately abandons hia love-making, and makes in tbe direction of tbe stranger with oil the savagery of hia nature displayed in bis flashing little eyes and hia fiercely protruding fangs. The traveller requires a good nerve and a longf stick when he ia attacked in thia way. The reptile is desperately in earnest, and no thought of injury to his body, or even death, will deter him from his puipoae of resenting the intrusion upon the sacrednena of his wooing.' If tho male snake should happen to be killed in the encounter, as is very often the case, 'the female will approach the dead body of her mate quite regardless of tho presence of his destroyer, and proceed to fawn upon the remains, and in a general way ostentatiously bemoan the fate of her comrade.' All ot which goes to prove that tho snake is not Buch a bud creature as he ia painted.

How Snake.. Fk;iit,

There seem to be various developments of the bump of combafcivenees among the Australian snakes. Some are arranb cowards; others assume a bellicose attitude upon any and every occasion. The ' tiger ' species is most given to fighting : — ' The traveller in the bush often come* across two " tigers " pegging away at each other for dear life. They are invariably so taken np with the quarrel that they may be openly approached andcaptured or killed at the intruder's pleasure. Sometimes the two belligerents will fasten on to each other's tail, and retain the grip with all the tenacity of a bull-dog hanging on to another's "hind leg. I have often caught them locked together in thia fashion, and have known them to remain in that position for several days at a time. When they chow any sign of relaxing, all that you have to do is to give one of them a amart pinch. He immediately blames ib upon hi 3 enemy, and redoubles his grip upon tho tail. The other, feeling the extra pressure suddenly put upon his tail, retaliates promptly in a similar manner, and thus the silent and deadly battle goes on.' Sometimes snakes in captivity are brained to right, and an owner will occasionally be found to ' back his " tiger " to fight any snake of bis inches in New South Wales.'

As the Old Snake Crawls, kc.

Although ready enough to attack their own species, snakes will only follow a human being for that purpose when bhe young brood happen to bo captured. Those engaged in enako farming make a point of hunting the young reptiles:—This hunting is only indulged in aba certain period of the year—that is. in the early spring, when the old enakea bring fche young ones out on the grass for exercise, and fco teach them how to crawl, catch flies, and ao forth. It ia a pleasing sight to see the old mother reptile coiled up on fche gras., looking on with a emile ab the young ones as they frisk about, attempting to crawl straight on their bellies, and rolling over in their vain attempts to imitate fcho older onea. The youngsters are apt pupils, however, and a very few days' practice under their mother's friendly and encouraging eye suffices fco bring them oub properly as efficient crawlers.

Snakes as Mesmerists

According to our author, the snake, as a general rule, is a very simple minded creature, and he tells an anecdote of «n old specimen ho once h<> ' which h. called 'the professor,' owing to l.<_ mesmeric qualifications. No small bird could come near him withoub falling a victim to his extraordinary powers of fascination, and cheeky little sparrows dropped into his clutch... by the dozen :—'But with all his craftiness in the mpetnerising line. " the professor " was as simple-minded and stupid in other matters as a snake could well be. Ono Christmas time some of the neighbours' boys purchased a toy in the shape of a brightly coloured hen sitting on her nest. The youngsters were well acquainted with " the professor " and his charming ways, and one afternoon, as the old snake was prowling round the~backyard, they contrived to place the imitation hen in a position where it was sure to - arrest his attention. The old crawler spotted it in due course, set himself

back for a meßmeric effort, and writhed and wriggled about for upwards of half an hour before he discovered the fraud thab had been perpetrated upon him.' Ib is not surprising to learn thab * bhe professor ' for some time afterwards waa very alow to ' take on ' any of the feathered bribe until he saw them move or ahow some signs of life. Experience beaches even snakes.