Black snake

“ The fascinating power ascribed to the black snake is an error. When a snake is discovered in the vicinity of a nest, the male bird mounts a spray, and in great agitation flutters his wings in a threatening manner, till an opportunity offers of flying down to the attack. In these encounters the snake sometimes succeeds in biting the bird, and in injecting its venom, when the effect of the poison is so sudden, as to paralyse the further efforts of the latter; hence has arisen the supposed power of fascination, and the story of birds flying into the snake's jaws. ”

“ At the side of this savage hung a string of fresh scalps, and a gleam of exultation shot across his swarthy visage as he pointed to the gory trophies at his belt, saying:
"The Black Snakes scalps are fresh from his enemies; the fingers of the
Gentle Fawn cannot number them."
"The Fawn does not like the smell of blood," quickly answered the sensitive maid. "The Black Snake is a boy, and does not know his friends from his enemies." ”

“ The pathway is broad, but brown not green, as our woodland walks at home are wont to be. Perhaps we stop soon to wonder what lies yonder right in our path. It is as large and round as a small footstool, dark and glistening in the moon's rays. We have room to avoid it, and we do so, wisely, for its bite is deadly. It is the black snake, or water-snake, coiled up and asleep. By-and-by he will measure all his length on the ground, creep off to find a frog or lizard, and then back to his evil cave in some dark and damp recess. ”

“ The house snake, of which mention has been made above, is the coluber eximius of naturalists, and resembles, in form and movements, its fellow constrictor, the black snake. Its colours are beautifully arranged, and have a brilliant effect, the upper part of the body being clouded with brown and white, while the belly is marked with black and white lozenges, like a chess-board. This serpent, called in some parts of the States and Canada the milk snake, and sometimes the chicken snake, is often found in cellars and out-houses. ”

“ Can a black snake, by the aid of lamp light, fascinate two men, separated a distance of three yards, so that they lose all mastery over their actions, and are impelled, by a power that appears uncontrollable, to approach an object that they most dread on earth? ”

“ Possibly something of that feeling about serpents has survived in me; but in time, as my curiosity about all wild creatures grew, as I looked more on them with the naturalist's eyes, the mystery of the large black snake pressed for an answer. It seemed impossible to believe that any species of snake of large size and black as jet or anthracite coal in colour could exist in any inhabited country without being known, yet no person I interrogated on the subject had ever seen or heard of such an ophidian. ”

“ Now the Black Snake chooses precisely the same localities, knowing probably the haunts of its prey. The serpent begins the war by besieging the nest; the old bird, aware of its intention, attacks it with fluttering and uncertain motions, accompanied by a plaintive cry of distress, and is then said to be 'charmed.' The snake is at last either driven off, or it captures the young and not unfrequently the old bird too. ”

“ I have often noticed that while a gray snake will stretch itself out in the sun on a bare rock, a green snake never chooses such a post. Instead, the green snake extends itself on a bed of moss, or close, short grass, or if slim and light of body, will crawl up the midrib of a big leaf, or the stalk of a fern frond, where its color is scarcely discernible from the vegetation about it. A dark brown or black snake seems to know that it is tolerably secure lying upon a fallen, decaying tree-trunk. ”

“ At length, to our infinite satisfaction we saw the head of the venomous reptile drop towards the ground, and we no longer heard the rattle of its tail; still the black snake, which had from the first kept its sharp eyes intently fixed on those of the rattle-snake, did not appear satisfied that life was extinct, but held it in a fast embrace, carefully avoiding the risk of a puncture from its fangs. ”

“ The most common with us were the brown, black, and whip snakes, and the death-adder, all poisonous; and the carpet-snake, harmless. The brown and black snakes run from two to eight feet in length, frequent the long grass, chiefly in the neighbourhood of swamps, and from the snug way in which they coil up, and their disinclination to move, are highly dangerous. The latter is very handsome, the back of a brilliant black, and the under portion of a sea-shell pink. Their skin is sometimes used by bushmen as a cover to their waistbelts, which are much beautified thereby. ”

“ To some extent in the South, but principally in the Northern States east of the plains, the commonest black snake is the "black racer," which west of the Mississippi, instead of being pure satiny black, with white chin and throat, appears in a bluish green hue, often with yellowish belly, and is known as "blue racer." ”

“ Snakes are not numerous here. The black snake, diamond snake, and deaf-adder, a snake like the diamond with a very black head, and another black snake with yellow stripes. All of them are poisonous, but especially the one with the black head. The diamond with the black head and the striped ones live only in the Mallee. They live chiefly among the roots of trees. They can keep under water for a long time.
Fish.
The blacks have no particular reason to give why fish are plentiful at one time and scarce at another. They simply say, "This is not the time for fish." ”

“ During the time when the female is sitting, neither cat, dog, animal, or man, can approach the nest without being attacked.
But the chief vengeance of the bird is directed against his mortal enemy, the black snake. Whenever this reptile is discovered, the male darts upon it with the rapidity of an arrow, dexterously eluding its bite, and striking it violently and incessantly upon the head. The snake soon seeks to escape; but the intrepid bird redoubles his exertions; and as the serpent's strength begins to flag, he seizes it, and lifts it up from the ground, beating it with his wings ”

“ It is found from Texas eastward in the Gulf states. Its scales have a polished appearance and are blue black in color. It may be seen in sandy stretches. When feeding it holds its prey down with part of its body. It is not particular as to its diet and will eat birds with the same relish as cold-blooded frogs and toads. In the Central and South American countries this snake is highly valued as a "ratter" and frequents human habitations without fear. The Black Snake is abundant in the United States. ”

“ I beckoned to Mr Tidey and Dan, who ran forward to witness the operation, in which I knew they would be much interested. Of course we could quickly have put an end to the snake, though we could not have saved its victim. The reptile had got half the body of the squirrel down its throat, when I saw the long grass close at hand violently agitated, and caught sight of a large black snake moving rapidly through it. The two creatures were well matched as to size. It was the evident intention of the black snake to attack the other. ”

“ Thomas M. Upp, a close and long observer of wild things wishes it distinctly understood that while the common black-snakes and racers are practically harmless to birds, the Pilot Black-Snake,—long, thick and truculent,—is a great scourge to nesting birds. It seems to be deserving of death. Mr. Upp speaks from personal knowledge, and his condemnation of the species referred to is quite sweeping. ”

“ A big black-snake is not a pleasant customer, but neither—for a black-snake—is a frenzied mother with an iron fire shovel in her hand, and this particular snake turned tail, a great deal of it, by the way, since it extended to its head, and disappeared over the doorsill in a cataract of black and into the wood again.
From that hour the individual so beleaguered on a stool had been no friend of snakes. Talk about vendettas! No Sicilian feud was ever bitterer or more relentlessly pursued, as the boy increased in size and confidence. ”

“ There were, in the lowlands, the massasaugas; short, sluggish rattle-snakes, venomous but cowardly, and, finally, there were the black-snakes ranging everywhere, for no respecter of locality is bascanion constrictor when in pursuit of prey. Largest of all the snakes of the region, the only constrictor among them, at home in the lowlands, on the hill-sides or in the tree-tops, the black-snake was the dread of all small creatures of the wood. There was a story of how one of them had dropped upon a hunter, coiled himself about his neck and strangled him. ”

“ Throughout New Grenada, there are thousands of snakes, the bite of almost all of which is fatal. That of the black snake, the species so common and so innocent in the United States, is as poisonous here as the rattlesnake is there. ”

“ The ‘black snake’ of Australia, Hoplocephalus pseudechis, is one of the very active venomous kinds, whose motions in pursuit or escape are almost like leaps, and present the appearance of a hoop or circle. Reputed ‘hoop snakes’ are there also. The reptile rapidly extends itself to full length, then brings up its posterior portion in a loop, and so springs forward again, continuing to do this with amazing rapidity.
The most easy and natural convolutions of a snake are [185] lateral. ”

“ This serpent, coluber constrictor, is not furnished with venom, but disposes of its prey by pressure, like the rest of the constrictor tribe. Some writers state that the black snake, or racer, as it is called in some of the Western States, will not attack a man; but there are numerous well authenticated instances to the contrary. Daudin records that cases have occurred of its coiling itself around a man’s legs with such strength as to prevent him from walking, whence it was called le lien by the early French explorers. ”

“ The male sparrow had cheered me many a day with his song, and I blamed myself for not having rushed at once to the rescue, when the arch enemy was upon him. There is probably little truth in the popular notion that snakes charm birds. The black snake is the most subtle, alert, and devilish of our snakes, and I have never seen him have any but young, helpless birds in his mouth.
If one has always built one's nest upon the ground, and if one comes of a race of ground-builders, [57] it is a risky experiment to build in a tree. ”

“ His last flight will be short (pointing to the cataract) ; he will not need his wings, and the Gentle Fawn will soon learn to sing to Black Snake. The Fawn is an infant, and Black Snake will feed her on birds' eggs." Approaching with a noiseless step, he continued, in a lower tone: "The Black Snake will be a great warrior; he must build a lodge of his own whereon to hang his enemies' scalps (shaking them in her face) , and the Gentle Fawn will light his pipe." ”

“ Fearful that the lady, who was very nervous and delicate in health, might see the reptile, he induced her away on some pretext, and then despatched it. I do not think that these snakes climb trees, like the black snakes, but I have often seen them winding among the cucumber vines and tomato stalks in gardens. So far as being unprovided with poison apparatus, the house snake is a harmless reptile.
Innocuous, or otherwise, however, the members of the wily serpent tribe are anything but eligible bedfellows. ”

“ They are of the nature of Gascoign’s powders, and are an excellent remedy for complaints incident to children. The flesh of the snake also dried, and made into broth, is much more nutritive than that of vipers, and very efficacious against consumptions.
The LONG BLACK SNAKE. These are also of two sorts, both of which are exactly similar in shape and size, only the belly of one is a light red, the other a faint blue; all the upper parts of their bodies are black and scaly. ”

“ They are remarkably agile in their motions, and of some, as the Black Snake (Coluber constrictor) of North America, the fleetness on the ground is reported to be equal to that of a horse. Many of them climb about trees in search of prey, and are often seen lying along upon the branches, with the foreparts hanging down, or gliding from bough to bough; and there are some species (Leptophis) of great length and tenuity, distinguished by their bright colours and changeable metallic reflections, which spend their lives among the foliage of trees. ”

“ The bite of the black snake is slightly venomous, but that is all; as to the great yellow one, it is perfectly innoxious, and so timid that it always runs away from you. The only dangerous species of serpent is the Whip-snake, so called from its exactly resembling the lash of a whip, in length, thinness, pliability, and whiteness ”

“ But, oh dear me. Just as they drew up at the front gate, they saw the Ragged Rabbit Giant behind the house. "Oh, dear," said the little girl. "He will pick off all the lovely ribbons. What shall I do?"
Well, just then, all of a sudden, a big tremendous long snake crawled out from behind a tree. And in the next story, you shall hear what happened after that.
THE BIG BLACK SNAKE
"I'm as strong as an iron rope
I can bind a giant fast;
If I coil like a belt around his waist,
I can make him breathe his last,"
sang the Big Black Snake just as I finished the last story. ”

“ There is also a large hooded snake in India, but rarely seen in Ceylon, that is a great devourer of snakes, and he will swallow his own brother as readily as any other serpent."
FIGHT BETWEEN A BLACK SNAKE AND A RATTLESNAKE.
"We have no snakes in America," replied the Doctor, "that live on their kindred, but there are several of our reptiles that show a great [Pg 241] hatred for each other. For example, the rattlesnake and the common black snake of the Eastern States are far from friendly, and when they meet there is pretty sure to be a battle. ”