s well to wear
khaki leggins as a protection in case you inadvertently step too near
and anger the creatures, for in such cases they sometimes strike before
you have time to beat a retreat. According to Doctor Hornaday, the
poisonous snakes of North America are:

The rattlesnake,
Water-moccasin,
Copperhead,
Sonora coral-snake,
Harlequin snake.

=Rattlesnakes=

The rattlesnake appears to vary in color and markings in the different
localities where it is found, and there are fourteen or fifteen
varieties, but all carry the rattles, shake them warningly, and coil
before they strike. The rattlesnake does not want to fight and if you
keep at a safe distance it will glide off in another direction, but it
is safest not to venture within striking distance, which is said to be
two-thirds the length of the snake, even if the snake has not coiled,
for it moves quickly and strikes like a flash.

The rattles are at the extreme end of the tail and are composed of horny
joints. The sound of the rattle is much like the humming of a locust
(cicada). Rattlesnakes are often found sunning themselves on large
rocks, and stone-quarries are the chosen winter quarters where whole
colonies assemble. They are also found, during the summer, among
underbrush and in stubble-fields, where they probably go to hunt
field-mice and other small mammals.

[Illustration: BANDED RATTLESNAKE

POISONOUS

WATER-MOCCASIN

POISONOUS

RED-BELLIED WATER-SNAKE

STRIPED LENGTHWISE

HARMLESS

Poisonous and non-poisonous snakes.]

=Banded Rattlesnake=

The mountains of Pennsylvania are a favorite resort of the rattlesnake,
but, though I have passed many summers in Pike County, famous for its
snakes, the only live one I ever saw in that locality was in a box at
Rowland station. The men of our party occasionally killed one and
brought it to camp as a trophy, but one of our weekend guests spent most
of his time hunting the rattler that he might take its skin back to the
city, yet without success.

It is the banded rattlesnake that is usually found in Pennsylvania. The
color is yellowish and it is marked with irregular, wide bands of dark
brown. Sometimes the snake is almost black, and it is thought that it
turns dark with age.

=Diamond Rattlesnake=

The rattlesnake marked in diamond patterns of gold outline on brown is
of the south and is oftenest found in Florida. This is a very large