. The American natural history : a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America . Natural history. THE KING-SNAKE 343 HARMLESS SNAKES OF THE UNITED STATES. Of the grand army of harmless snakes inhab- iting North America, the King-Snake1 is un- questionably the king. It is also called the Chain-Snake and Thunder-Snake. It is the most courageous of all snakes, and in proportion to its size it is also the strongest. Toward man it is by no means especially vicious; but on the contrary, its manner is quite tolerant. Toward all other serpents, however, it man- ifests as grea
. The American natural history : a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America . Natural history. THE KING-SNAKE 343 HARMLESS SNAKES OF THE UNITED STATES. Of the grand army of harmless snakes inhab- iting North America, the King-Snake1 is un- questionably the king. It is also called the Chain-Snake and Thunder-Snake. It is the most courageous of all snakes, and in proportion to its size it is also the strongest. Toward man it is by no means especially vicious; but on the contrary, its manner is quite tolerant. Toward all other serpents, however, it man- ifests as great aversion as any snake-hating woman, and it is pugnacious and aggressive to an astonishing degree. The King-Snake is, for its size, the most powerful of all the con- strictors, and does not hesitate to attack a snake of another species several times larger than itself. It is cannibalistic in its tastes, and not only attacks and kills other snakes, but de- vours them. In our Reptile House, a snake of this species once attacked a Cuban boa, fully three times its own size, and tried to swallow it! Had not the boa been rescued, it would undoubtedly have been quickly suffocated by the coils which its antag- onist had wrapped tightly around its body. On another occasion a King-Snake that was placed for a very short time in the cage of the water moc- casins, attacked one of the latter, wrapped around it, and killed it. Several times the moccasin bit its assailant, but the King-Snake is immune to the venom of serpents, and paid no attention to the counter-attack. In some portions of the South, the King-Snake is believed to be a special enemy of rattlesnakes and moccasins, and on this account it is pre- served from general slaughter. It is well at- tested that it does sometimes kill and devour snakes of both those species. This bold serpent is found from Maryland to southern Florida, thence westward through the Gulf states to the Indian Territory, Texas and Matamoras, Mexico. Its avera
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