The "upland moccasin" of the South is the "pilot" or "copperhead" of the North, where it still exists in forested and rocky districts from Connecticut and the Great Lakes to Texas, and is particularly abundant in the rough hills beside the Hudson River, and thence southward along the Alleghenies. Its general hue is yellowish brown, becoming chestnut or coppery red on the head and end of the tail, which terminates in a hard point. Along the back, meeting irregularly on the midline, are chestnut-hued blotches that divide on the sides, forming inverted Y's; the belly is yellowish with distinct black blotches, leaving the throat clear. After one has seen a copperhead he is not likely to confuse it with the milk snake or any other. Its haunts and habits are much the same as those of the eastern rattlesnakes, nor do I consider it any more aggressive in spite of a rather over-blackened reputation, nor so deadly in the effects of its weaker venom. It is bad enough, however, and should be killed on sight wherever children or pet dogs are likely to meet with it. This upland moccasin is named in science Ancistrodon contortrix; its brother species, the water moccasin, is A. piscivorus.
The moccasin is a larger, heavier snake than the copperhead, and a dweller in the sluggish rivers and swamps of the Gulf States and northward to North Carolina and Kentucky. The moccasins commonly lie on the branches of bushes at the edge of the water; and if escape from danger be possible they quickly drop into the water and swim away beneath it to some hiding place. If suddenly surprised they coil and open the mouth widely toward the intruder, showing its white interior that has given them the name "cotton mouth" among the darkies, who fear them greatly, especially as they work in the rice fields. Mexico has a similar species.
Closely allied to the copperhead and moccasins are two very dreadful snakes of the American tropics—the "fer-de-lance" of the French islands of the West Indies, and the "bushmaster" of Brazil. The former reaches a length of six feet, and the bushmaster, or surukuku, as the Indians name it, to twice that length, thus rivaling the great viper of India. Both have all the ferocity and power of their race exaggerated to the limit, and hundreds of human lives are sacrificed to them every year. Every traveler has thrilling tales about them. Leo Miller, a cool-headed man of science, takes very seriously the fear this creature inspires. He reminds us that a bushmaster ten feet long has fangs an inch and a half long, and injects nearly a tablespoonful of poison at a single thrust. A man would survive such a dose but a few minutes. When once a bushmaster fell from a tree branch into his canoe everybody in it sprang overboard, and some narrowly escaped drowning. Such deadly creatures would make the tropical world unendurable were it not that most of the time they are sluggish and peaceful; but a little fright, or a protective instinct in regard to their eggs, sets them off with the suddenness of a released spring.
In taking up the rattlesnakes we have a sure guide in Dr. Leonhard Stejneger's "Report," describing all the species of North America (the group Crotalinæ is confined to this continent, Central America, and a single species in South America). The special peculiarity of the group is the queer "rattle" (crotalus) at the end of the tail. This consists of a series of loosely connected, somewhat cone-shaped, horny capsules, each of which originally covered the terminal vertebra of the tail. On sloughing the skin this covering remains, but is soon pushed away by the new capsule formed beneath, and partly within it, which in turn is pushed out and replaced by a third, and so on, until sometimes a dozen remain linked together; and when the serpent vibrates its tail, as most snakes do when excited, they rattle against one another, the tone of the "music" rising as the excitement, and speed of vibration, increases. The sloughing is irregular as to frequency, however, especially in young individuals, and may not always produce an addition to the rattle, and the appendage itself may be broken, so that the number of pieces, or buttons, in the rattle is not a trustworthy measure of the age of the snake.
The smallest of the crotalids are the ground rattlers (genus Sistrurus), of which we have two species, and there is one in Mexico. The northern kind, widely known by its Indian name "massasauga," ranges from eastern Pennsylvania and Ontario to northern Minnesota and Kansas, and thence to Texas. The Southern States have a second species commonly called "ground rattler." Both are grayish brown with chestnut or darker dorsal blotches, and are inhabitants of the prairies, with their swamps and marshes. The largest do not exceed forty inches, and their bite is correspondingly weak in effect.
The remainder of the rattlesnakes belong to the genus Crotalus.
The commonly seen species of the region east of the dry plains was named Crotalus horridus by Linnæus, and this is one of the few instances in which his name has defied change by the systemists. It formerly was to be found as far east as central Massachusetts, but there, as elsewhere, civilization has killed it off, so that now it survives only in the Appalachian glens, and in thinly settled tracts farther west and south. Its general color above is yellow-brown, below nearly white; and the body is banded with blackish, the bands taking a zigzag form behind the neck, and the tail is black. It rarely exceeds a yard in length, and is, as a rule, timid and nonaggressive; but a good deal remains to be learned about its habits and breeding.
Far more formidable than this is the diamond-back (C. adamanteus) of the low, coastal region from North Carolina to the lower Mississippi River and throughout Florida, where it is far more common than is desirable. This rattler may exceed eight feet in length, and has corresponding power of harm. It is partial to the neighborhood of water, where its ground-running prey is most numerous; hence it is frequently spoken of as the "water rattlesnake," to distinguish it from the banded species, or "timber rattlesnake" of the same region, which is more habituated to forested districts, with rocks. A race of C. horridus, usually large and vicious, exists in the coast swamps, and is locally called the "canebrake rattler." The diamond back itself takes its name from the lozenge-shaped patches of dark color formed on its upper surface by the crossing of diagonal narrow bands of bright yellow on a greenish gray ground. The literature relating to this terrifying snake would fill hundreds of pages. Raymond L. Ditmars of the New York Zoölogical Park, gives this description:
"Most deadly of the North American poisonous snakes, and ranking in size with the largest of the tropical venomous serpents of both the New and the Old World, this huge rattlesnake, with its brilliant and symmetrical markings, is a beautiful and terrible creature. Ever bold and alert, ever retaining its wild nature when captive, there is a certain awe-inspiring grandeur about the coil of this formidable brute; the glittering black eyes, the slowly waving tongue, and the incessant, rasping note of the rattle.... The mere vibration of a step throws the creature upon guard. Taking a deep inhalation, the snake inflates the rough, scaly body, to the tune of a low, rushing sound of air. Shifting the coils to uncover the rattle, this is 'sprung' with the abruptness of an electric bell. There is no hysterical striking, but careful watching, and if the opportunity to effect a blow with the long fangs is presented, the result is generally mortal."