"Because the light dust over which we are passing retains the heat of the sun longer than the soil by the road. Snakes are fond of dragging their forms over it, as it is soft, and keeps them warm during the night. I have known teams to be stopped, and obliged to seek a route on the prairie, simply because a large number of snakes were not disposed to yield the right of way.
"The first load that I ever carried to the mines, and when I was anxious to make as much money as possible in a very short space of time, I was stopped in this same way. I was jogging along one night, all alone, and urging my oxen to their utmost speed, when all at once the leaders shied out from the road, and then stopped. I cracked my whip, and roared at them frantically, but it was of no use.
"Forward they would not budge, and at last they fairly turned, and were making very good time towards Melbourne; but I soon stopped that game, and once more got them headed the way I wanted them to go. When they arrived at the spot at which they had balked a few minutes before, they went through with the same antics, and then I thought it best to see what was the matter. Walking forward, I was saluted with a hissing sound, that greatly resembled the noise which an enraged gander emits when a stranger trespasses upon his brood.
"I paused for a moment, and tried to discover, through the darkness, what occasioned the noise, but could not, although I thought I saw something moving not far from me. I retreated, quieted my cattle, took my lantern and gun, and walked back to the spot. By the light of the candle I saw about half a bushel of snakes, coiled up in a heap, and all alive with rage at being disturbed. I hardly knew what to do. There they were, and gave no indications of leaving the road; and I no longer wondered at the reluctance of the oxen in refusing to pass over them. Had they done so, it is very probable I should have lost every one of the animals, for they could not have escaped being bitten; and then they would have died in a few hours, and I should have suffered a great pecuniary loss.
"I had a quantity of fine shot in my wagon-box, which I used for small birds. I drew the charge I had in the gun, and instead of a bullet, put in about a handful of the shot, and then setting my lantern as near the mass of snakes as I dared venture, I retreated a few paces, and taking deliberate aim, fired at them.
"The charge made dreadful havoc, and dozens of them were killed and cast out of the heap by those unharmed; but instead of causing them to escape to the prairie, they only seemed more determined to dispute the right of way, and hissed and ran out their thin, forked tongues as though defying me to do my worst. Their eyes sparkled like precious stones, and by the light of the lantern I could see them change, as they moved their position to face me, and assume a hundred different hues. It was a terrible and fascinating sight, and for a few minutes I stood and watched them twist and writhe themselves into a thousand different shapes. Seeing that I should have to make a regular business at slaughtering them, I went to work after a while, and poured volley after volley into the mass, until not more than half a dozen escaped alive.
"Even after they were dead I could not get my cattle along the road until I had first taken a shovel and thrown the bodies a considerable distance from the spot. I never saw such a large collection of serpents before, and I have often wondered why they were gathered in such a mass."
"Have you ever arrived at any conclusion?" I asked.
"I have thought that they expected an attack from some enemy of the serpent tribe, and so formed themselves into that shape for resistance."