snake, and closely allied to it is the Texas rattlesnake, which is the
same in markings and color, but paler, as if faded out.

=Massasauga=

The massasauga is the rattlesnake occasionally found in the swamps from
western New York to Nebraska, but it is rare. Its color is light brown
with patches of dark brown its entire length.

=Copperhead=

The copperhead is not a rattler, though its vibrating tail amid dry
leaves will sometimes hum like one. (This is also true of the
blacksnake.) Its bite is very poisonous. It is found amid rocks and in
the woods, and is at home from New England and the Atlantic coast west
to Indiana and south to Texas. This snake is seldom more than three
feet long. Its color is light reddish-brown with bands of rich chestnut
which are narrow on the back and wide at the sides. The underpart is
whitish with dark spots on the abdomen. The head is generally coppery in
color but not always. In Texas the colors of the copperhead are
stronger, the bands and head are decidedly reddish, and the bands have
narrow white borders.

=Harlequin Snake and Coral-Snake=

The harlequin snake and the coral-snake are so similar in color and in
habits, one description for both will answer our purpose. They are
southern snakes, beginning in southern Indiana and extending south. They
are quite poisonous, but of such retiring habits as hardly to be classed
as dangerous. Most of their time is spent hidden under the sand and in
the ground, but when they do come out their colors are so brilliant as
not to be mistaken. On the harlequin snake the colors are bright
coral-red, yellow, and black, which alternate in stripes that encircle
the body. Its head is always banded with a broad yellow stripe. The
coral-snake is much the same in color, and only a close observer would
notice the difference. The coral-snake is also found in Arizona.

=Water-Moccasin, Cottonmouth=

The water-moccasin is ugly, and ugly all the way through. Its deadly
viciousness is not redeemed by any outward beauty. Its average length is
three and a half feet, though it is occasionally longer. Its unlovely
body is thick and the color of greenish mud; the sides are paler and
have wide, blackish bands. There are dark bands from the eyes to the
mouth and above them there are pale streaks. The top of the head is very
dark. The abdomen is yellow with splashes of brown or black. Heavy
shields overhang the eyes and give a sinister expression to their