THE FREELAND TRIBUNE — MAY 6, 1895
QUEER TEXAS SNAKES ♢ Some Climb Trees and Rob the Nests of Birds ♢ How a Yellow Racer and a Hoopsnake Had Lots of Fun Together—The Opossum Snake Feigns Death When It Is Touched.
“There is a species of whipsnake in the Lone Star state, the male of which is jet black and the female pea green,” said a former resident of Texas. “They are long, slim reptiles, and they climb trees and rob birds’ nests with remarkable celerity.
“The yellow racer of Texas is another interesting snake. When he crawls his movements are from side to side, but when he races he undulates, with his head several inches in the air, and he can get over the ground almost as fast as a jack rabbit. You will often see a yellow racer chasing a red-bellied hoopsnake, and vice versa. Sometimes you will see them racing side by side neither seeming to try to outspeed the other, and both getting over the ground for the fun of the thing. The most amusing snake race I ever saw out there was between a hoopsnake and a racer. There was a big bulge in the hoopsnake's body, evidently caused by a large toad in his stomach, and he wabbled so that every little while he would lose his balance and tumble side-ways. The racer also had a large lump in his body, but it didn't bother him much in traveling, and he stopped and waited whenever the hoopsnake tipped over. The hoopsnake would look up and start in again, and he and the racer covered more than two miles in that way, going ahead of the horse I was riding.
