------------------
THE bull snake, which is quite common on the Pacific coast, grows
sometimes to be quite large, but it is entirely harmless to human
beings.
[Illustration]
A Californian, being something of a naturalist, set himself to work to
tame one of these snakes and was able to teach Slippery Dick—the name he
gave his strange pet—many tricks. He taught him to come at call, to coil
up, to wave his folds about in imitation of dancing, and many other
tricks. He would coil up on the table, his head in the center of the
coil, elevated about six inches in the air. The gentleman would place
the handle of a small fan in his mouth, and then the snake would gently
wave the fan to and fro, and thus keep the flies from his master’s face.
He was as good as a cat to keep the old log house free from mice. He
often brought in ten or twelve in a day. His fondness for mice was his
ruin. It happened in this way: One day the gentleman missed Slippery
Dick, and though he hunted and called all day, he could not find any
trace of his pet. About a week after his disappearance, having occasion
to explore the loft of the cabin in which he lived, he came across the
remains of his old friend. Apparently he had been more mouse-hungry than
usual, and in his haste to satisfy his appetite had swallowed a live
mouse, which had gnawed its way through the snake’s body, thus causing
his death.
------------------------------------
[Illustration]