IN our boyhood the bears and panthers were mostly killed out, but there was a great many wolves and wildcats, but we did not fear the wild animals half so much as we did the rattlesnake and spreading viper, both of which was very plentiful, especially the rattlesnake; while the other snakes would run away, they would coil up and make ready to strike. The timber rattlesnake grew to be very large, I have seen them at least four feet long and very thick to their length, but the spots on them were a bright copper color and they were easily seen; the prairie rattlesnake was much smaller, of a dirt color, and hard to see.