Further evidence of promiscuity is provided by the account of Ellicott (1880:207) who wrote regarding the eastern subspecies: "I noticed a ball of black snakes (_Bascanion constrictor_ L) rolling slowly down a steep and stony hillside ... about two miles above Union Factory, Baltimore County, Md. ... kept together by procreative impulses." It was stated that this observation was made in early spring. "Snake balls" have often been observed, and described in the literature; usually the snakes involved were garter snakes (_Thamnophis_) or water snakes (_Natrix_). Seemingly, typical aggregations consist of a single adult female and several or many males attempting to mate with her. There is a distinct possibility that the snakes involved in Ellicott's observations were misidentified. Sexual behavior of the racer is in most respects remarkably similar to that of the common garter snake, _Thamnophis sirtalis_, well known through the work of Blanchard and Blanchard (1942). In studying sexual behavior of racers, several observers have failed to differentiate between the different stages of the mating process, and have assumed that copulation was occurring when actually only the precopulatory behavior was observed. In an early description of courtship in this racer in Kansas, Brons (1882:365) stated that the female "at times, seems to toy with the male, indisposed to yield to his importunities, though pressed with ardor. To avoid his suit, at times, she will dart through grass, among stones, or enter a crevice. Should he be able to reach his mate while within a hole, he is not slow in bringing her to the surface, again to be repulsed. Upon an unbroken ground the sexual union is less prolonged. Here she is unable to free herself from his quick and effectively directed moves. In case she attempts to quit him, a coil is thrown about her body, and his head laid flat upon her neck, and replaced as promptly as dislodged, evidently in the endeavor to propitiate her." Another account probably based on courtship rather than copulation is that of Wright and Wright (1957:135), who described the behavior of a pair of _C. c. priapus_ on Billy Island, Okefinokee Swamp in southern Georgia, on May 8, 1921, as follows: "They were stretched out, more or less coiled ... the rear parts of the bodies from the vent were entwined. The female, or smaller one seemed to have its tail around that of the male. There were contortions or quiverings from time to time.... May 8, 1921: Jackson Lee saw black snakes entwined, the male seizing the female by the top of the neck."