Wiley published two papers in the Bulletin of the Antivenin Institute of America that detailed her success with taming rattlesnakes: the first in 1929 on western diamondbacks and the other in 1930 on a species of pit viper. They believe you are friendly, before you are convinced they have no desire to bite.”
She later explained in a 1937 article called “Taming King Cobras” in Natural History Magazine that “ are not, as a rule, afraid to trust you first.
Wiley also cooed and spoke to her scaly charges, attempting to convey sympathy to them instead of fear. Gradually, as they became accustomed to touch, she found she could handle them with her fingers-even the venomous species. To tame her snakes, Wiley fashioned a petting stick padded with cloth that she used to stroke them. After the encounter with the rattlesnake that opened her eyes to the potential of all scaly creatures, she built up a private collection-chiefly snakes, but also seemingly unlovable creatures such as the venomous Gila monster. Having shown herself to be a capable and an enthusiastic naturalist, in 1923 Wiley took a post as the curator of Minneapolis's Museum of Natural History, a branch of the Minneapolis Public Library, where she oversaw a collection of reptiles. Based on these studies, she published two papers in The Kansas University Science Bulletin in 1922: “ Life History Notes on Two Species of Saldidae (Hempitera) Found in Kansas” and “ Notes on the Biology of Curicta from Texas.” After she received her bachelor’s degree in entomology, she went on research trips in Texas, collecting insects, observing them, sending specimens back to the university, and cataloguing her findings. Born in Chanute, Kansas, in 1883, she attended the University of Kansas to study insects. Wiley started her career as an avid entomologist.
Grace Olive Wiley holding a snake in 1935 / Hennepin County Library, used by permission
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