£84" ON THE FASCINATING FACULTY, &C. 



of lerpents, inJiabiting South-America, and other countries, 

 there is evolved in the ftomach, during the long and tedious 

 procefs of digeftlon in thefe animals, a vapour, or a gas, 

 * whofe odour is intenfely fetid. I have not, however, foimd that 



this is the cafe with the rattle-fnake, and other North-American 

 ferpents, that I have examined. But my own obfervations on 

 this head have not been very minute. I have made inquiry of 

 fome perfons (whofe {prejudices againft the ferpent-tribe are not 

 fo powerful as my own), who are not afraid to put the heads 

 and necks of the black-fnake, and other ferpents that are 

 deftitute of I'enomous fangs, into their mouths, and have been 

 informed, that they never perceived any difagreeable fmell to 

 proceed from the breath of thefe animals. I have been prefent 

 at the opening of a box which contained a number of living 

 ferpents ; and although the box had been fo clofe as to admit 

 but a very fmall quantity of freth air, although the obfervation 

 was made in a fmall warm room, I did not perceive any pe- 

 culiarly difagree ible efiluvium to arife from the bodies of thefe 

 animals. I am, moreover, informed by a member of this 

 fociety *, who, has, for a confiderable time, had a raftle- 

 fnake under his immediate care, that he has not obferved 

 and others to that any difagreeable vapour proceeds from this reptile. On 

 ftow that they ^j^g Q^j^g^ j^^j^^j^ however, it is aiferted by f)me creditable 

 perfons of my acquaintance, that a mod offenfive odour, 

 iimilar to that of flefli, in the laft ftage of putrefa6tion, is 

 continually emanating from every part of the rattle-fnake, 

 and fome other fpecies of ferpents. This odour extends, 

 under certain circumftances, to a confiderable diflance from 

 the body of the animal. Mr. William Bartram aflures me, 

 that he has obferved ** horfes to be fenfible of, and greatly 

 agitated by, it at the diftance of forty or fifty yards from the 

 fnake. They fhowed," he fays, " their abhorrence, by 

 fnorting, winnowing, and ftarting from the road, endeavour- 

 ing to throw their riders, in order to make their efcapef.** 

 This fa6l related by a man of rigid veracity, is extremely 

 curious; and, in an efpecial manner, deferves the attention 

 of thofe writers, who, like Mr. de la Cepede, imagine that 

 this fetid emanation from ferpents is capable of affefting birds, 



* Mr. Charles Wilfon Peale. 

 f MS. note, communicated to me. . 



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