FASCINATING POWER OF SERPENTS. 53 



windings. After a smart pursuit, the dog found himself left 

 considerably behind, in consequence of the water deepening, 

 by which he had been reduced to the necessity of swimming. 

 But instead of following this desperate game any longer, he 

 readily gave it over, and ran with all his speed directly down 

 the river, till he was sure of being again to seaward of the 

 salmon, where he took post as before in his pointer's attitude. 

 Here the fish a second time met him, and a fresh pursuit 

 ensued ; in which, after various attempts, the salmon at last 

 made its way out to sea, notwithstanding all the ingenious 

 and vigorous exertions of its pursuer. 



" Though the dog did not succeed at this time, yet I was 

 informed that it was no unusual thing for him to run down 

 his game; and the fishermen assured me that he was of very 

 great advantage to them, by turning the salmon toward the 

 net." — Hamilton's Letters on the Coast of Antrim, 1790. 



ON THE FASCINATING POWER OF SERPENTS. 



The folllowing is an abstract of a paper by Dr. Barton, which 

 appeared in the American Philosophical Transactions. 



Every one is acquainted with the power ascribed to the 

 rattle-snakes and other American serpents, of fascinating 

 birds and small animals, such as the squirrel, and of depri- 

 ving them of the power of escaping their magic influence ; 

 and which thus enables them to capture animals that other- 

 wise would seem to have been placed entirely out of their 

 reach. The unhappy animal is described as running up and 

 down the tree, always going down more than it goes up, till 

 at length it is drawn nearer to the snake, whose mouth is 

 open to receive its victim. The poor little animal runs into 

 the snake's jaws, uttering a piteous cry, and is immediately 

 swallowed. This is the manner in which this fascinating 

 power is exerted, as related by different authors. And this 

 story has been repeated by naturalists in their histories of 

 serpents. They seem credulously to have believed the ac- 

 counts they received, and to have taken them for granted 

 without sufficient examination. Linnaeus says that this power 

 was given to the rattle- snake as a compensation to it for the 

 slowness of its motion. He seems to have received this tale 

 from some of his pupils, and does not assert that he was ever 

 the eye-witness of the fact. The existence of this power 

 would be readily believed in by the uninformed, who always 

 give credence to any tale of wonder. 



Where this belief originated, is unknown. Perhaps some 



