POISONOUS SNAKES OF NORTH AMERICA. 393 



sign of life consisted in the following of tlie victim's mad efforts 

 with the staring eyes and the incessant darting out and in of the 

 rapid tongue. Many of these blood-curdling tales are unfortunately 

 embellished with such absurd details, evidently the children of an 

 inflamed imagination, as to throw discredit on the whole story. It is 

 not uncommon to hear it stated that the eyes of the snake were emit- 

 ting fire, and that the unfortunate victim finally darted directly into 

 the widely exijanded mouth of the expectant reptile. 



In spite of these extravaganzas, however, there is evidently enough 

 truth in the numberless observations of this nature to keep the scien- 

 tists (whose duty it is to doubt and dissect all these things) busy try- 

 ing to evolve a theory by which to explain so much of the stories as 

 appeared worthy of being admitted as facts. Old as the stories are, the 

 explanations and theories of the doubters are not of y^esterday either. 

 One hundred ami forty years ago Peter Kalm, a Swedish naturalist, 

 and pupil of Linnaeus, wrote a detailed and, considering the time, accur- 

 ate and interesting account* of the Rattlesnake, based upon his experi- 

 ence during his travels in Eastern North America, in which he gives 

 an elaborate description of how the fascination is said to take place. 

 He then continues as follows: 



This is the story as commonly told by the inhabitants of North America, both by 

 the common people and by the better classes, by the ignorant as well as by the 

 learned. I myself have never seen it, and have even now great difficulty in believ- 

 ing it. Among the many hundreds who have* told me of it not more than ten or 

 twelve asserted that they had seen it with their own eyes. However, among these 

 there were some men so trustworthy, and their accounts agreed in most particulars 

 so well, that I almost gave w]} all doubt as to the truth. 



I have attempted to explain this alleged charm in this way : I have seen in America 

 how numerous birds in the woods were running on the ground in search of food and 

 so tame that a man could approach very close; they might in the same manner get 

 too near to the snake, which is lying quiet and thus might easily have a chance to 

 strike them; the bird is unable to get away farther than the nearest tree, where it 

 is obliged to rest and tinally falls down, the snake now seizing its prey. This exjila- 

 nation was particularly suggested to me by the story told me by a woman in America, 

 who had once seen a rabbit running across tiie road, then suddenly stop and fall 

 down as if crazy. She then saw a Rattlesnake which had followed the rabbit, but 

 she did not take time to observe what followed. We often see that when a cat is 

 out hunting, the little birds collect about him from some distance, uttering a certain 

 cry. If the bird has its nest in the neighborhood, the greater noise it will make and 

 the nearer it will approach. The cat walks quietly along, as if it does not concern 

 him at all ; the bird becomes the more daring ; it a^jproaches nearer and nearer till 

 it comes within reach of the cat, or even darts down upon his back; that is the 

 opportunity of the cat to grab it. Some small birds in America, not at all afraid or 

 having their nest near the roadside, often act in the same manner at the approach of 

 man, often flying almost direct in the faces of the passers-by. As the sparrows pursue 

 the hawk, thus small birds make outcries at their enemies and become more daring 

 the quieter the latter are; the same, possibly, takes place with the fascination of the 

 rattlesnake. Or may it be that they approach too close out of curiosity, since his 

 eyes glitter and burn like fire when angry or when said to be fascinating? Or is it 



* Sv. Vetensk. Acad. Handl., xiii, 1752, pp. 308-319; xiv, pp. .52-67; pp. 185-194. 



