220 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



shot off. If we make some allowance for the necessarily 

 high coloring of the narrative and the exaggeration almost 

 inseparable from an account of an occurrence so strange 

 and exciting, there seems to be no good reason to doubt 

 that it took place in the main as related." 



The Charming or Fascinating Power of Poisonous 



Snakes. 



In his work "The Poisonous Snakes of North America' ' 

 Dr. Stejneger gives the following : 



"The popular belief in the power of the poisonous 

 snake to 'charm' its victims into a state of helplessness 

 is by no means exterminated. In spite of all that has 

 been argued and explained against it there are people 

 still who profess to have ocular proof of this power. Time 

 and again it has been related by trustworthy observers 

 how birds or small mammals have been seen to approach 

 the coiled snake, drawn toward it as by a magic spell they 

 were unable to withstand; how, under the influence of an 

 excitement which made them forgetful to everything 

 around them, apparently dreading the terrible fate await- 

 ing them yet unable to avoid it, they finally ventured too 

 near, only to be hit by the lightning stroke of the hitherto 

 almost motionless snake, whose only sign of life consisted 

 in the following of the 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 un- 

 fortunately embellished with such absurd details, evi- 

 dently 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 emitting fire, and 

 that the unfortunate victim finally darted directly into 

 the widely expanded mouth of the expectant reptile. 



"In spite of these extravaganzas, however, there is evi- 

 dently enough truth in the numberless observations of 

 this nature to keep the scientists busy trying to evolve 



