ASCRIBED TO THE RATTLE-SNAKE, &c. 97 



this faculty as fome other fpecies of ferpents. Of this, 

 at leaft, I am certain, that perfons refiding in our coun- 

 try-fituations tell as many wonderful tales of the bewitch- 

 ing eyes of the black-fnake, the coluber conftridlor cf 

 Linnxiis, as they do of the boiquira, or rattle-fnake. 

 Now let it be fuppofcd, for a minute, that the poifon of 

 this latter ferpent, when thrown into the body of a bird, 

 a fquirrel, &c. is capable of producing, in thefe animals, 

 thofe piteous cries, thofe lingular movements, thofe tre- 

 mulous fears, which are mentioned by Kalm, by de la 

 Cepede, and by other writers, — in what manner are we 

 to account for the fimilar cries, movements, and fears, 

 in thofe birds which are frequently feen under the fafci- 

 nating influence of the black-fnake ? For we Americans all 

 know, that the bite of the black-fnake is perfedly in- 

 noxious. This, indeed, is alio the cafe with the greater 

 number of the fpecies of ferpents that have, hitherto, 

 been difcovered in the extenfive country of the United 

 States. And yet almoft every fpecies of ferpents is fup- 

 pofed to be endued with the power of fafcinating fuch 

 animals as it occafionally devours. 



Thefe fails, and this mode of reafoning, certainly in- 

 volve, in fome difficulty, Mr. dc la Cepede, and thofe 

 writers who efpoufe his opinion, which I have ex- 

 amined, under the firft head of my objedions. An at- 

 tempt is made to account for the imaginary fafcinating 

 faculty of the ferpent from the powerful influence of a 

 fubtile poifon. But, upon inquiry, it is found, that the 

 power of bewitching different animals is not an exclufive 

 gift of thofe ferpents which nature has provided with en- 

 venomed fangs : it is a gift which as extenfively belongs 

 to that more numerous tribe of our fepents, whofe bite is 

 innocent, and whofe creeping motion is their only poifon*. 



* If there is any impropriety in this mode of exprcffion, the impro- 

 priety has its fource in my feelings, with refpeiit to ihe ferpents. Perhaps, 



