210 May 1749. 



its attention from the fquirrel, it went off 

 quickly, not flopping till it had got to a 

 great diftance. Why do the fqutrrels or 

 birds go away fo fuddenly, and why no 

 fooner ? If they had been poifoned or bit- 

 ten by the make before, fo as not to be able 

 to set from the tree, and to be forced to 

 approach the fnake always more and more, 

 they could however not get new ftrength 

 by the fnake being killed or diverted. 

 Therefore, it feems that they are only en- 

 chanted, whilft the fnake has its eyes fixed 

 on them. However, this looks odd and 

 unaccountable, though many of the wor- 

 thier!: and mod reputable people have re- 

 lated it, and though it is fo univerfally be- 

 lieved here, that to doubt it would be to 

 expofe one's felf to general laughter. 



The black fnakes kill the fmaller fpe- 

 cies of frogs, and eat them. If they get at 

 eggs of poultry, or of other birds, they 

 make holes in them, and fuck the con- 

 tents. When the hens are fitting on the 

 eggs, they creep into the neft, wind round 

 the birds, ftifle them, and fuck the eggs. 

 Mr. Bartram afferted, that he had often 

 feen this fnake creep up into the tailed 

 trees, after bird's eggs, or young birds, al- 

 ways with the head foremofc, when de- 

 fending. A Swede told me, that a black 



5 fnake 



