366 Next to the Ground 



wide over woodlands, pastures, and meadows, 

 though still his favorite hunting-ground is 

 the neighborhood of pools. True to inherited 

 instinct, he hunts musquitoes, also midges, 

 gnats, May-flies and such small deer, seizing 

 them upon the wing and bolting them as 

 he flies. Hence the name dragonfly, after 

 the mythical dragons St. George's, for 

 example which caught and devoured their 

 enemies as they flew abroad. A cant name 

 for the dragonfly is gnat-hawk, or musquito- 

 hawk but who would ever think of setting 

 it beside snake-doctor? Negroes say the 

 snake-doctor is called on to help snakes 

 cast the skin especially the skin of head 

 and eyes, which the snake-doctor picks off. 

 Further, in August, when the black people 

 believe that all venomous snakes go blind, 

 the snake-doctor is thought to lead them to 

 water, and to distil into their eyes dew 

 gathered from certain plants and so full of 

 their virtues it brings back sight. 



Possibly the belief grows out of the fact 

 that it is to the wet and marshy places be- 

 loved of snake-doctors many snakes choose 

 to go when ready to cast the skin. Joe did 

 not believe the snake-doctors had anything 

 to do with it, but Patsy said if the books told 

 the truth about the snake-doctors, they had 

 changed their own skins so many times and 



