484 APPENDIX. 



Thty affured me, upon their honor, that they have feen, at feveral timcJi 

 thefe black, fnakes Lfcinating (quirrels and birds which fat on the tops oi 

 trees, the fnake lying at the foot of the tree, with its eyes fixed upon thp 

 bird or fq'iirrel which (its above it, and utters a doleful note ; from whicH 

 it is eafy to conclude with certainty that it is about to be fafcinated, though 

 you caiirot fee it. The biid, or fquirrel, runs up a.d down along the tree 

 continuing its plaintive icng, and always comes nearer the fnake, whole 

 eyes are uoa'.tcrably fixed upon it. It fhou!d feem as if thefe poor crea- 

 tures endeavored to efcape the fnake, by hopping or running up the tree, 

 but there appears to be a power which with-holds them ; they are forced 

 downvk'ards, and each time that they turn back they approach the nearer 

 their enemy, till they aic at lad forced to leap into its mouth, which ftands 

 wide open for that purpofe. Numbers of (quirrels and birds are continu- 

 ally ruiming and hopping tearlefs in the woods on the ground, where the 

 fnakcs lie in wait tor them, and can eafily give thefe poor creatures a mor- 

 tal bite. Therefore it feems th.at this fdfcination might be thus interpre- 

 ted, that the creature has fird got a morial wound from the fnake, which 

 IS fure of its bile, and lies quiet, being affured that the wounded creature 

 has been pnifoned with the bite, or at leall feels pain from the violence of 

 the bite, and that it will at lafl be obliged to come down into its mouth. 

 The plaintive note is perhaps occafioncd by the acutcnefs of the pain which 

 the wount* gives the cieature ; But to this it may \e objefted, that the bite 

 of the black fmke is n:)t poifonous. It inay further be objcftcd, that if 

 the fnake could come near enough to a bird or fquiirel to give it a mortal 

 bite, it might as eafily keep hold of it, or, as it iomciimes does witk 

 poultry, twift round 2nd ftrangle or ftifle it. But the chief objcftion which 

 lies againft this interpretation is the following account, which I received 

 from the moft creditable people, who have affured me of it. The fquirrel 

 being upon the point of running into ihc fnakc's month, the fpeftalors 

 have not been able to let it come to that pitch, but killed the fnake ; and 

 as foon as it had got a mortal blow, the Iquirrcl or bird dcftlned for de- 

 ftruftion fiewaway, and left off' their mournful note, as if they had broke 

 loofe from a net. Some fay, that if they only touched the fnake, fo as to 

 draw off its attention from the fquirrel, it went off quickly, not (topping 

 till it had got to a great diffancc. Why do the fquirrel? or birds goaway 

 fo fuddenly, and why no fooner ? If they had been poifoned or bitienby 

 the fnake before, fo as not to be able to get from the tree, and to be forced 

 to approach the fnake always more and more, they could not, however, 

 get new ftrengih Ly the fnake being killed or diverted ; therefore it feemi 

 that they are only ??:c/mn!ed, whillt the fnake has its eyes fixed on them. 

 However, this looks odd and unaccountable, though many of the worthiefl 

 and molt reputable people have related it, and though it is founiverfally be- 

 lieved here, that lodoubt it would beto expofcche's felfto genera! laughter." 

 ■ Thefe oblervations clearly fnow what has been the general fentiments of 

 the people upon this fubjcft, from the earlieft fettlement of the country. 

 The opinion foimed by the original inhabitants could not be derived from 

 books, fpeculations, or philofophical theories ; but muft have been formed 

 from what they had thcmlclvcs obfcrved and feen. Thofe of our anceftors 

 ■who frequently met with thefe ferpeots in the woods, fouad the Indian ac- 

 counts to be true, and embraced the fame opinion, and it feems to have 

 been admitted by both, as a well known matter of faft. 



The accovints however which they have given us of this matter, do not 

 amount to the highelf evidence the fubjeft may admit. They clearly fhowr 

 •what has been the general lentimcnt in the country refpefting the faft, but 

 they do not contain the obfcrvations and declarations of perfons, who hav? 

 themfelves been the obfervers or aftors in any of thefe extraordinary tranf- 

 aftions. The following communications will be found more circunsftan- 

 tsal and particular. 



