APPENDIX. 487 



The lad that had been charmed was much terrified, and in a tremor ; 

 |)is fhirt was in a few minutes wet with fweat ; he comrjlainecl much of a 

 dir.zinefs in his head, attended with pain, aud appeared lo be in a melan- 

 choly, llupid fuuaiion for lome days after. 



1 have heard the ftoiy fo often related by difFcrent perfons, that I canHO( 

 Jjut give credit to it. 



I HAVE obferved that you arc defirous ofcollefling informa- 

 tion relative to the fafcinating power of ferpents — If you think the follow- 

 ing inflance worthy a place in your ufcful collcfiion, you aie at liberty to 

 infert it. 



When I was a boy about 1 3 years of age, my father fent me into a field 

 to mow fome briars. I had not been long employed, till I diicovcrtd a 

 largo rattle faake, and looked round for. fomething to kill hira ; but tyr.t 

 readily difcovering a weapon, ray curiofity led me to view him. He lay 

 eoiled up, with his tail cre£f, and making the uiual Tinging noifc with his 

 rattles. 1 had viewed him but a fhort time, when the moft vivid aud 

 lively colours that imagination can paint, and far beyond the powers of iLp 

 pencil to imitate, among which yellow was the roofl predominant, and 

 the whole drawn into a bewitching variety of gay and plealing forms, vere 

 prefcnted to my eyes ; at the fame time, my ears were enchanted with the 

 moil: rapturous ftrains of mafic, v^ild, lively, complicated and harrnoniouj. 

 in the higheft degree melodious, captivating and enchauiing, far beyor.'J 

 any thing I ever heard beh'ie or fince, and indeed far exc;eding whzt my 

 imagination in any other fjtuation could have conceived, i felt my felt ir- 

 lefiilibly drawn tovk'ard the hated reptile ; 3nd as I had been often ufed to 

 feeing and killing rattle fnakes, and my fenfcs weie fo ablorbcd by the 

 gay vifio.T and rapturous mufic, I was not for (ome time apprehcnfive of 

 much datigrt ; but fudficnly recolJedling what I had heard the Indians re* 

 Jate (but what i had never before believed) of the faicinating power of 

 ihefe ferpents, I turnco with horror frora the dangerous fcene ; but it wa* 

 a.ot without the moft violent efforts that 1 was able to extricate myfclf. 

 Ail the exertions I could niakC; with ray whole ftrength, were hardly fuf- 

 ficicnt to carry me from the fcene of horrid, yet phafing enchartmcflt ; 

 ^nd while I forcibly dragged off ray body, my head icemed to be irrcfifti- 

 biy diawn to the enchanter, by an invifible power. /»ad I fully believ?; 

 that in a few moments lonp^er it would have been wholly out of my pow- 

 er to make an exertion fufricient to get away. 



The latter patt of the fcene I was extremely frightened, «nd ran asfaft 

 a? poifible towards home, my fright increafing v.ith my fpeed. The firft 

 perfon I faw was my uncle, who difcovering my flight, ran to meet me, 

 and afkcd the occafion of it ; I told him I had been frightened by a rattle 

 fnake ; but was in too great a perturbation to relate the v.hole. He rallitd 

 me for my pufillaniir.ity, and took me by the hand, and we v;ent to the 

 f,i!dce where the fnakc was ilill lying, which was foon difpatchcd by my 

 uncle. I then related the flory to hiin> and havp fiacc told it to many 

 other perfons. 



The night following I never clofed my eyes ; The fame fcene continu- 

 ally haunted niy imagination. Whether the agitation was occahoned 

 mcieiy by t'le recollcVlion of what had pafTtd, or whether the operation 

 of the charm ftill had ■''>me real cfieft upon the nervous fyflom, I caunot. 

 <Jeiermine. ELIAS WILL.-^RD, 



T^^'MouTH, Oct. 27, 179^. 



