appendix; 493 



lingular light ; and he has every where been ofed to denote fomething valu- 

 able and ufeful. 



Whence arofe all this celebrity, and thefe ideas of his wifdom or cun- 

 ning ? And how came (o many different nations to affix the ideas of 

 wildom, power, and utility, to a race of animals that do not appear to be 

 either friendly, or of any advantage to mankind ? I cannot a(certain either 

 the origin, or the caule of the reputation that has been afTigned to a reptile, 

 which appears to be the molt ufelefs, odious and obnoxious, of the whole 

 animal race; nor can 1 detcimine whether the ancients were acquainted 

 with his (ingular powers. They have been obfeijyed in Europe, Afia, 

 Africa, and America ; but I do no' find any thing in the carlied writings, 

 thofe of Mofes or Homer, thaf intimate any (uch tufpicion. Homer fpeaki 

 of cucnantment, as fomething that was well k»iown and generally believed 

 in his dav. But it was not the eye, or a ferpcnt that was inverted with 

 this dreadful power ; it was the voice and the fongs of the Sytf.ns, that 

 carried unavoidable enchantment and deflruflion. But whatever were the 

 fentiraenrs of the ancients rcfpcfting this animal, I think it can hardly be 

 doub'ed but that he does now difcover a different faculty or power from 

 thofe of other animals. It is to be expeftcd that thefe powers fhould be 

 molt ft rong and apparent in thofe countries, where he exifts in the greatefl 

 eafe and vigor ; and has been tl.e leafl diftui bed by cultivation, or by man : 

 and to menhe evidence is convincing, that the ferpent has difcovertd fuch 

 powers in America. But I am fo far from comprehending this myf^eri- 

 ous article of natural hiftorv, that I muft refer the fubjeft to the inveftiga- 

 tion of men of better abilities and more information. 



THE TWO-HEADED SNAKE. 

 NATURALISTS have been in doubt wfielher the two-headed fnake 

 was a monftrous produftion.or a diftinft I'pecics of ferpenis. Thefollow- 

 ing curious obfervation of Capt. William Baker, feems to decide the point, 

 Mr. Baker is well known to the Author, and there is no room to doubt 

 the authenticity, or the accuracy of his account. 



In Aufruft I 763, in the town of Sherley, county of Middlefex, and flate 

 of Maffachuftrtis, 1 found a large v;atcr fnake, as I was mowing in a 

 meadow, formerly flowed by beaver. I took out of the belly of the fnake 

 fixty young ones ; they were about ten inches long, except one of them, 

 wh'.ch had two heads, four eyes, two tongues, and appeared to be about 

 two inches longer than any of the reft. I (hewed the fnake with two 

 ■ heads, to a great many people ; but as I was but a boy, and at that time 

 lincw not that I could have prefcrved it in fpirit.s 1 did net attempt keep- 

 int^ it, which I am very forry for, as the fight of him would prove to the 

 world, together with this account, that the two headed fnake is of a mon. 

 ftious produftion. W. BAKER. 



Rutland, Dec. 16, 1795. 



No. V. 



A Dilfertation an the Colors of Men, particularly on that 

 of the Indians of America. CHjiP. VIll. p. 237. 

 Coi-t-RS OF Men. — ONE of the mofl curious phenomena thai belongs 

 to the natural hiftory of man. is the qqIht with which he is marked. Every 



VOL. L ' N 3 



