of North Carolina. 151 



ice-Treacle, drinking French Wine, Garlich Broth, with 

 Mithridate, Bazoar-mineral, Myrrh, and the Rattlesnake 

 Root. The Virtues of the Vipers are so well known, that it 

 would be needless to trouble the Reader with them, only that 

 they are more valuable than any of the other Snakes. 



The Red-belly-snakes, these frequent the Land, and are so 

 called, from their Red-bellies, which inclines to an Orange 

 colour : They are not very venemous, for I have known sev- 

 eral Persons bit by them, some whereof were not much hurt, 

 and others have suffered much by them. But I am per- 

 swaded that there are two different sorts of these Snakes, but 

 so like each other, that there has been no difference made be- 

 tween them at present; otherw^ise their bites would not pro- 

 duce such contrary effects, as they are known to do. 



The Chicken-snake, or Egg-snake, so called, from it's fre- 

 quenting about Hen-yards, and devouring Eggs and Chickens. 

 They are commonly of a dusky soot colour, though I have 

 seen some of them dark, yellow, and mottled. They are 

 about four Foot long, and the thickness of a Man's Wrist, 

 they frequently climb up large Pine Trees, will rowl them- 

 selves round, and stick to the side of it, where there seems to 

 be no manner of hold, above twenty or thirty Feet high; 

 there sun themselves, and sleep in the heat of the Day. I can- 

 not find that they are venemous, but are mischievous about 

 Houses, and will imitate exactly the call and cry of Chickens, 

 and allure and decoy them, which' they will quickly seize and 

 swallow. 



The Brimstone-snake, so called, from it's being almost of 

 that colour. They might as well have called it, the Glass, or 

 brittle-Snake, for it is as brittle as Glass, or a Tobacco-Pipe, 

 for give it the least touch with a small Twig it immediately 



breaks. 



