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A HISTORY OF 



tion. by tne help 01 a very strong constitu- 

 tion he recovered ; but not without feeling 

 the most various and dreadful symptoms for 

 several weeks together. His arm, below the 

 ligature, appeared of several colours, with a 

 writhing among the muscles, that, to his ter- 

 rified imagination, appeared like the motions 

 of the animal that had wounded him. A fe- 

 ver ensued ; the loss of his hair, giddiness, 

 drought, weakness, and nervous faintings: till, 

 by slow degrees, a very strong habit over- 

 powered the latent malignity of the poison. 



Several remedies have been tried to alle- 

 viate this calamity. A decoction of the Vir- 

 ginian snake-root is considered as the most 

 effectual ; and at the same time the head of 

 the animal bruised and laid upon the part af- 

 fected, is thought to assist the cure. In ge- 

 neral, however, it is found to be fatal ; and 

 the Indians, sensible of this, take care to dip 

 their arrows in the poison under the rattle- 

 snake's fangs, when they desire to take a sig- 

 nal revenge of their enemies. 



Thus much concerning this animal is agreed 

 upon by every naturalist: there are other 

 circumstances in its history, which are not 

 so well ascertained. And first, its motion, 

 which some describe as the swiftest imagin- 

 able; asserting, that its Indian name of Eca- 

 coalt, which signifies the windserpent, implies 

 its agility: others, on the contrary, assert 

 that it is the slowest and the most sluggish of 

 all serpents ; and that it seldom moves from 

 one place. In this opposition of opinions, 

 there are others, who assert, that on even 

 ground it moves but slowly ; but then, among 

 rocks, that it goes at a great rate. If we may 

 argue from analogy, the opinion of those 

 who contend for its slow motion, seems the 

 most probable ; as the viper, which it so very 

 much resembles, is remarkable among ser- 

 pents for its inactivity. 



It is said also by some, that the rattlesnake lias 

 a power of charming its prey into its mouth; 

 and this is as strongly contradicted by others. 

 The inhabitants of Pennsylvania are said to 

 have opportunities of observing this strange 

 fascination every day. The snake is often 

 seen basking at the foot of a tree, where birds 

 and squirrels make their residence. There, 

 coiled upon its tail, its jaws extended, and 

 its eyes shining like fire, the rattlesnake le- 



vels its dreadful glare upon one of the little 

 animals above. The bird, or the squirrel, 

 which ever it may be, too plainly perceives 

 the mischief meditating against it, and hops 

 from branch to branch, with a timorous, plain- 

 tive sound, wishing to avoid, yet incapable 

 of breaking through the fascination : thus it 

 continues for some time its feeble efforts and 

 complaints, but is still seen approaching lower 

 and lower towards the bottom branches of the 

 tree, until, at last, as if overcome by the po- 

 tency of its fears, it jumps down from the tree 

 directly into the throat of its frightful de- 

 stroyer. 



In order to ascertain the truth of this story, 

 a mouse was put into a large iron cage, where 

 a rattlesnake was kept, and the effect care- 

 fully observed. The mouse remained motion- 

 less at one end of the cage; while the snake, 

 at the other, continued fixed, with its eyes 

 glaring full on the little animal, and its jaws 

 opened to their w idest extent : the mouse for 

 some time seemed eager to escape; but every 

 effort only served to increase its terrors, and 

 to draw it still nearer the enemy; till, after 

 several ineffectual attempts to break the fas- 

 cination, it was seen to run into the jaws of 

 the rattlesnake, where it was instantly kill- 

 ed. 



To these accounts the incredulous oppose 

 the improbability of the fact : they assert, 

 that such a power ascribed to serpents, is 

 only the remnant of a vulgar error, by which 

 it was supposed that serpents could be charm- 

 ed, and had also a pow er of charming. They 

 aver, that animals are so far from running 

 down the throat of a rattlesnake in captivity, 

 that the snake will eat nothing in that state, 

 but actually dies for want of subsistence. 



A serpent, called the Whipsnake, is still 

 more venomous than the former. This ani- 

 tnal, which is a native of the east, is about 

 five feet long, yet not much thicker than the 

 thong of a coachman's whip. It is exceed- 

 ingly venomous; and its bite is said to kill in 

 about six hours. One of the Jesuit missiona- 

 ries, happening to enter into an Indian pa- 

 goda, saw what he took to be a whipcord ly- 

 ing on the floor, and stooped to take it up; 

 but, upon handling it, what was his surprise 

 to find that it was animated, and no other 

 than the whipsnake, of which he had heard 



