?iead close to the ground, so that one may easily get 

 out of his way. His leaping is no more than uncoil- 

 ing himself, so that a man is in no danger, if he is not 

 within the length of the snake. Neither can he do 

 any harm, unless he first coil, and then uncoil him- 

 self, but both these are done in a moment. 



The noise they make is not owing (as some ima- 

 gine) to little bones lodged in their tails. But their 

 tail is composed of joints that lap over one another, 

 like a lobster's, and they make that noise by striking 

 them one upon another. This is loudest in lair wea- 

 ther, in rainy weather they make no noise at all. 

 It is remarkable, that whenever a single snake rattles 

 all that are within hearing rattle in like manner. 



Of how extremely penetrating a nature is their 

 poison ? A man provoking one of them to bite the 

 edge of his broad. axe, the colour of the steel part 

 presently changed, and at the first stroke he made 

 with it iu his work, the discoloured part broke out, 

 leaving a gap in the axe. 



A gentleman in Virginia, has lately given a parti- 

 cular account, of what he felt after being bit by one 

 of them. 



14 Hearing, says he, a bell upon the top of asfeep* 

 hill, which I knew to be on one of the cows of the 

 people where I then quartered, I went right up to 

 the hill ; but near the top my foot slipped, and brought 

 me down upon my knees, I laid my hand on a 

 broad stone to stay myself; I suppose the snake lay 

 on the other side, who bit my hand in an instant, 

 then slid under the ground, and sounded his rattles. 

 But I soon fou & (I him, crushed his head to pieces with 

 a stone, took him up in my left hand, and ran home t 

 sucking the wound on rny right hand, and spitting out 

 tlu? poison, this kept it easy, but my tongue and my 

 lips grew stiff and numb, as if they were froze. When I 

 came home,one presently ripped a fowl open, and bouud 

 it upon my hand. This eased me a little, 1 kept my 

 elbow bent, and my fingers up, which kept the poi- 

 c 3 



