CHAP. II. FASCINATING POWER OP SNAKES. 47 



horse refused to go forward, being terrified at a large 

 rattlesnake that lay across the road. Mr. Howe, 

 having heard of its power of fascination, in which 

 he was a believer, alighted to lead the animal round 

 it ; but during that time, the snake, having coiled him- 

 self up, sounded its rattle, and stared him so full in the 

 face, and with such fire in his eyes, that a cold sweat 

 broke out upon him ; thus, while he durst neither re- 

 treat nor advance, he imagined himself gradually riveted 

 to the spot. ' However/ continued he, ' my reason re- 

 mained ; and my resolution getting the better of my 

 alarm, I suddenly approached him, and with one stroke 

 of my cudgel knocked out his brains.' " It is clear, from 

 this anecdote, that a deficiency of natural courage in the 

 narrator was not the cause of the previous fascination 

 he experienced ; for, had that been the case, instead of 

 using the " cudgel " to destroy the animal, he would 

 have used his legs to have run from it. " As for the 

 stories," continues our author, " of its causing mice, 

 squirrels, and birds to run into its mouth, I reject them 

 as fables, the supposed charm consisting of nothing 

 more than this ; that the poor animals, finding them- 

 selves surprised by the impending danger, are seized 

 with such a trepidation and fear, that even the use of 

 their limbs forsakes them, and they are riveted to the 

 place till they die ; or, in the act of leaping, they are 

 seized by their enemy." 



(58.) One of the most celebrated travellers and 

 naturalists now living, has thus described the fascinating 

 powers of a serpent, witnessed by himself in Southern 

 Africa : " I saw," says he, " at the brink of a ditch, 

 a large snake in pursuit of a field mouse. The poor 

 animal was just at its hole, when it seemed in a mo- 

 ment to stop, as if unable to proceed, and, without 

 being touched by the snake, to be palsied with terror. 

 The snake had raised its head over him, opened its 

 mouth, and seemed to fix its eyes steadfastly upon his 

 intended victim. Both animals for a while remained 

 still ; but as soon as the mouse made a motion, as if 



