84 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



.. - . htr 



Providential notices of this snake's approach. 



sisting of joints loosely connected ; the number 

 of these is uncertain, depending in some meiv- 

 sure on the age of the animal, being supposed to 

 increase annually by an additional joint. The 

 young snakes, or those of a year or two old, have 

 no rattle at all. 



As the tail of those snakes, which are the 

 most dreaded of all serpents, keep rattling upon 

 the slightest motion, passengers are thus provi- 

 dentially warned of their approach. In fine 

 \veather the notice is always given, but not al- 

 ways in rainy weather: this inspires the Indians 

 \vith a dread of travelling among the woods in. 

 wet seasons. In addition to this circumstance, 

 the odour of the rattle snake is so extremely 

 fetid, that when it basks in the sun, or is irri- 

 tated, it is often discovered by the scent before 

 it is either seen or heard. Horses and cattle 

 frequently discover it by the scent, and escape 

 at a distance; but when the serpent happens to 

 be to leeward of their course, they sometimes 

 encounter its venom. 



The tongue of the rattle snake, like that of 

 many other serpents, is composed of two long 

 and round bodies joined together from the root 

 to about half its length. This is frequently 

 darted out and retracted with great agility. 

 There is, besides the fangs with which it kills its 

 prey, another kind of teeth much smaller, and 

 situated in both jaws, which serve for catching 

 and retaining it. There are no grinders, for 



