STRUCTUEE OF SNAKES. 321 



a country becomes populous — a necessary result of the 

 hatred with which they are everywhere regarded, 

 excepting amongst the Africans, b}^ whom they are 

 reverenced, fed, and preserved. 



Although snakes have been looked upon as lowest in 

 the scale of animal creation, from the fact of their 

 possessing only a body without members, their structure 

 displays much beauty in its formation, and is better 

 adapted to their haunts, food, and general manner of 

 life, than is that of any other living creature. It moves 

 with ease and freedom, though it has neither legs, arms, 

 wings, nor fins, the work of all those limbs being per- 

 formed by a modification of the vertebral column. As 

 they move upon their bellies, it is evident that their 

 greatest danger is from above ; its joints are therefore 

 so formed, as best to resist pressure in a vertical direc- 

 tion, and the body is so constructed, that in moving 

 the serpent undulates in its movements from side to 

 side. Thus fashioned it can s^^im or leap, it can 

 wrestle and crush its foe in its gripe, or lift its food to 

 its mouth. 



The rattlesnake is said to be viviparous, though I 

 cannot vouch for the truth of the assertion. M. de 

 Beauvois states that he saw the young of the rat- 

 tlesnake take shelter in the parent's mouth when 

 disturbed ; and other travellers have made similar 

 statements. 



At all events, the rattlesnake, or any other serpent, 



