340 AMERICAN SNAKES. 



lately cutting the flesh right down to the bone ; after 

 which the wound should be cauterised. If the patient 

 survives both the venom and the antidote, he must 

 possess a very strong constitution. 



The mocassin snake is seldom known to grow much 

 more than four feet in length, though it is thick in 

 proportion. When provoked, they swell out the body, 

 flatten the neck, and thus cause the head, mouth, and 

 eyes to look very large. They are marked on their 

 skins something in the fashion of a rattlesnake, though 

 not so distinctly. They are of a very dull coppery hue. 



I have never known any instance of death from the 

 bite of this snake ; and am convinced that if the hunter 

 will exercise caution, and look before he leaps, or steps, 

 he may venture with safety into any part of the 

 American wilderness. 



