A hunter's life. 381 



long switch, snared the snake by the neck, dragged it to a 

 tree, tied my bark to a limb, and went my way. 



After staying two or three hours, I returned ; when I 

 found the snake hanging as limber as a string. " Well," 

 said I, " my fellow, you'll never bite anybody after this." 



I then took my pole and loosened the bark ; but, to my 

 great surprise, the snake was as fresh, and as full of life, 

 and fight also, as he was when first hung up. I am in 

 doubt whether or not they breathe at all — certainly not 

 like other inhabitants of the land. 



Rattlesnakes are brought into existence in the following 

 manner : 



The female snake deposits twenty or thirty eggs in the 

 ground, where the warm earth gives them life, and at the 

 proper time the old one comes and receives them into her 

 body, where they remain until she enters her den in Octo- 

 ber. In April and May they all come out together, when 

 the young ones are usually from six to nine inches long, 

 and can shift for themselves. 



On one occasion, about the last of April, William 

 Browning, a brother-in-law, Mr. Enlow, and myself, went 

 to a rattlesnake den which was within a quarter of a mile 

 of William Browning's house. 



The evening was cool, and, entering the den, we com- 

 menced our search, and soon found several large snakes, 

 which were so chilly that they could make no resistance. 

 We continued killing them until we could find no more on 

 the ground ; when we commenced turning up the flat 

 stones, under which we discovered many little snakes, not 

 more than six inches long. Where we found the small 

 ones there were no old snakes near. When we could disco- 

 ver no more, we counted the dead ones, which were eighty- 

 'our in number. 



Having found three small ones by themselves, together 

 with the far* that I have seen the eggs in the snakes' bo- 



