Penfylvaniat Philadelphia, 6i 



^11 down, and in a few years to come, it 

 will be as difficult to find the place where 

 it ftood, as it was unlikely at the time of 

 its eredion, that one of the greateft towns 

 in America, ftiould in a fhort time ftand 

 clofe up to it. 



September the 7th. Mr. Peter Cock, a 

 merchant of this town, affured me that he 

 had laft week himfelf been a fpedator of a 

 fnake's fwallowing a little bird. This bird, 

 which from its cry has the name of Cat 

 birdy ( Mufcicapa Carolinenjis, Linn.) fiew 

 from one branch of a tree to another, and 

 was making a doleful tune. At the bot- 

 tom of the tree, but at a fathom's diftance 

 from the ftem, lay one of the great black 

 fnakes, with its head continually upright, 

 pointing towards the bird, which was al- 

 ways fluttering about,! and now and then 

 fettling on the branches. At firft it only 

 kept in the topmoft branches, but by de- 

 grees it came lower down, and even flew 

 upon the ground, and hopped to the place 

 where the fnake lay, which immediately 

 opened its mouth, caught the bird and 

 fwallowed it ; but it had fcarce finiflied its 

 repaft before Mr. Cock came up and killed 

 it. I was afterwards told that this kind of 

 fnakes was frequently obferved to purfue 

 little birds in this manner. It is already 



well 



