A GERM OF TRUTH IN "FASCINATION." 97 



excessive fright, destroys the argument. Nevertheless it may sometimes 

 happen, and, if it does, prostration of nerve would not be surprising. Men 

 have fainted from astonishment and fear. I have seen deers and ante- 

 lopes, suddenly disturbed, stand stupidly staring or jumping up and down, 

 their wits gone in a panic. Hares, startled from their forms, sometimes 

 run right towards the gun instead of away from it, or they have been 

 known to drop dead before a shot was fired. The impotence in mind as 

 well as body of a mouse under the paw of a cat ; of the hog-nosed snake 

 when you have got it at sudden disadvantage ; of the opossum, and many 

 other animals, when they are involuntarily "feigning death," are all ex- 

 amples of this phj'sieal helplessness resulting from excessive fright on 

 some natures. 1 am willing to admit that serpents may owe an occasional 

 meal to the paralysis caused by their sudden presence before the eyes of a 

 timid bird or squirrel ; but I am confident that no one of these small and 

 gentle creatures, if allowed to recover from its impulsive fright, or grad- 

 ually introduced to the snake, would ever fall a victim to his fascination, 

 " charm he never so wisely." 



The inquisitiveness so characteristic of wild animals might lead them 

 now and then into difficulty with serpents, as it does with other foes to 

 their peace of mind and body. Lastly, if any such falling into the jaws of 

 the rattlesnake was ever observed, as has been alleged, without imaginary 

 additions, did it not follow rather than precede the stroke, and occur un- 

 der the influence of the slow-acting poison, which left the victim power to 

 flutter for a brief space before falling in the stupor of approaching death ? 

 The struggles of a poisoned bird, with the snake lying waiting under- 

 neath, would make such a picture as Catesby drew ; and it is a fact that 

 the bite is not always instantly fatal. 



It has been thought that the purpose of the rattle— an organ which 

 it has greatly puzzled naturalists to find the true utility of — might be 

 to stimulate the curiosity of small animals, and so attract them to de- 

 struction. 



The " rattle " consists of a varying number of hollow, flattened, and 

 somewhat rounded segments at the end of the tail, terminating in a more 

 globular one called the " button." These are hinged loosely together, so 

 as to have considerable play, and the number of pieces, as well as their 

 shape, varies greatly in different snakes and at different ages — while the 

 copperhead and massasauga have none at all, but only a horny tip to the 

 tail. There are records of forty-four, thirty-two, and twenty-one rattles, 

 but ten to fourteen is the ordinary number in full-grown crotali of the 



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