Rocky Mountains. 325 



Dr. James and Lieut. Swift only, were left with the steam 

 boat Western Engineer at Cape Girardeau. Lieut. Swift 

 had received instructions, as soon as the water should rise 

 sufficiently, to proceed with the boat to the falls of Ohio, 

 "where it was to remain during the winter. 



Early in November, the frosts had been so severe at Cape 

 Girardeau, that the leaves were fallen, and the country had 

 assumed the aspect of winter. On the 9th at four P. M. 

 the shock of an earthquake was felt. The agitation was 

 such as to cause considerable motion in the furniture, and 

 other loose articles in the room where we were sitting. Be- 

 fore we had time to collect our thoughts, and run out of the 

 house, it had ceased entirely; we had therefore no opportu- 

 nity to form an opinion of its direction. Several others oc- 

 curred in the time of our stay at the Cape, but they all hap- 

 pened at night, and were all of inconsiderable duration. 

 *' Shakes," as these concussions are called by the inhabitants, 

 are, in this part of the country, extremely frequent, and are 

 spoken of as matters of every day occurrence. 



Several ladies and gentlemen, passengers on board a steam 

 boat ascending the Mississippi in 1820, went on shore near 

 New Madrid. In one of the houses, which they entered, 

 they found a small collection of books. As they were amus- 

 ing themselves with the examination of these, they felt the 

 whole house so violently shaken, that they were scarce able 

 to stand upon their feet. Some consternation was, of course, 



the remaining cervical ones; legs spotted with pale; beneath greenish- 

 white; 



Total length 4 inches. 



Tail 2 2-5 



Occurred during our passage down the Mississippi to New Orleans, and 

 proved to be specifically indentical with specimens which 1 formerly col- 

 lected in Georgia and East Florida. Daudin describes no sppcies with 

 which it can be confounded, if we except his S. laticeps, from which appa- 

 rently kindred species it differs in being totally destitute of any thing like 

 bands. The large scales behind the head are very similar to the sub- 

 caudal scales of a Coluber. 



The largest individual I have seen, was less than five inches long— a 

 specimen is deposited in the Philadelphia Museum. 



