38 
LECTURE VII/ 
moves towards a person who approaches him, but 
always endeavours to escape, and never bites un- 
less accidentally trodden on or purposely irritated* 
The colour of the Rattle-Snake is brown with yel- 
low variegations j in one species these are in the 
form of bars, and in another in the form of Lo- 
zenge-shaped streaks : it grows to the length of 
some feet, Its-bite is certainly one of the most 
dangerous of the whole Serpent tribe; but its 
effect, like that of every other poisonous Serpent, 
must vary extremely according to the state of 
health of the person receiving the wound, as well 
as of the part on which the wound has been in- 
flicted : if it happens on a large vein, it very 
soon proves fatal : if not, it is often curable. We 
have well attested accounts of a dog’s having been 
killed in less than two minutes by the bite of a 
Rattle-Snake^. 
The next Linntean genus of Snakes is called 
Boa, and is distinguished by having broad scaly 
transverse plates both beneath the body and tail, 
■* The fascination of the R. Snake is now pretty generally 
referred either to the mere effects of fear, or to the supposed fas- 
cinated animals having been first in reality bitten and disabled 
from making their escape. 
