SNAKE. 
Ill 
His fellow-workmen, who knew the temper of these 
snakes, engaged him to kill one of two which they ob- 
served lying together, and which proved to be a male 
and a female ; but the moment he approached to ex- 
ecutehis purpose, the male sprung towards him. Lit- 
tle expecting to meet with such courage in a snake, 
the man flung away his stick and ran off at full speed : 
he was immediately pursued by his active enemy, 
who overtook him, and, twining several times round 
his legs, threw him to the ground. The man was 
exceedingly terrified, and could only disengage 
himself by cutting the snake through the body in 
two or three places with a knife. The other work- 
men, far from helping their companion, enjoyed the 
adventure, and looked upon it as a very good joke. 
The Americans are said to encourage these rep- 
tiles on account of their great use in clearing the 
houses of rats, which they will pursue with amazing 
agility, and even chase them to the roofs of the 
barns and outhouses. The farmers’ wives, however, 
have no cause to rejoice in their inmates, who very 
industriously skim the milk-pans of the cream, 
and rob the hen-roosts of the eggs. Catesby tells 
us they have been found coiled up in a nest under a 
sitting hen. They are so very active, and pass along 
the ground with such speed, that it is almost impos- 
sible for the person to escape when they are de- 
termined to overtake him. The only way to get 
rid of the creature is to face it boldly and strike it 
sharply with a stick. 
