120 
RALLUS CAROLINUS. 
discovered it to be a rail, very vigorous, and in perfect 
health. The bird was placed in a small room, on a gin~ 
case, and I was amusing myself with it, when, in the* 
act of pointing my finger at it, it suddenly sprang forward, 
apparently much irritated, fell to the floor, and, stretching 
out its feet, and bending its neck until the head nearly 
touched the back, became to all appearance lifeless. 
Thinking the fall had killed the bird, I took it up, and 
began to lament my rashness in provoking it. In a 
few minutes it again breathed, and it was some time 
before it perfectly recovered from the fit, into which, it 
now appeared evident, it had fallen. I placed the rail 
in a room, wherein canary birds were confined, and 
resolved that, on the succeeding day, I would endeavour 
to discover whether* or no the passion of anger had 
produced the fit. I entered the room at the appointed 
time, and approached the bird, which had retired, on 
beholding me, in a sullen humour, to a corner. Oil 
pointing my finger at it, its feathers were immediately 
ruffled, and in an instant it sprang forward, as in the 
first instance, and fell into a similar fit. The following’ 
day the experiment was repeated with the like effect. 
In the fall of 1811, as I was gunning amongst the reeds 
in pursuit of rail, I perceived one rise but a few feet 
before my batteau. The bird had risen about a yard 
when it became entangled in the tops of a small bunch 
of reeds, and immediately fell. Its feet and neck were 
extended, as in the instance above mentioned, and, before 
it had time to recover, I killed it. Some few days 
afterwards, as a friend and I were gunning in the same 
place, he shot a rail, and, as we approached the spot to 
pick it up, another was perceived, not a foot off, in a 
fit. I took up the bird, and placed it in the crown of 
my hat. In a few moments it revived, and was as 
vigorous as ever. These facts go to prove, that the rail 
is subject to gusts of passion, which operate to so violent 
a degree as to produce a disease, similar in its effects to 
epilepsy. I leave the explication of the phenomenon 
to those physiologists who are competent and willing 
to investigate it. It may be worthy of remark, that 
