168 TRAVELS THROUGH LOWER CANADA : 
were in the habit of touching at these islands ; 
$nd neither they nor any other person I met 
with in the country, had ever seen or heard of 
such a snake, except in Mr. Carver’s Travels. 
Were a traveller to believe all the stories re¬ 
specting snakes that are current in the country, 
he must believe that there is such a snake as 
the whip-snake, which, as it is said, pursues 
cattle through the woods and meadows, lash¬ 
ing them with its tail, till overcome with the 
fatigue of running they drop breathless to the 
ground, when it preys upon their flesh. He 
must also believe that there is such a snake as 
the hoop-snake, which has the power ©f fix¬ 
ing its tail firmly in a certain cavity inside of 
its mouth, and then of rolling itself forward 
like a hoop or wheel with such wonderful ve¬ 
locity, that neither man nor beast can possibly 
escape from its devouring jaws. 
The ponds and marshes in the interior parts 
of these islands abound with ducks and other 
wild fowl, and the shores swarm with gulls. 
A few small birds are found in the woods; 
but I saw none amongst them that were re¬ 
markable either for their song or plumage. 
At sun-set on the last day of September, we 
left the islands, and the next morning entered 
Detroit River. The river, at its mouth, is 
about five miles wide, and continues nearly the 
same breadth for a considerable distance. The 
