t I have traveled the country as much as any man in it of my
age, by night and by day, above the inhabitants, well as among them; and
yet before the first impression of this book I had never seen a rattle
snake alive, and at liberty, in all my life. I had seen them indeed
after they had been killed, or pent up in boxes to be sent to England.
The bite of this viper without some immediate application is certainly
death; but remedies are so well known, that none of their servants are
ignorant of them. I never knew any killed by these, or any other of
their snakes, although I had a general knowledge all over the country,
and had been in every part of it. They have several other snakes which
are seen more frequently, and have very little or no hurt in them, viz:
such as they call black snakes, water snakes, and corn snakes. The black
viper snake, and the copper-bellied snake, are said to be as venomous as
the rattle snake, but they are as seldom seen; these three poisonous
snakes bring forth their young alive, whereas the other three sorts lay
eggs, which are hatched afterwards; and that is the distinction they
make, esteeming only those to be venomous, which are viviparous. They
have likewise the horn snake, so called from a sharp horn it carries in
its tail, with which it assaults anything that offends it, with that
force, that as it is said it will strike its tail into the butt end of a
musket, from which it is not able to disengage itself.

All sorts of snakes will charm both birds and squirrels, and the
Indians pretend to charm them. Several persons have seen squirrels run
down a tree directly into a snake's mouth; they have likewise seen birds
fluttering up and down, and chattering at these snakes, till at last
they have dropped down just before them.

In the end of May, 1715, stopping at an orchard by the road side to get
some cherries, being three of us in company, we were entertained with
the whole process of a charm between a rattle snake and a hare, the hare
being better than half grown. It happened thus: one of the company in
his search for the best cherries espied the hare sitting, and although
he went close by her she did not move, till he, (not suspecting the
occasion of her gentleness,) gave her a lash with his whip; this made
her run about ten feet, and there sit down again. The gentleman not
finding the cherries ripe, immediately returned the same way, and near
the place where he struck the hare, he spied a