struck a stone--the only one appearing thereabouts among the grass. I
seized it, and dashed it down on the head of the reptile, who was not
then a yard from me, with such force that it drove its body right down
into the earth, while its tail wriggled and rattled away in a vain
endeavour to extricate itself. I ran and picked up my rifle, and looked
round to see that I had left nothing behind me. I could not help
stopping, before I proceeded on my way, to examine the creature I had
killed.

It was of a yellowish-brown colour, marked all down its back with spots
of a dark-brown, while from the head down the neck ran three
longitudinal lines of the same hue. The head was large and flat, and
covered with small scales. It was about five feet long, and as thick as
my wrist, and altogether a very formidable-looking snake. The
rattlesnake has a small set of teeth, which serve to catch and retain
its prey, and the poisonous fangs with which it kills them. These
latter are placed in the upper jaw, and when not employed remain flat
along it. It is one of the most deadly of poisonous serpents, and would
be very dangerous were it not that it is very sluggish in its movements,
and that it has a rattle at the end of its tail, with which it cannot
avoid giving notice of its approach. The rattle is a collection of
bones, formed something like the backbone of a human being. It looks as
if it were fastened on outside the tail, at its very tip. The broad
part of the rattle is placed perpendicularly to the body, and it is so
contrived that each bone strikes against two others at the same time, so
as to multiply the rattling sound. I have often thought how glad the
rattlesnake would be to get rid of his rattle, just as a person with a
bad character, justly obtained, would like to have the stigma removed,
that he might commit more mischief on the unwary.

The more I have travelled, and the longer I have lived, the greater
reason I have to admire the wonderful and beautiful arrangements of the
Creator of all things. Why venomous serpents were formed I cannot say,
though I am very certain it was for a good object; but it is very
evident why the snake I have been describing was furnished with a
rattle--that man might be warned of its approach. My examination of the
snake did not last long. I afterwards saw and killed many others.
Quitting the spot, I hurried towards the camp. When I thought that I
had gone a sufficient distance