VS*= - -■* «. Jv*~ ♦ "X^ *^ w£VHi v SnrgeonNeWfral's Office k ■o ,1 MEMOIR CONCERNING THE FASCINATING FACULTY WHICH HAS BEEN ASCRIBED TO A* "THE RATTLE-SNAKE, AND OTHER AMERICAN SERPENTS. By BENJAMIN SMITH BARTON, M. D. CORRESPONDENT-MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF THE ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, MEMBER OF THE AM ERIC AN P HI LOSOPHIC AL SOCIETY HELD AT PHILADELPHIA FOR PROMOTING USEFUL KNOW- LEDGE, FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, CORRESPONDING MEM- BER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HIS- TORICAL SOCIETY : And PROFESSOR of NATURAL HISTORY and BOTANY, I N 1* H E UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. ' -•■•//■y.V PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED, FORTHE AUTHOR, BY HENRY SV7EITZER. i"q5. DAVID RITTENHOUSE, LL.D. F.R.S. , i AND i PRESIDE N T 0 F T H E american philosophical society. j Dear Sir, I TAKE pleafure in infcribing to ycu the following memoir. I could wifh it were fomc- thing more worthy of your notice. It is a tri- fle, which may amufe you m a leifure hour. I am perfuaded, from my knowledge of tiic^ attention which you have paid to the fubjecr, that it can contribute but little to your informa- tion. I:« writing this memoir, I have had two objects in view : firft, the inveftigation of truth ; and, fecondly, the diffipation of, at leaft, one par- ticle of that huge mafs of fuperftitious credulity, the influence of wiiich is perceived, wherever nation;, or individuals have been found. [ iv ] In infcribing this memoir to you, Dear Sir, I follow the regular courfe of my feelings, which, when I have received acts of friend- fhip, or of kindnefs, ever lead me to acknow- ledge them. Whilft your example early implant- ed in me an ardent love of fcience, the aflift- ance which you afforded to me, by removing many of the obftacles that have oppofed my ad- vancement in life, has enabled me to devote a portion of my time to the cultivation of fcience ; and, thereby, to increafe the quantity of my happinefs. I am, my Dear Sir, With great refpect, Your affectionate friend and nephew, BENJAMIN SMITH BARTON. Philadelphia, 7 Feb. 2.6, 1796. 5 PREFACE. 1 HE following memoir was read before the American Philofophical Society, on the; fourth of April, 1794. It will, probably, be printed in the next volume of the Society's Tranfaclions. Meanwhile, I have printed a few copies of it, with the view of diftributing them among my friends, and thofe who are curious of refearches in natural hiflory. Since this memoir was read before the So- •ciety, it has been confiderably altered, and fomewhat enlarged. I hope, the alterations will render it more worthy of the notice of thofe who, like myfelf, derive pleafure and happi- nefs from the contemplation of the works and operations of nature, on this globe. I fear, I mall be thought to have treated the queftion in too difFufive a manner. I have not, indeed, laboured to be concife. But if the memoir is more extenfive than was ncceuary, [ vi ] I flatter myfelf, it will be admitted that it, at lead, contains fome new and interefting fads. I fubmit it to its fate. FIDEM NON ABSTULIT ERROR. NATURALISTS have not always been philofophers. The flight and fuperficial manner in which they have examined many of the fub- jects of their fcience ; the credulity which has accompanied them in their refearches after truth, and the precipitancy with which they have de- cided upon many queftions of importance, are proofs of this afTertion. There is a queftion in natural hiftory that has, in an efpecial manner, folicited from me thefe obfervations. I mean the queftion con- cerning the Fascinating Faculty, which has been afcribed to different kinds of American ferpents. It is my intention to examine this queftion, in the memoir which I now prefent to the Philofophical Society. Of this fafcinating faculty we have ail heard and read. In many of our country iituations, there is hardly a man or a woman, who will r s j not, when the fubject comes to be mentioned, ferioufly relate fome wonderful ftory, as a con- vincing proof of the doctrine. Children feem taught to believe it. I think, it is fometimes one of the earlieft prejudices imprinted on their tender minds. It is a prejudice which of- ten increafes with their years ; and even in that happy period of life when the mind is moft firm, and the leaft propenfe to the belief of ex- traordinary things, the ways of which we are not capable of fcanning, I have known this pre- judice fo deeply and fo powerfully rooted, as to mock the light and furenefs of facts, and all the ftrength of reafoning. It is not my intention, in this memoir, to give"' an analyfis, or complete view, of every thing that has been written on the fubject. Nor is it my intention to examine the many ftories, related by authors, in fupport of the fafcinating faculty of ferpents. For the firft tafk, I have not leifure; and, as to the 'fecond, I fhould think my time ill employed in pointing out the grofs ,abfurdities which feem to conftitute a ne- cefiary part of many of thofe ftories. I think it proper, however, to obferve that I have anx- ioully fought for, and have patiently perufed, the volumes of tales publifhed in favour of the doctrine which I mean to controvert. C 9 ] I aim at giving a general, though correct, view of the queftion, uninfluenced by the bold aflertions of ignorance, or by the plaufible con- jectures of fcience. In the inveftigation of the queftion, I have fought for facts: thefe have been my guides. I have ftudioufly endeavoured to follow where they feemed to lead. Perhaps, they have led me aftray. The manner in which the fuppofed fafcinat- ing power of ferpents is exerted has often been related, by different writers. I fhall endeavour to convey fome idea of the bufinefs, in as few words as I can. The fnake, whatever its fpecies may be, lying at the bottom of the tree or bum upon which the bird or fquirrel fits, fixes its eyes up- on the animal which it defigns to fafcinate, or enchant. No fooner is this done than the un- happy animal (I ufe, for the prefent, the lan- guage of thofe who differ from me in opinion, on this fubject) is unable to make its efcape. It now begins to utter a moft piteous cry, which is well known by thofe who hear it, and under- stand the whole machinery of the bufinefs, to be the cry of a creature enchanted. If it is a fquirrel, it runs up the tree for a fhort diftance, s [ 10 ] comes down again, then runs up, and, laftly, comes lower down. " On that occafion," fays an honeft but rather credulous writer*, " it has been obferved, that the fquirrel always goes down more than it goes up. The fnake ftill continues at the root of the tree, with its eyes fixed on the fquirrel, with which its attention is fo entirely taken up, that a perfon accident- ally approaching, may make a confiderable noife, without the fnake's fo much as turning about. The fquirrel as before mentioned comes always lower, and at laft leaps down to the fnake, whofe mouth is already wide open for its re- ception. The poor little animal then with a pite- ous cry runs into the fnake's jaws, and is fwal- lowed at once, if it be not too big ; but if its fize will not allow it to be fwallowed at once, the fnake licks it feveral times with its tongue, and fmoothens it, and by that means makes it fit for fwallowingf." It would be eafy to cite, from different au- thors, other accounts of the manner in which * Profeflbr Peter Kalm. f Travels into North-America; containing its natu- ral hiftory, and a circumftantial account of its plantations and agriculture in general, &c. &c. vol. i. p. 317, & 318. Alfo vol. ii. p. 207, 208, 209, & 210. Englifh Tranfla- tion. London: 1770&1771. [ « ] the enchantment is performed ; or, more pro- perly fpeaking, of the conduct, or behaviour, of the enchanting and enchanted animals. But between thefe accounts, there is hardly a fpe- cifick difference. There is confiderable unity in all the relations that I have heard, or read. However, thofe who wifh to examine this part of the fubject more fully, will, at leaft, receive fome degree of entertainment from the perufal of the many authors who have believed and af- ferted, that ferpents poffefs a power of fafcinat- ing other animals. That the belief in the exiftence of this power fhould have been fo general among the uninformed part of a people, ought not to be wondered at. The human mind, unenlighten- ed by fcience, or by confiderable reflection, is a foil rich in the weeds of fuperftition, and credu- lity. It is ever prone to believe in the wonder- ful, even when this belief, as is often the cafe, brings with it fears, and cares, and mifery. The bondage of the mind in fuperftitious credulity is great and heavy. Neither religion nor virtue can give it its freedom. This it ob- tains from fcience. How important, then, even in this point of view, is the enlargement of the mind by fcience! [ I* ] But it is, furely, a matter of fome aftonifh- ment, that this belief fhould have been admitted, in all the fulnefs of its extravagance, by men of learning, of obfervation, and of genius : by thofe who have the book of nature in their hands; that book which will, in fome future and fome happier age, eradicate many of the prejudices which disfigure, and which mock the dignity of, human nature: by claflical fcholars, grown old in the difbelief of fimilar fables, heightened and embellifhed by the charms of poetry ; and alfo by the infidel, who denies the au- thenticity of fcripture-miracles, few of which, even though they were not fhown to be truths, are more improbable than the imaginary fact which I am examining. I have fought to difcover the original, or fource, of this belief. I do not find any traces of it among the ancient writers of either Greece or Rome. I think, it is moft likely that no fuch traces can be found. Lucan, had ferpents been thought to poffefs a fafcinating faculty in his age, and in the country in which he lived, would, probably, have availed himfelf of its exiftence, in his beautiful account of the march of Cato's army through the Libyan-Defert *; * Pharftlia, lib. IX. [ «3 1 and had fuch a notion prevailed in the earlier days of Lucretius, would we not find fome mention made of it in the poem De Rerum Natura, one of the fineft and moft varied pro- ductions of the human mind ? Claffical fcho- lars may poflibly, however, difcover the dawn of this notion in Greek and Roman authors, unread by me. On this fubject, I have not pufhed my inquiries as far as I wifhed to have done. It is not unlikely that I may examine the queftion, more curioufly, at fome future pe- riod. It is probable that in the mythology of Afia and of Africa, we fhall difcover fome traces of this notion, fo intimately connected with the fuperftitious credulity of a people, and even fo naturally arifingout of an imperfect view of the manners of ferpents. If we may believe the Reverend Dr. Cot- ton Mather*, Mr. Dudleyt, and other perfons, who had refided in North-America, we are to look for the beginning of this ridiculous no- * The Philofophical Tranfaclions, abridged, vol. v. part ii. no. 339. p. 162. f Ibid. vol. vi. part iii. no. 376. p. 45. [ H ] tion among our Indians. How far, however, this is really the cafe may, I think, be doubted. It is certain that, at prefent, the opinion is by no means univerfal among the Indians. Seve- ral intelligent gentlemen, who are well ac- quainted with the manners, with the religious opinions, and with the innumerable fuperftiti- ous prejudices of the Indians, have informed me, that they do not think thefe people believe in the notion in queftion. My friend Mr. John Heckewelder, of Bethlehem, writes to me, that he does not recollect to have heard the Indians fay that fnakes charm birds; though he has frequently heard them fpeak of the in- genuity of thefe reptiles in catching birds, fquir- rels, &c. Mr. William Bartram fays, that he never underftood that the nations of Indians among whom he travelled had any idea of the fafcinating power of fnakes*. On the other hand, however, a Mohegan-Indian told me that the Indians are of opinion that the rattle- fnake can charm, or bewitch, fquirrels and birds, and that it does this with its rattle, which it fhakes, thereby inviting the animals to defcend from the trees, after which they are eafily caught. * MS. note, communicated to me by this ingenious gendeman. [ i5 ] According to this Indian, his countrymen do not think that the fnake, in any manner, accom- pli flies the bufinefs with its eyes. A Chok- tah-Indian aflured me that the rattle-fnake does charm birds, &c. but he was honeft enough to confefs that he did not know in what manner it does it. The interpreter, through whom I converfed with this Indian, faid that the fnake charms by means of its rattle. The veneration, or regard, which has been paid to the rattle-fnake by certain North-Ame- rican tribes feems, at firft fight, to favour the opinion, that thefe tribes attributed to this hi- deous reptile fome hidden power*, perhaps that of fafcinating animals. Mr. William Bar- tram informs me, that the fouthern Indians, with whom he is acquainted, feem to hold the rattle-fnake in a degree of veneration f. Mr. Heckewelder fays that, to his certain know- ledge, this reptile was once held in particular efteem by the Delawares. He was feveral times prevented, by thefe Indians, from kill- ing the rattle-fnake, being told that it was their grand-father, and, therefore, muft not be hurt. * Vis abdita. Lucretius. f MS. note communicated to me. t 16 ] At other times, he was told, he muft not kill this fnake, becaufe the whole race of rattle- fnakes would grow angry, and give orders to bite every Indian that might come in their way*. But, of late, efpecially among thofe Indians who have had connection with the whites, thefe ridiculous notions have mouldered away, and our Indians, at prefent, kill their rattling " grand-father" with as little ceremony as the Efkemaux are faid to kill their parents in old-age. It is obvious, from contemplating the man- ners and the hiftory of nations, that a part of * In my H'tftorical and Philosophical Inquiry (not yet published), I have collected many fa£ts which feem inconteftably to prove, that the mythology, or fuperftiti- ous religion, of the Americans is a fragment of that my- thology whofe range in Afia, and in Africa, has been fo extenfive. Poflibly, the veneration, or regard, which was paid to different kinds of ferpents in America did not originate in this continent, but had its fource in Afia, from which portion of the globe (after a long and labori- ous- attention to the fubjeft) I cannot doubt, that almoft all the nations of America are derived. It is unnecefTary, in this place, to cite inftances of the religious veneration which was, and Hill is, paid to fome fpecies of ferpents, in va- rious parts of the old-world. Thefe inftances muft be fami- liar to every perfon, who is acquainted with the hiftorians or with the poets of antiquity, and with the hiftory of the Gentoo-Indians. t *7 ] their religions, and a large part of the fabrick of their fuperftitious notions, have arifen out of fear. Perhaps, all mankind* admit the ex- iftence of two great beings, the one good and all-benevolent, the other bad and ftudious of evil. In our own continent, where, I believe, this notion was univerfal, certain tribes were afliduous in their adoration of the latter being, whilft the former, whom the light of reafon taught them to confider as the fource of life, and all their bleflings, was merely acknow- ledged and named, but unworfhipped and neg- lected f. The Delawares, and fome other na- tions who fpeak dialects of their language, be- lieve that a turtle, of an enormous fize, inha- bits the deep, and fupports upon his back this continent, or, as they call it, ifland. They fay it is in the power of this animal, by diving, to drown the world, as he has already done, in C * I fpeak of mankind in the aggregate, and not of in- dividuals among them. t John De Laet, fpeaking of the Indians of New- York, has the following words-: « Caeterum nullus ipfis religionis fenfus, nulla Dei veneratio: diabolum quidem colunt fed non tarn folemniter neque certis ceremonii?, ut Africani faciunt," &c. Novus Orbis fju Defcriptionis Indise Occidentals Libri xviii. lib. iii. cap. xi. p. 75. Lu?d. Batav. 1633. [ 18 ] former ages. They, therefore, endeavour to conciliate his friendfhip and good-will. With this view, they make rattles of the turtle-fhell, into which they put fmall ftones, beans, or Indi- an-corn*, and play with this inftrument, at their dances. The turtle is greatly efteemed by them ; and, in the fulnefs of a mixed zeal and fear, they even deign to call him Mannitto, or God; becaufe, they fay, he can live both up- on the land and in the water*)*. It feems very probable to me, that the ve- neration for the rattle-fnake had its birth in fear, and not in the belief that that this reptile pofleffed the power of fafcinating animals. If, as fome writers have aflerted, the Indians were in pofleffion of abfolute fpecificks for the bite of the rattle-fnake, I am of opinion that the ve- neration for this animal would not have exit- ed ; or, at leaft, that it would not long have continued. But the Indians are often un- able to prevent or to cure the effects of the * Maize. f MS. by Mr. John Heckewelder, penes me. [ *9 3 active poifon of this ferpent, which not untie- quently deftroys them*. I return to the more immediate path of my fubject. Among the Indians of South-America, I do not find any traces of the notion that fer- * Adair fays, he does " not remember to have feen or heard of an Indian dying by the bite of a fnake, when out at war, or a hunting ; although they are then often bitten by the mod dangerous fnakes." The Hi/lory of the Ame- rican Indians, &c. p. 235. London: 1775. his certain, from the teftimony of many perfons, that the bite of the rattle-fnake has often proved mortal to the Indians, and others, notwithftanding the boafted fpecificks of thcfj peo- ple. Father Cajetan Cattaneo fays, many Indians die with the bite of ferpents. " But," obfcrves the father, " it is faid they commonly efcape with life, when they can quickly apply the remedy which providence has prepare! of certain herbs, efpecially the fpikenard, which fome parts of Paraguay produce in plenty. But when they are bit by the rattle-fnake it is confidently aflured that the cafe admits no cure." The third Utter of F. Cajetan Cattaneo. See J Relation of the mij/ions of Paraguay, wrote original- ly in Italian, by Mr. Muratorl Englifh Tranflation. p. 260. London: 1759. Father Cattaneo is here fpeaking of the South-American rattle-fnake, the poifon of which, I have little doubt, is more deleterious than that of the fame animal in our part of North-America. Still, how- ever, I am confident, that this poifon, even in the moil fervid climates, is not always mortal. [ 20 ] pents can fafcinate other animals. Pifo, the author of the Natural and Medical Hiftory of the two Indies, feems to have been ftudious to bring together the extraordinary things which have been related of the rattle-fnake. But he fays not a fyllable concerning the fafcinating fa- culty of this reptile*. But whatever may have been the native country of the notion which I am confidering, it would have been well had it been confined to favages. It is a tale which feems nicely adapted to the wit and fociety of rude and un- cultivated nations. Unfortunately, the progrefs of error and of credulity is extremely rapid. Their dominion is extenfive. The belief in the fafcinating faculty of ferpents has fpread through almoft all the civilized parts of North- America. Nor is it confined to America. It * Gulielmi Pifonis medici Amftelaedamenfis de Indiae utriufque re naturali et medica libri quatuordecim. Am- ftelaedami: apud Elzevirios, 1658. Some of Pifo's afler- tions concerning the rattle-fnake are very extravagant. Such are the f/.Jewing : " Caudae extremitate in anum hominis immifla, mortem infert confeftim ; venenum au- tem quod ore vel dentibus infundjt, multo lentius vitani tollit." p. 275. [ 21 ] has made its way into Europe, and has there taken pofleflion of the minds of fcholars, of na- turalifts, and of philofophers. I think, I have fomewhere either heard or read that the tale was credited by the late Dr. Samuel Johnfon. If I am miftaken, I hope the admirers of this great man, fhould any of them read my memoir, will pardon me. It is cer- tain, notwithftanding the vaft ftrength and the rich fertility of Johnfon's mind, that he was cre- dulous and timid. Did this union of credulity and timidity arife out of that unhappy melan- choly (" thofe cafual eclipfes which darken learning"), that often overclouded the bright- nefs of his mind* ? We are told that the Her- cules of Englifh literature believed in ghofts, and in the fecond-fight. The man who would thus fuffer his mind to be eftranged from pro- bability, and entangled in difficulties, would, perhaps, find it eafy to bend to the belief, that ferpents have the faculty of fafcinating other animals. Although I profefs myfelf to be a warm admirer of Linnaeus, and although, at a very * Or, did his melancholy grow out of his credulity and fear ? f 22 j early period of my life, I enlifted myfelf under the banner of his fchool, I fhall not, neverthe- lefs, attempt to conceal, that this great man gave credit to the tale of the fafcination of birds and other animals by ferpents. In his Syjiema Natura (that immortal work), under the arti- cle Crotalus horridus, or the rattle-fnake, he has the following words : " Aves Sciurofque £x arboribus in fauces revocat*" In another work, he fpeaks as follows. " Whoever is wounded by the Hooded Serpent (Coluber NajaJ expires in a few minutes ; nor can he efcape with life who is bitten by the Rattle- fnake (Crotalus horridus) in any part near a great vein. But the merciful God has diftin- guifhed thefe pefts by peculiar figns, and has created them moft inveterate enemies ; for as he has appointed cats to deftroy mice, fo has * See volume firft, p. 372. Vienna edition of 1767. Profeflbr Gmelin, in his edition of the Syjiema Natura,! ] whenfpeaking of the rattle-fnake, has the following words, viz. " aves fciurique ex arboribus non raro in fauces in- hiantis apertas incidunt" torn. i. pars iii. p. 1080. The fame laborious author fpeaking of our grey-fquirrel (Sciurus cinereus) fays, " a crotalo comeditur," torn. i. p. 147. This is true: but he might have faid the fame when fpeaking of the ftriped-dormoufe, or ground-fquir- rel (Sciurus ftriatus), of our rabbit (Lepus americanus), and many other animals. t 23 ] he provided the Ichneumon (Viverra Ichneu- mon) againft the former ferpent, and the Hog to perfecute the latter. He has moreover given the Crotalus a very flow motion, and has an- nexed a kind of rattle to its tale, by the mo- tion of which it gives notice of its approach : but, left this flownefs fhould be too great a dis- advantage to the animal itfelf, he has favoured it with a certain power of fafcinating fquirrels from high trees, and birds from the air into its throat, in the fame manner as flies are precipi- tated into the jaws of the lazy toad*." LiNNiEUS was, certainly, extremely ere-' dulous, though I do not find that any of his profefled biographers have taken notice of this feature of his mind. But the proofs of my ob- fervation are numerous-, they are to be found * See Reflections on the Study of Nature, tranflated from the Latin of Linnaeus, p. 33 & 34. Dublin edition, 1786. Dr. I. E. Smith, the ingenious tranflator of this diflertation, in a note to the above paflsge, has the fol- lowing words. " This opinion of the fafcinating power of the Toad has been refuted, and the appearance which gave rife to it fully accounted for, by Mr. Pennant, in h;s Britifh Zoology. Probably the ftory of tbe Rattle-fnake's having a fimilar power might be found equally falfe, if enquired into with the fame degree of accuracy." p. 34. [ 24 ] in almoft every eflay that he has written. His credulity with refpect to the powers of medi- cines is, perhaps, peculiarly ftriking*. How far this credulity, in a mind otherwife truly great (a mind which with refpect to the arrangement of natural bodies has never been equalled), is to be fought for in the general character of the country which gave Linnaeus birth, I fhall not paufe to inquire. Yet in an inveftigation of this kind, where the opinion of the Swedifh Pliny is neceflarily mentioned, it might be cu- rious to look to the fources of his credulity. The ftudy of nature, as it refpects this globe, • is, perhaps, of all the fciences, the moft unfa- vourable to fuperftition, or credulity. But the greateft of naturalifts was one of the moft credu- lous of philofophers. It is proper, however, to obferve, in this place, that Linnseus by no means afferts, that he himfelf had ever been a witnefs to the fafci- nating power of any of the ferpent-tribe. He feems to have received the tale from fome of his many pupils, whom he animated with the love of natural hiftory. It is probable that Kalm, whom Linnaeus quotes upon various * See his Materia Medica, liber i. de Plantis, &c. Amftelaedami: 1749. [ 2S ] occafions, and whom he could not but efteem, principally contributed to fix his illuftrious mailer's credulity in this refpect: for, in dif- ferent parts of his Travels, this induftrious au- thor has given his decided affent to the tale ; and he informs us, that he has treated of the fame fubject, more fully, in a treatife which is printed in the Memoirs of the Royal Swedi/h Academy of Sciences, for the year 1753* Kalm is candid enough to tell us, that he never faw an inftance of the fafcinating power of the ferpent-kind. " However," fays he, " I have a lift of more than twenty perfons, among which are fome of the moft creditable people, who have all unanimoufly, though living far diftant from each other, afTerted the fame thing f." He then goes on to tell us a long ftory, fimilar to that which I have related, in the beginning of this memoir, and which, therefore, it is not neceflary to repeat* in this place. Our author is not content to make mere mention of the fact: he undertakes to fpeculate D * Travels into North-America, &c. vol. i. p. 318 & 3*9- f Ibid. vol. ii. p. 207 & 208. [ 26 ] upon it. And here, although a talent for inge- nious reafoning is, certainly, not the moft ftriking feature that is difplayed in the Travels of Kalm, he acquits himfelf, for fome time, very judicioufly ; but fpoils all he has faid, by concluding, that the bird or fquirrel " are only enchanted, whilft the fnake has its eyes fixed on them*." He allows that " this looks odd and unaccountable, though," fays he, " many of the worthier! and moft reputable people have re- lated it, and though it is fo univerfally believed here," that is in New-Jerfey, &c. " that to doubt it would be to expofe one's felf to gene- ral laughter.-]""' Several American writers have adopted the notion, that fnakes are endued with a faf- cinating faculty. Fearful that their authority may extend the empire of this error, I have been the more anxious to offer my fentiments on the fubject to the focietyj. * Travels into North-America, &c. vol. ii. p. 210. f Ibid. X Speaking of the rattle-fnake, my worthy friend Mr. William Bartram fays : " They are fuppofed to have the power of fafcination in an eminent degree, fo as to inthrall their prey. It is generally bcliev ed that they charm [ 2? ] It has given me pleafure to find, that the enchanting faculty of the rattle-fnake is doubt- ed by fome very refpectable European natural- ifts. " It is difficult," fays my excellent friend Mr. Pennant, " to fpeak of its fafcinating pow- ers : authors* of credit defcribe the effects. Birds have been feen to drop into its mouth, fquirrels defcend from their trees, and leverets run into its jaws. Terror and amazement feem to lay hold on thefe little animals : they make violent efforts to get away, ftill keeping their eyes fixed on thofe of the fnake; at length, wearied with their movements, and frightened bird?, rabbits, fquirrels, and other animals, and by ftead- faftly looking at them poflefs them with infatuation; be the caufe what it may, the miferable creatures undoubted- ly Arrive by every poflible means toefcape, but alas! their endeavours are in vain, they at laft lofe the power of re- fiftance, and flutter or move flowly, but reluctantly to- wards the yawning jaws of their devourers, and creep into their mouths, or lay down and fuffer themfelves to be taken and fwallowed." Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, Eaft and Weft Florida, &c. p. 267. Philadelphia: 1791. * « Lawfon—•Catefby-*—Ph. Tr. abridg. ix. 56, kc. vii. 410.—Brickel's Hift. Carolina, 144.—-Beverley Vir- oinia, 260.—Colden, i. 12." Dr. Brickel is an author of no credit. His Hiftory of North-Carolina, here quoted, is one of the moft daring and fcandalous inftances of ph. giarifm I am acquainted with. [ 28 ] out of all capacity of knowing the courfe they ought to take, become at length the prey of the expecting devourer, probably in their laft convulfive motion*." My friend Mr. de la Cepede, one of the moft eloquent naturalifts of the age, has devoted a good deal of attention to the fubject, in his Hiftoire Naturelle des Serpens, a work of exten- five and fuperior merit. I regret, however, that this ingenious author was not in polTeflion of a few facts, well known in this country, which could not have failed to conduct a mind, like his, ftrengthened by the enlarged contemplation of the objects of nature, to the fulnefs.and cer- tainty of truth. As it is, however, Mr. de la Cepede deferves our thanks for reviving, and giving a new turn to, the fpeculations of natu- ralifts on this fubject. I beg leave, in this place, to quote that part of Mr. de la Cepede's work which relates to the queftion, of my memoir. Speaking of the boiquira, or rattle-fnake, my ingenious friend has the following words : * Arctic Zoology, vol. ii. p. 338. London: 1792. [ 29 ] u His infectious breath, which fometimes agi- tates the little animals he is about to feize, may alfo prevent their efcape. The Indians relate, that a rattle-fnake is often feen, curled round a tree, darting terrible glances at a fquirrel, which after expreffing its fear by its cries and its tremour, falls at the foot of the tree, where it is devoured. Mr. Vofmaer (at the Hague), who has made feveral experiments on the bite of a rattle-fnake, which he had alive, fays that the birds and mice, which were thrown into the cage, would immediately endeavour to fquat in a corner, and that foon after, as if feized with deadly anguifh, they would run towards their enemy, who continually fhook his rattles : but this effect of a mephitick and fetid breath has been fo much exaggerated, and mifreprefented, that it becomes miraculous. " It has been faid," continues our author, " that the rattle-fnake had a faculty of enchant- ing, as it were, the animal he intended to de- vour; that by the power of his glance, he could oblige the victim to approach by fmall degrees, and finally to fall into his mouth; that even man could not refift the magick force of his fparkling eyes; and that under violent agitations he would expofe himfelf to the en- [ 3<> 3 venomed tooth of the ferpent, inftead of en- deavouring to efcape. If the rattle-fnake had been more generally known, and if his natu- ral hiftory had engaged more attention, other circumftances, ftill more extraordinary, would have been added to thefe miraculous feats ; and how many fables would not have been fubftituted to the fimple effect of a peftilential breath, which, however, has by no means been either fo frequent or fo fatal as fome natu- ralifts have believed! " We may prefume, with Kalm, that, for the moft part, when a bird, a fquirrel, or any other animal, has been feen precipitating itfelf from the top of a tree into the jaws of a rattle- fnake, it had been already bitten*; that after * I do not find that Kalm has adopted this fyftem of explanation, in his Travels. On the contrary, in this work, he gives fome judicious reafons for rejecting this, mode of explanation. Travels, he. vol. ii. p. 209 & 210. His memoir, in the Swedijh Tranfa£lions,\ have not feen. Sir Hans Sloane, a long time fince, conjectured, that the whole myftery of the fafcinating faculty of the rattle- fnake is this, viz. " that when fuch animals as are the pro- per prey of thefe fnakes, as fmall quadrupeds, birds, &c. are furprifedbythem, they bite them, and the poifon allows them time to run a fmall way ; or perhaps a bird to fly up into the next tree, where the fnakes watch them, with great [ 3i ] efcaping, it manifefted, by its cries and its agi- tation, the violent action of the poifon left in its blood, and diffufed through its circulation, by the envenomed inoculation of the reptile's tooth; that, its ftrength gradually decaying, it would fly or leap from branch to branch, till finally exhaufted it would fall before the fer- pent, who with inflamed eyes, and eager looks, would watch attentively every motion, and then dart on his prey, when it retained but a fmall portion of life. Several obfervations re- lated by travellers, and particularly a fact men- tioned by Kalm, appear to confirm this*." From this long quotation, it appears that Mr. de la Cepede adopts two modes, or circum- ftances, for explaining the miraculous power, which has been attributed to thefe ferpents. The explanation is, undoubtedly, in both cafes, in- genious, and entitled to notice. I fhall exa- mine the queftion with that attention which it deferves. earneftnefs, till they fall down, or are perfectly d^J, when having licked them over with their fpawl or fpittb, they fwallow them down." Philofphical Tra-fatliotr., vol. xxxviii. no. 433. Mr. de h Cepede docs not appe.r to have feen Sloane's paper. * Hiftoire Natitrelle des Serpens, p. 409, 410 & 4* ** a Paris: 17S9. [ 32 ] In the firft place, my learned friend fiip- pofes, that the rattle-fnake's infectious breath*, by agitating the little animals which it means to devour, may prevent their efcape. I DO not altogether underftand this expref- fion of an infectious breath. I do not think that we are in pofleflion of any facts by which it can be proved, that the breath of the rattle- fnake is, in general, more infectious, or pefti- ferous, than that of many other animals, whe- ther of the fame or of a different family. I know, indeed, that in fome of the larger fpe- cies of ferpents, inhabiting South-America, and other countries, there is evolved in the ftomach, during the long and tedious procefs of digeftion in thefe animals, a vapour, or a gas, whofe odour is intenfely fetid. I have not, however, found that this is the cafe with the rattle-fnake, and other North-American ferpents, that I have examined. But my own obfervations on this head have not been very minute. I have made inquiry of fome perfons (whofe prejudices againft the ferpent-tribe are not fo powerful as * His words are, " fon haleine empeftee, qui trouble quelquefois les petits animaux dont il veut fe faifir, peut aufli empecher qu'ils ne lui echappent." p. 409. [ 33 ] my own), who are not afraid to put the heads and necks of the black-fnake, and other ferpents that are deftitute of venomous fangs, into their mouths, and have been informed, that they never perceived any difagreeable fmell to pro- ceed from the breath of thefe animals. I have been prefent at the opening of a box which contained a number of living ferpents ; and although the box had been fo clofe as to admit but a very fmall quantity of frefh air, although the obfervation was made in a fmall warm room, I did not perceive any peculiarly difagreeable effluvium to arife from the bodies of thefe ani- mals. I am, moreover, informed by a mem- ber of this fociety*, who has, for a confider- able time, had a rattle-fnake under his imme- diate care, that he has not obferved that any difagreeable vapour proceeds from this reptile. On the other hand, however, it is afferted by fome creditable perfons of my acquaintance, that a moil offenfive odour, fimilarto that of flefh, in the laft ftage of putrefaction, is con- tinually emanating from every part of the rattle-fnake, and fome other fpecies of ferpents. This odour extends, under certain circumftances, E * Mr. Charles Wilfon Pealc [ 34 I to a confiderable diftance from the body of the animal. Mr. William Bartram afliires me, that he has obferved " horfes to be fenfible of, and greatly agitated by, it at the diftance of forty or fifty yards from the fnake. They fhowed," he fays " their abhorrence, by fnorting, winnowing, and ftarting from the road, endea- vouring to throw their riders, in order to make their efcape*." This fact, related by a man of rigid veracity, is extremely curious ; and, in an efpe- cial manner, deferves the attention of thofe wri- ters, who, like M. de la Cepede, imagine that this fetid emanation from ferpents is capable of affecting birds, at fmall diftances, with a kind of afphyxyf. It even gives fome colour of proba- bility to the ftory related by Metrodorus, and preferved in the Natural Hiftory of Pliny J. The facts which came under the notice of Mr. Vofmaer, at the Hague, are curious, and deferved to be mentioned. But they do not appear to me to be proofs of the exiftence of an infectious or mephitick vapour proceeding * MS. note communicated to me. f Hiftoire Naturelle des Serpens, p. 355. % Lib. xxviii. cap. 14, [ 35 ] from the mou!:h of the rattle-fnake. I am not, at all, furprized that the birds and mice that were put into the cage, along with this reptile, fhould exhibit the motions which were obferv- ed by the Dutch naturalift. When the little animals fquatted down in a corner of the cage, they were, moft probably, impelled by the in- ftmci of fear, which is fo powerful, and fo ex- tenfive, in the vaft family of animals. When they ran towards the ferpent, it may have been fear that actuated them. In conducting a feries of experiments, it is ever a matter of importance, that the mind of the experimentalift fhould be free from the dominion of prejudice and fyftem. Perhaps, facts are never related in all their unadultrat- ed purity except by thofe, who intent upon the difcovery of truth, keep fyftem at a dif- tance, regardlefs of its claims. The ftrong democracy of fads fhould exert its whole- fome fway. I cannot help thinking, that if Mr. Vofmaer had difbelieved the fafcinat- ing faculty of ferpents, the conclufions which he would have drawn from his experiments, juft mentioned, would have been fomewhat different. But of this I cannot be certain, and, [ 36 ] therefore, I fhall not avail myfelf of the fup- pofition. Some experiments, which have been made in this city, do not accord with thofe of Mr. Vofmaer. The birds, which were put into the cage that contained the rattle-fnake, flew or ran from the reptile, as though they were fenfible of the danger to which they were expofed. The fnake made many attempts to catch the birds, but could feldom fucceed. When a dead bird was thrown into the cage, the fnake devoured it immediately. He foon caught and devoured a living mole, an animal much more fluggifh than the bird. A few days fince, I had an opportunity of obferving the following circumftance. A fmall bird, our fnow-bird*, had been put into a cage contain- ing a large rattle-fnake. The little animal had been thus imprifoned for feveral hours, when I firft faw it. It exhibited no figns of fear, but hopped about from the floor of the cage to its rooft, and frequently flew and fat upon the fnake's back. Its chirp was no ways tremu- lous; but perfectly natural: it ate the feed * The Emberiza hyemalis of Linnaeus. [ 37 ] which were put into the cage, and by its whole actions, I think, moft evidently demonftratcd, that its fituation was not uneafy. I DO not relate this latter fact with any in- tention to difprove the notion, that the rattle- fnake poffefles the faculty of charming. For the obfervation was made on the feventeenth of laft month, which is fomewhat earlier than the time when our fnakes ufually come out of their dens. The fnake, too, which was the fubject of the experiment, appeared to be very languid, and had not eaten any thing for a confiderable time. We ought not, therefore, to fuppofe him poflefTed of the fafcinating faculty at this period; fince, I prefume, that this faculty, did it exift at all, is fubfervient to the purpofe of procuring the reptile its food. The fact is, perhaps, valuable in another point of view. It feems to fhow, it does fhow, that the me- phitick vapour proceeding from the rattle-fnake, allowing that fuch a vapour really exiib, was, in no refpect, injurious to the bird. If the mephitick vapour of the rattle-fnake were productive of the effects attributed to it by Mr. de la Cepede, and other writers ; and, especially, if this vapour extended its influence [ 33 ] to animals fituated at a confiderable diftance from the reptile, the atmofphere of the rattle- fnake would often be a kind of Avernus, which many anjmals would avoid, and which would generally occafion the ficknefs or death of thofe that were fo unfortunate as to come within its fphere. But how different is the cafe ! The abodes of the rattle-fnake are the favourite haunts of frogs, and many fpecies of birds, wtiich often pafs the feafons of their amours and gene- ration in clouds of mephitifm: uninjured, and undeftroyed. How often has the rattle-fnake been known to continue, for days, at the bottom of a tree, or even a fmall bufh, upon the branches of which the thrufh or the cat- bird are rearing their young ! This would be a fuitable fituation for the mephitick vapour to exert its noxious influence ; but, in our woods, fuch influence has never been perceived. Birds of the eagle and the hawk kind have been feen to foar, for a confiderable time, above the fpot occupied by a rattle-fnake, and at length to dart upon the reptile, and carry it to their young. Neither the parent-bird nor its young ones, have ever been known to receive any in- jury from the fnake's vapour. Poffibly, it may [ 39 1 be faid, this vapour was diflipated, or greatly diluted, in palling through the air. A mephitick, or fetid, vapour emanates from the bodies of many animals befides the rattle-fnake ; from the opoflum*, and the pole- cat t, for inftance. The vapour of thefe quadrupeds would be as likely to affect birds, &c. with afphyxy, as that of the rattle-fnake. And poffibly it does. There is, certainly, one thing in favour of the fuppofition. The opol- fum, in particular, is noted for his cunning in catching birds. I shall conclude this part of my memoir by obferving, that the odour of the rattle-fnake is faid to be agreeable to fome perfons. Mr. de la Cepede's fecond mode of expla- nation is much more plaufible. I have already obfervedj, that it was the fyftem of Sir Hans Sloane, who affected to ground it upon expe- riment:. It is adopted by the author of tru well-written account of de la Cepede's N:!x- * Didelphis Opoflum. t Vivcrra Putorhs. $ See pages 30 & 3*> »;*v- r 40 i ral Hiftory of Serpents, in the Monthly Re- vie w\\. Mr. de la Cepede prefumes that, " for the moft part, when a bird, a fquirrel, &c. has been feen precipitating itfelf from the top of a tree, into the jaws of a rattle-fnake, it had been already bitten ;" and that its whole conduct, fuch as its crying, its agitation, its leaping from branch to branch, &c. are all effects induced by the violent operation of the poifon, thrown into its body, by the reptile. An attention to facts conftrains me to re- ject this attempt towards a folution of the queftion, which I am confidering. I fhall arrange my chiefeft objections under two heads. First. We are pretty well acquainted with the moft prominent effects produced by the poifon of the rattle-fnake, in various fpe- cies of animals. It muft be admitted, that there is a confiderable variety in thefe effects, and a great difference in the ftrength of thefe effects. In one animaf, the poifon produces an high degree of inflammatory a&ion in the fyf- || Appendix to the fecond volume of the Monthly Re- view Enlarged, p. 511. [ 4i J tern ; in another, the moft ftriking primary effect is a fomnolency, or drowfmefs. In one animal, the poifon does not produce any ob- vious effect upon the fyftem for many minutes; in another the effects are almoft inftantane- ous*. But in almoft every inftance in which the poifon of the rattle-fnake has been fuccefs- fully thrown into the body of an animal, there cnfue a fet of fymptoms, very different from the actions of birds and fquirrels when under the fuppofed fafcinating influence of the ferpent- kind. It is not neceffary to detail, in this place, thefe various fymptoms, becaufe I have already done it in a paper which is printed in the third volume of the Tranfaclions of our Societyf, and becaufe thefe fymptoms cannot be unknown to the members of the Society. It will be fuffici- ent to obferve, that two of the moft univerlal effects of the poifon of the rattle-fnake, I mean the extreme debility and the giddinefs, which commonly almoft immediately fucceed the bite, will preclude the poflibility of a fquirrefs, or a bird's, dancing from branch to branch, flying F * A fmall dog that was bitten in the fide by a large rattle-fnake, reeled about, and expired, feemingly fuflrbca- ted, in two minutes. This was in the month of Auguft. \ No. xi. p. nooc in. [ 42 ] about, and running to and from the ferpent, for a confiderable time, before it becomes a prey to its enemy. Befides, the farce of fafcination is often kept up for a much longer term of time than any fmall animals are known to live after a fuccefsful bite by the rattle-fnake. But, perhaps, it may be faid, that the rattle-fnake, like fome of our wafps, knows how to inject into the ani- mal, which he means to devour, any given quan- tity of his fubtile poifon. Here, the analogy will not apply: but I have not time to point out the various inftances in which its failure is con- fpicuous Kalm mentions a well-known fact, which will be admitted to have confiderable weight in deftroying the force of this part of Mr. de la Cepede's fyftem. " The fquirrel being upon the point of running into the fnake's mouth, the fpectators have not been able to let it come to that pitch, but killed the fnake, and as foon as it had got a mortal blow, the fquirrel or bird deftined for deftrudion, flew away, and left off their moanful note, as if they had broke loofe from a net. Some fay, that if they only touch- ed the fnake, fo as to draw off its attention from the fquirrel; it went off quickly, not flopping till it had got to a great diftance. " Why" continues [ 43 ] our author, " do the fquirrels or birds go a- way fo fuddcnly, and why no fooner? If they had been poifoned or bitten by the fnake be- fore, fo as not to be able to get from the tree, and to be forced to aproach the fnake always more and more, they could however not get new ftrength by the fnake being killed or di- verted*." Secondly. It is a fad well known in this country, that the rattle-fnake is not the only kind of ferpent that is faid to be endued with the faculty of fafcinating birds, fquirrels, and o- ther animals. As far as my inquiries have ex- tended, it does not appear to me that, in general, the rattle-fnake is thought to have fo large a por- tion of this faculty as fome other fpecies of fer- pents. Of this, at leaft, I am certain, that perfons refiding in our country-fituations tell as many wonderful tales of the bewitching eyes of the black-fnake, the coluber conftridor of Linnseus, as they do of the boiquira, or rattle-fnake. Now let it be fuppofed, for a minute, that the poifon of this latter ferpent, when thrown into the bo- dy of a bird, a fquirrel, &c. is capable of produ- - * Travels into North-America, &c. vol. ii. p. 209 & 210. It willbeeafyto difcover what part of Kalm's reafon- ing, in the above quotation, I admit. [ 44 ] cing, in thefe animals, thofe piteous cries, thofe Angular movements, thofe tremulous fears, which are mentioned by Kalm,by de la Cepede, and by other writers,—in what manner are we to account for the fimilar cries, movements, and fears, in thofe birds which are frequently feen under the fafcinating influence of the black- fnake ? For we Americans all know, that the bite of the black-fnake is perfedly innoxious. This, indeed, is alfo the cafe with the greater number of the fpecies of ferpents that have, hi- therto, been difcovered in the extenfive country of the United-States, And yet almoft every fpecies of ferpent is fuppofed to be endued with the power of fafcinating fuch animals as it occa- fionally devours. These fads, and this mode of reafoning, certainly involve, in fome difficulty, Mr. de la Cepede, and thofe writers who efpoufe his opi- nion, which I have examined, under the firft head of my objedions. An attempt is made to account for the imaginary fafcinating faculty of the ferpent from the powerful influence of a fubtile poifon. But, upon inquiry, it is found, that the power of bewitching different animals is not an exclufive gift of thofe ferpents which nature has provided with envenomed fangs: it is [ 45 ] a gift which as extenfively belongs to that more numerous tribe of our ferpents, whofe bite is innocent, and whofe creeping motion is their only poifon*. * If there is any impropriety in this mode of exprefllon, the impropriety has its fource in my feelings, with re- fpect to the ferpents. Perhaps, no man experiences the force and the miferies of this prejudice in a greater degree than I do. It is the only prejudice which, I think, I have not ftrength to fubdue. As the natural hiftory of the fer- pents is a very curious and interefting part of the fcience of zoology ; as the United-States afford an ample oppor- tunity for the farther improvement of the hiftory of thefe animals, and as I have, for a long time, been anxious to devote a portion of my leifure time to an inveftigation of their phyfiology, in particular, I cannot but exceedingly regret my weaknefs and timidity, in this refped. I had meditated a feries of experiments upon the refpiration, the digeftion, and the generation of the ferpents of Pennfylva- nia. But, I want the fortitude which it is neceflary to pof- fefs in entering on the tafk. Inftead of flowly and cauti- oufly difleaing and examining their ftructure and their fundions, with that attention which the fubject merits, I am more difpofed, at prefent, to obey the injunftion of the Mantuan poet, in the following beautiful lines: _______Cape faxa manu : cape robora, paftor, Tollentemque minas et fibila colla tumentem Dijice: jamque fuga tumidum caput abdidit alte, Cum medii nexus, exftremaeque agminacaudae Solvuntur, tardofque trahit finus ultimus orbes. Georg. Lib. iii. 420—424. [ 46 ] These objedions will, I am perfuaded, be fufficient to convince every unprejudiced reader, that the fyftem of explanation offer- ed by Mr. de la Cepede is unfounded in fads; and, confequently, that the problem ftill re- mains to be folved, in another way. Among the number of ingenious men who have amufed themfelves with fpeculations on the fubjed of this memoir, and who, rejed- ing the commonly received notion of the exift- ence of a fafcinating power in the rattle-fnake, htve attempted to explain the phenomenon up- on other principles, it is with pleafure I recog- nife the refpedable Profeffor Blumenbach, of Gottingen. This gentleman, in a late publica- tion, fpeaking of the rattle-fnake, makes a few remarks on the fafcinating faculty which has been afcribed to this reptile. Thefe remarks I fhall tranflate at length. " That fquirrels, fmall birds, &c." fays he, " voluntarily fall from trees into the jaws of the rattle-fnake, lying under them, is certainly founded in fads: nor is this much to be won- dered at, as fimilar phenomena have been ob- ferved in other fpecies of ferpents, and even in toads, hawks, and in cats, all of which, to ap- [ 47 ] pearance, can under particular circumftances, entice other fmall animals, by mere fteadfaft looks. Here the rattles of this fnake (the rat- tle-fnake ) are of peculiar fervite; for their hiff- ing noife caufes the fquirrels, whether impelled by a kind of curiofity, mifunderftanding, or dreadful fear, to follow it, as it would feem, of their own accord. At leaft," continues Mr. Blumenbach, " I know from well-informed eye- witneffes, that it is one of the common pradices among the younger favages to hide themfelves in the woods, and by counterfeiting the hiffing of the rattle-fnake to allure and catch the fquir- rels*." I do not intend to take up much time in examining the foregoing explanation. I fhall offer my objedions to it, in as concife a manner as I can. First. The faculty of fafcinating is by no means peculiar to the rattle-fnake, but is attri- buted as extenfively to the black-fnake, and o- ther ferpents, which are not furnifhed with the crepitaculum, or fet of bells J, by which this fer- * jpanbbud; bcr«ttaturgefcbicbtc, 9>. 253. ©fcttingm: 179*' % Serpent a fonnette, is the French name for the rat- tle-fnake. [ 48 ] pent is fuppofed to be is enabled to ring for its prey, when it wants it. Secondly/ Some perfons, who have feen the rattle-fnake in the fuppofed ad of charming, affure me that the reptile did not fhake its rattles, but kept them ftill. It is true, that Mr. Vof- maer's rattle-fnake, already mentioned, continu- ally fhook its rattles. Thirdly. With regard to the pradice of the young favages, fpoken of by Mr. Blumen- bach, I know nothing. I have inquired of Indians, and of perfons who have refided, for a confiderable time, among the Indians, and they appear to be as ignorant of the circumftance as I am myfelf. I am inclined to think that Mr. Blumenbach has been impofed upon: or, per- haps, the following circumftance may have gi- ven rife to the ftory. The young Indians put arrows, acrofs, in their mouths, and by the quivering motion of their lips upon the arrows, imitate the noife of young birds, thus bring- ing the old ones fo near to them, that they can be readily fhot at. In like manner, the Lanius Excubitor, or great fhrike, hiding itfelf in a thick- et, and imitating the cry of a young bird, often fucceeds in feizing the old ones, which have been [ 49 J folicited, by the counterfeited noife, to the aflift- ance of their young. Ever fince I have been accuftomed to con- template the objeds of nature with a degree of minute attention, I have confidered the whole ftory of the enchanting faculty of the rattle- friake, and of other ferpents, as deftitute of a folid foundation. I have attentively liftened to many ftories, which have been related to me as proofs of the dodrine, by men whofe veracity I could not fufped. But there is a ftubborn in- credulity often attached to certain minds. In me it was ftrong. The mere force of argument nevei compelled me to believe. I always fufped- ed that there was fome deficiency in the extent of obfervation, and the refult of not a little atten- tion to the fubjed has taught me, that there is but one wonder in the bufinefs;------the won- der that the ftory fhould ever have been believ- ed by a man of underftanding, and of obferva- tion. In conduding my inquiries into this curi- ous fubjed, I thought it would be proper, and even neceffary, previoufly to my forming a de- cided opinion, to afcertain the two following points, viz. firft: what fpecies of birds are G [ 5* ] moft frequently obferved to be inchanted by the ferpents ? and, fecondly, at what feafon of the year has any particular fpecies been moft' com- monly feen under this wonderful influence ? I was induced to believe that the folution of thefe two queftions would ferve as a clue to the in- veftigation of what has long been confidered as one of the moft myfterious operations in na- ture. I am perfuaded that I have not been mif- taken. Poffibly, the credulous may not think as I do. It is a curious circumftance in the hiftory of birds, that almoft every fpecies, in the fame country at leaft, has an almoft uniform and de- terminate method of building its neft, whether we confider the form of the neft, the materials of which it is conftruded, or the place in which it is fixed*. Some obfervations on this * I do not mean, by this obfervation, to affert, that birds are neceflarily impelled to conftrudt their nefts of the- fame materials, or to place them in the fame fituations: yet fuch is the language of fome writers on natural hiftory, and on morals, who talk of the " determinate inftinct " of animals, and who think it impofiible that " animals of the fame fpecies fhould any where differ." " The groufe in America, we are told, perch upon trees ; the hare bur- rows in the ground; and we have, in thefe inftances, fuffi- cient reafon to deny that the fpecies of either is the fame [ 5i ] fubjed are neceffarily conneded with the point under inveftigation, in this memoir:—indeed, they are involved in the queftion concerning the fpecies of birds which have moft generally been obferved to be enchanted by the rattle-fnake, &c. Some birds build their nefts on the fum- mits of the loftieft trees ; others fufpend them, in a pendulous manner, at the extremity of a branch, or even on a leaf*, whilft others build them on the lower branches, among bufhes, and in the hollow's of decayed, and other trees. Ma- ny fpecies, again, are content with the ground, laying their eggs, and hatching them, in the ca- vity of a ftone, an excavation from the earth, among the grafs of fields and meadows, or in fields of wheat, rye, and other grains. Thus, to confine myfelf to our own country, the ea- gle, the vulture, the hawk, and other birds of with thofe of a like denomination, with which we are ac- quainted, in Europe." Thefe are the words of a late ce- lebrated author. See Dr. A. Furgufon's Principles of mo- ral and political Science, vol. i. p. 59 & 60. quarto edi- tion. * See a very interefting account of the Motacilla futo- ria, or Taylor-bird, by my learned friend Mr. Pennant, in his Indian Zoology, pages 44, 45, & 46. [ 52 ] this extenfive family, make choice of the lofti- er! oaks, and other trees of our forefts; the bal- timore-oriole*, commonly called, in Pennfyl- vania, the hanging-bird, fufpends a beautiful neft to the extremity of a branch of the Lirio- dendronf, or fome other tree; the migrating thrufh J, called robin, is content with the lower branches; the red thrufh ||, the cat-bird§, the red-winged oriole called the fwamp black- bird H, and many others build in the low bufh- es; the wood-peckers **,the blue motacilla (blue- bird) ff, the torchepotJJ, and others, build in the hollows of trees, the chattering plover||||, and the whip-poor-will§§, take advantage of a hollow place in the ground, or in a ftone, whilft , the great larkf H, the marfn-wren***, &c. place their nefts in the grafs; and laftly the part- ridgef ft builds in the corn-fields. * Oriolus Baltimore. + Liriodendron tulipifera. X Tardus migratorius. || Turdus rufus. § Mufcicapacarolinenfis. ^ Oriolus phceniceus. ** P»ci. ft Motacilla Sialis. XX Sitta. |||| Charadrius vociferus. §§ Caprimulgus. ^ Alauda magna. *** Motacilla Troglodites? fff Tetrao virginianus. [ 53 ] Of all thefe birds, and of a great many others, thofe which build their nefts up on the ground, on the lower branches of trees, and on low bufhes (efpecially on the fides of rivers, creeks, and other waters, that are frequented by different kinds of ferpents), have moft'frequently been obferved to be under the enchanting faculty of the rattle-fnake, &c. Indeed, the bewitching fpirit of thefe ferpents feems to be almoft entire- ly limited to thefe kinds of birds. Hence, we fo frequently hear tales of the fafcination of our cat-bird, which builds its neft in the low bufhes, on the fides of creeks, and other waters, the moft ufual haunts of the black-fnake, and other ferpents. Hence, too, upon opening the fto- machs of fome of our ferpents, if we often find that they contain birds, it is almoft entirely thofe birds which build in the manner I have juft mentioned. This fad I had long remarked. It had made fome impreffion upon my mind before I had turned my attention to the fubjed of this memoir. Lately, when I came to take a view of the fubjed, the fad appeared to me to be of fome confequence. I fhall now avail myfelf of it. [ 54 ] The rattle-fnake feldom, if ever, climbs up trees*. He is frequently, however, found about their roots, efpecially in wet fituations. It is * Some refpectable writers afTert, that the rattle-fnake does climb trees, and that it does it with eafe. Mr. de la Cepede is of this opinion. After telling us that this rep- tile lives upon worms, frogs, and hares, this naturalift pro- ceeds : " il fait auffi fa proie d'oifeaux& d'ecureuils ; car il monte avec facilite furlesarbres, & s'y elance avec viva- cite de branche en branche, ainfi que fur les pointes des rochers qu'il habite, & ce n'cft que dans la plaine qu'il court avec difficulte, & qu'il eft plus aise d'eviter fa pour- fuite." Hijloire Naturelle des Serpens, p. 409. At the conclufion of his account of the boiquira, or crotalus hor- ridus, the eloquent author has run into the fame error, in the following beautiful, though rather poetical, apoftrophe. «£ Tranquilles habitans de nos contrees temperees, que nous fommcs plus heureux, loin de ces plages ou la chaleur & Phumidite regnent avec tant de force ! Nous ne voyons point un Serpent funefte infecterl'eau au milieu de laquelle il nage avec facilite; les arbres dont ilparcourt les rameaux avec viteffe ; la terre dont il peuple les cavernes ; les bois folitaires, ou il exerce le meme empire quele tigre dans fes deferts brulans, & dont l'obfcurite livre plus furement fa proie a fa morfure. Ne regrettons pas les beautes naturelles de ces climats plus chauds que le notre, leurs arbres plus tourTus, leurs feuillages plus agreables, leurs fleurs plus fuaves, plus belles: ces fleurs, ces feuillages, ces arbres ca- chent la demeure du Serpent a fonnette." Hijloire Natu- relle des Serpens, p. 419 & 420. I have been at fome pains to difcover whether the rattle-fnake does climb up trees. The refult of my inquires is that it does not. Although [ 55 ] faid that this reptile is often feen, curled round a tree, darting terrible glances at a fquirrel, which after fome time is fo much influenced by thefe glances, or by fome fubtile emanation I have had oportunities of feeing great numbers of rattle- fnakes in the weftern parts of Pennfylvania, &c particularly in the vicinity of the river Ohio, I never faw one of them except on the ground. The black-fnake I have often feen upon trees. I ought not, however, to conceal that in the fummer of the laft year, a Choktah-Indian told me, that the rattle-fnake does climb trees and bufhes, to a fmall height. He faid, that he had once feen one of thefe fnakes upon a reed. I am not very willing to deny this Indian's ftory : yet it is oppofed to every information I have been able to procure from perfons well acquainted with the reptile of which I am fpeaking. However, it is not impoflible that where trees and bufhes grow very clofe together, the fnake may climb them to a very fmall height. MoftTpecies of ferpents move in a fpiral manner : the rat- tle-fnake moves ftraight on; and this is the reafon why he cannot climb trees.. In the quotation which I have made from Mr. de la Cepede, another mifbke is involved. He fpeaks of the agility with which the rattle-fnake moves. This is not, however, merely the miftake of Mr. de la Cepede. We find it in Pifo. Speaking of this reptile, our author fays : « In triviis juxra ac deviis locis cernitur, tarn celeriter proreptans ut volare vUleatur, idque velo- cius per loca faxofa, quam terreftria.^ De India utri- ufqtu re naturali et medico, p. 274. Now the truth is that the rattlesnake is one of the moft fluggifh of all our ferpents. Linnaeus was well informed, when he afferted that Providence had given « the Crotalus a flow motion.' See Reflections, &c. quoted p. 23 of this memoir. C 56 ] from the body of the ferpent, that the poor ani- mal falls into the jaws of its enemy. This fto- ry is, I believe, deftitute of foundation, though it is related by the good Cotton Mather*. The rattle-fnake is, indeed, fometimes feen at the root of a tree, upon the lower branches of which, at the height of a few feet from the ground, a bird or fquirrel has been feen exhibiting fymptoms of fear and diftrefs. Is this a matter of any won- der ? Nature has taught different animals what animals are their enemies ; and although, as will be afterwards fhewn, the principal food of the rattle-fnake is the great frog, yet as he occafion- ally devours birds and fquirrels, to thefe animals he maft neceffarily be an objed of fear. When the reptile, therefore, lies at the foot of a tree, the bird or the fquirrel will feel itfelf uneafy. That it will fometimes run towards the ferpent, then retire, and return again, I will not deny. But that it is irrefiftably drawn into the jaws of the ferpent, I do deny: becaufe it is very fre- quently feen to drive the ferpent from its hold; becaufe the bird or fquirrel often returns, in a few minutes, to their habitations. Sometimes the bird or fquirrel, in attempting to drive away the fnake, approach too near to their enemy, * Philofophical Tranfactions of the Royal Society, No. 339. [ 57 ] and are bitten, or immediately devoured. But, from what will afterwards be faid, it will appear that thefe inftances are not fo common as is generally imagined. My inquiries concerning the feafon of the year at which any particular fpecies of birds has been feen under tjie fafcinating power of a fer- pent afforded me ftill more fatisfadion. In al- moft every inftance, I found that the fuppofed fafcinating faculty of the ferpent was exerted upon the birds at the particular feafon of their laying their eggs, of their hatching, or of their rearing their young, ftill tender, and deiencelelo. I now began to fuiped, that the cries and fears of birds fuppofed to be fafcinated originated in an endeavour to proted their neft or young. My inquiries have convinced me that this is the cafe. I have already obferved, that the rattle- fnake does not climb up trees. But the black- fnake and fome other fpecies of the genus colu- ber do. When impelled by hunger, and inca- pable of fatisfying it by the capture of animals on the ground, they begin to glide up trees or bufhes, upon which a bird has its neft. The bird is not ignorant of the ferpent's objed. She [ 53 ] leaves her neft, whether it contains eggs or young ones, and endeavours to oppofe the rep- tile's progrefs. In doing this, fhe is aduated by the ftrength of her inftindive attachment to her eggs, or of affedion to her young. Her cry is melancholy, her motions are tremulous. She expofes herfelf to the moft imminent danger. Sometimes, fhe approaches fo near the reptile that he feizes her as his prey. But this is far from being univerfally the cafe. Often, fhe com- pels the ferpent to leave the tree, and then re- turns to her neft*. It is a well known fad, that among fome fpecies of birds, the female, at a certain period, is accuftomed to compel the young ones to leave the neft; that is, when the young have ac- quired fo much ftrength that they are no longer * Horace, though he has not, like his contemporary, Virgil, given any great proofs of his knowledge in natu- ral hiftory, appears to have known, full well, the anxiety of birds for the prefervation of their young : " Ut affidens implurnibus pullis avis " Serpentium allapfus timet/' Epod. i. The author of thefe two fine lines, had he lived in Ame- rica, the land of fafcination, would, I am inclined to think, ; have difbelieved the whole ftory. They would have been a clue to light and truth on this fubject. [ 59 ] entitled to all her care. But they ftill claim fome of li'.:r care. Their flights are awkward, and foon broken by fatigue. They fall to the ground, where they are frequently expofed to the attacks of the ferpent, which attempts to de- vour them. In this fituation of affairs, the mo- ther will place herfelf upon a branch of a tree, or bufh, in the vicinity of the ferpent. She will dart upon the ferpent, in order to prevent the de- ftrudion of her young: but fear, the inftind of felf-prefcrvation, will compel her to retire. She leaves the ferpent, however, but for a fhort time, and then returns again. Oftentimes, fhe pre- vents the deftrudion of her young, attacking the fnake, with her wing, her beak, or her claws. Should the reptile fucceed in capturing the young, the mother is expofed to lefs danger. For, whilft engaged in fwallowing them, he lias neither inclination nor power to feize upon the old one. But the appetite of the ferpcit-tribe is pTe.it: the capacity of their ftomachs is net lets fo. The danger of the mother is at hand, when the young are devoured. The fnake feizes up- on her: and this is the cataftrophe, which crowns the tale of fafcination ! An attachment to our offspring is not pecu- liar to the human kind alone. It is an inftind [ 6o ] which pervades the univerfe of animals. It is a fpark of the divinity that aduates the greater number of living exiftences. It is a paflion which, in my mind, at leaft, declares, in lan- guage moft emphatick, the exiftence, the fuper- intendance, the benevolence, of a firft great caufe, who regards with partial and parental, if not with equal, eyes the falling of a fparrow and the falling of an empire. Among the greater number of the fpecies of birds, the. attachment of the parent to the young is remarkably ftrong. We have daily inftances of this attachment among our dome- ftick birds, and I believe, it is ftronger among thefe birds in their wild ftate: for there are fome reafons for fufpeding, that this amiable inftind is diminiihed and weakened by culture*. The inftances which I have already mentioned, as well as a fad, which remains to be mention- ed, point out, in a ftriking view, the attach- ment of the mother-bird to her offspring. She often guards her neft, with the greateft atten- tion, fearful of the infidious glide of the ferpent. She endeavours to prevent the deftrudion of her eggs or young, by this enemy. When he * This queftion will be examined in my memoirs upon the ftorge, or affections, of animals. [ 6i ] has fucceeded in obtaining them, fhe attacks him either alone, or calls other birds to her affiftance. We ought not to be furpriled, that fometimes fhe falls a vidim to her affedion. For it is a well known fad, that fome fpecies of birds will fuffer themfelves to be taken upon their nefts, ra- ther than relinquifh their young, or their eggs. In the ftudy of natural hiftory, I am always happy to difcover new inftances of the wifdom of providence, and new proofs of the ftrong af- fedions of animals. And for the difcovery of fuch inftances of wifdom, and fuch prods of af- fedion, the contemplation of nature is an am- ple field. In the inftances now before us, the ftrength of the inftind -of affedion in birds is illuftrated, in a ftriking point of view ; and I cannot help obferving, that I feel an high degree ■ of pleafure in being able to do away,in fome mea- fure at leaft, a prejudice, not lefs extenfive than it is unfounded, by bearing my flender teftimo- ny in favour of the exiftence and the powerful dominion of a benevolent principle in animals. The following fad was communicated to me,fome time fince,by our prefident,Mr. Ritten- houfe. I think, it ftrikingly illuftrates and con- firms the fyftem which I have been endeavour- C 62 j ing to eftablifh. I relate it, therefore, with plea- fure, and the more fo, as I have no doubt, that the authority of a cautious and enlightened phi- losopher will greatly contribute to the deftruc- Uon of a fuperftitious notion which difgraces the page of natural hiftory. Some years fince, this ingenious gentleman was induced to fuppofe, from the peculiar melan- choly cry of a red-winged-maize-thief*, that a fnake was at no great diftance from it, and that ihe bird was in diftrefs. He threw a ftone at the place from which the cry proceeded, which hrid the effed of driving the bird away. The poor animal, however, immediately returned to the fame fpot. Mr. Rittenhoufe now went to the place where the bird alighted, and, to his ^reat aftoniinment, he found it perched upon the back of a large black-fnake, which it was pecking with its beak. At this very time, the ferpent was in the ad of fwallowing a young bird, and from the enlarged fize of the reptile's belly it was evident that it had already fwallow- ed two or three other young birds. After the fnake was killed, the old bird flew away. * Co-^morly called, in Pennfvlvania, the Swamp- Black-bird. It is the Oriolus phceniceus of Linnaeus. L <>3 J Mr. Rittenhoufe fays that the cry and ac- tions of this bird had been preeifely fimilar to thofe of a bird which is faid to be under the fa- fcinating influence of a ferpent; and I doubt not that this very inftance would, by many credulous perfons, have been adduced as a proof of the exi- ftence of fuch a faculty. But what can be more evident than the general explanation of th'r- cafe? The maze-thief builds its neft in low bufhes, the bottoms of which are the ufual haunts of the black-fnake. The reptile found no difficulty in gliding up to the neft, from which, moft probably in the abfence of the mother, it had taken the young ones. Or it had feized the young ones, after they had been forced from the neft, by the mother. In either cafe, the' mother had come to prevent them from being devoured. We are well acquainted with the common food of the rattle-fnake. It is the great-frog* of our rivers, creeks, and other waters. The fnake lies infidioufty in wait for his prey, at the wa- ter-ed<^e. He employs no machinery of en- chantment. ' Fie trufts to his cunning and 1 Is ftrength. * R.m.1 occllata of Linn.euc. [ 64 j A very ingenious* friend of mine, who has devoted confiderable attention to the natural hi- ftory of the rattle-fnake, and who has diffeded many of them, affures me, that he never faw but one inftance in which a bird was found in the ftomaeh of this reptile, and this bird was the chewink, or ground-robinf. In another in- ftance, he faw a ground-fquirrelj taken out of one of thefe reptiles. In every other cafe, fo long as the food retained enough of the form to be diftinguifhed, the ftomaeh was found to contain the great-frog, which I have mention- ed. Another argument againft the fafcinat- ing power of the ferpent-tribe ftill remains to be confidered. It is natural to inquire, for what purpofe nature has endued ferpents with the fuppofed powers of fafcinating birds, and other animals ? The anfwer to this queftion is uniform. It is faid, the power is given that the ferpents may * Timothy Matlack, Efquire. f This is the Fringilla erythrophthalma of Linnaeus. X The Sciurus ftriatus of Linnaeus. [ 6S ] obtain their food. Let us examine this opi- nion. Admitting the exiftence of this power, I mould have no hefitation in believing, that its ufe is what is here mentioned, though, indeed, it ought not to be concealed, that fnakes are fuppofed, by fome foolifh people, to have the power of charming even children. And yet, I believe, there are no inftances recorded of our American fnakes devouring children. If, then, nature, in the immenfity of her kindnefs, had gifted the ferpents with this wonderful power, we fhould, at leaft, exped to find that the com- mon and principal food of thefe ferpents was thofe animals, viz. birds and fquirrels, upon which this influence is generally obferved to be exerted. This, however, is by no means the cafe. As conneded with this part of my memoir, it will not be improper to obferve, that all our ferpents are the food of different kinds of birds. Even the rattle-fnake, whofe poifon produces fuch alarming fymptoms in man, and other ani- mals, is frequently devoured by fome of our ftronger and more courageous birds. As far as I can learn, the birds which moft commonly at- I C 66 ] tack and deftroy this reptile, are the fwallow- tailed hawk*, and the larger kinds of owls. The owl often feeds her young, with this fnake, whofe bones are frequently found, in her neft, at con- fiderable heights from the ground. Even a hen has been known to leave, for a minute, her affrighted chickens, and attack, with her beak, a rattle-fnake, the greater part of whofe body fhe afterwards devoured f. The black-fnake is a ferpent of much more adivity than the rattle-fnake. The latter, as I have already faidj, feldom, if ever, climbs up trees. But the former will fometimes afcend the loftieft trees, in purfuit of the objed of his appetite. The rattle-fnake, it has been juft obferved, fub- fifts principally upon the large frog, which fre- quents the waters of our country. He has, {Jierefore, but little occafion for adivity. But * Falco furcatus. f It is commonly believed, that the rattle-fnake is a very hardy animal: but this is not the cafe. A very fmall ftroke on any part of its body difables it from running at all; and the flighteft ftroke upon the top of the head is followed by inftant death. The fkull-bone is remarkably thin and brittle; 4b much fo indeed, that it is thought that a ftroke from the wing of a thrufh or robin would be fufficient to break it. X Seepage 54. [ 67 ] the black-fnake, feeding more upon birds, ftands more in need of adivity. He frequently glides up the trees of the foreft, &c. and, commonly in the abfence of the mother, devours either her eggs or her young ones. The difficulty of ob- taining his prey upon the tree is fometimes ve- ry confiderable, as will appear from a fad which will be related immediately. Now, if this ferpent is gifted with the faculty of fafcinating, why is he not content to continue at the bot- tom of the tree, and bring down his objed ? And if he can employ this machinery of fafcina- tion at his pleafure, how comes it, that he fo fel- dom fucceeds in capturing old birds ? For it is a fad that when birds are found in his ftomaeh, they are principally young birds. I have faid, that the black-fnake fometimer- finds great difficulty in obtaining his prey upon a tree. In fupport of this affertion, I could ad- duce many fads. But my memoir has already exceeded the limits which I originally prefcribed to it. I fhall content myfelf, therefore, with re- lating a folitary fad, which ftrikingly illuftrates A bl ac K-fnake was feen climbing up a tree, evidently with the view of procuring the young [ 63 ] birds in the neft of a baltimore-bird. This bird, it has been already obferved, fufpends its neft at the extremity of the branch of a tree. The branch to which the bird, of which I am -fpeaking, had affixed its neft, being very flen- der, the ferpent found it impoflible to cOme at the neft by crawling along it: he, therefore, took the advantage of another branch, which hung above the neft, and twifting a fmall portion of his tail around it, he was enabled, by ftretching the remainder of his body, to reach the neft, in- to which he infinuated his head, and thus glut- ted his appetite with the young birds. The importance of this fad, in the inveftiga- tion of the fubjed of my memoir, appears to me to be great. An American foreft is not the filent refidence of a few birds. During the greater part of the fpring and fhinmer months, our woods are alive with the numerous fpecies of refident and vifitant birdc. At thefe times, if the black-fnake poffeffes the faculty of fafcina- ting, it cannot be a difficult thing for him to procure his food. Yet, in the inftance which I have juft related, we have feen this reptile climbing up a tree, and there obliged to exert all his ingenuity to obtain his prey. [ 69 ] I cannot well conclude this memoir with- out obferving, that in the inveftigation of the fubjed which it involves, I have experienced much pleafure. For to the cultivators of fci- ence, the difcovery of truth muft, at all times, be a fource of pleafure. This pleafure will even rife to fomething like happinefs, when, in addi- tion to the difcovery of truth, we are enabled to draw afide the veil, which, for ages, has cur- tained fuperftition and credulity. Under the influence of various fpecies of fuperftition, we fall from our dignity, and are often rendered unhappy. It fhould be one of the principal objeds of fcience to rear and prop the dignity of the mind, and to fmooth its way to comforts, and to happinefs. The ills and the infirmities of our earthly ftate of being are numerous enough. It is folly, if not vice, to increafe them. He who ferioufly believes, that an hideous reptile is gifted, from the facred fource of univerfal life and good, with the power of fafcinating birds, fquirrels,and other animals, will hardly flop here. He may, and probably will, believe much more. He will not, perhaps, think himfelf entirely exempted from this wonderful influence. He may fuppofe, that the property belongs to other beings, befideG the ferpents; and he will, perhaps, C 70 ] imagine that it forms a part of a more extenfive plan, the effeds of which, he will affert, are pro- minent, and unequivocal, though its ways, he will confefs, are incomprehenfible to mortal minds. HlSTOJtTA NATURALIS NON BENE DIGES- TA ABIT IN FABULAM ; PR7EJUDICIA YERO ET NIMIA CREDULITAS VeRITA- TEM, ETSI COMINUS SATIS GOGNI- TAM, LONGISSIME aliqjjando pro- PELLUNT. Jacobus Theodorus Klein. FINIS. (.: O }1K -*[, o\ . r •■ f "V^^t \±\. r*-\ «JH «« -!« * V «i*? i r*