There was a singular occurrence in Rochester, in Ulster county, in former times, to wit: At an early period of the settlement of that place, a certain man in time of harvest in going with a wagon, with shelvings on it, to fetch a load of grain, and, passing near a rattlesnake in the grain field, stopped his team, and, with a fork which had a very long handle, wherewith as he stood in the wagon he reached the snake and began to tease it and soon saw that it began to swell, and being anxious to see to what size it would expand itself, he continued to tease it until its body became swollen to a very large size, when it made a spring and passed over wagon and shelvings without touching any of it and came down on the ground on the other side of the wagon, and, in passing over it, the man very narrowly escaped being bitten in his face by the snake as he stood in the wagon. Such an occurrence was a good warning against trying such experiments. Another occurrence of anterior times will show the effect of hunger, in the last stage of life, of a certain hawk. At a certain time when Gerardus Van Inwegen and Abraham Cuddeback were catching pigeons with a net, a hawk came and lit on a fence near them, and continued there watching the pigeons until they had made some hauls; and all the ado they made to spring the net, run to it, kill and carry the pigeons, &c., did not scare the hawk so as to drive him from his place, but from his action appeared to want a pigeon. This caused Van Inwegen to try the following experiment to catch him. He took a pigeon in his hand and held it at arm's length before him towards the hawk, and walked slowly towards him, and when the pigeon got within his reach he took hold of it to eat it, when Van Inwegen caught the hawk and found him to be old and starved, and had become unable to procure his food. Different opinions have existed in relation to the government of the actions of animals, birds and other creatures. In respect to which, it is difficult in many cases to determine whether certain of their actions are governed by the dictates of mind, to answer certain purposes, or by an impression on their natures to cause their actions without design. The cravings of food and other bodily desires emanate from the nature created in their bodies. The way and manner of each species to procure its food are dictates of the mind, in which some, if not all, display as much tact and correctness to obtain their objects as the mind of man could direct in their respective bodily capacities. The fear of an enemy, or of danger from any cause, is a dictate of the mind and affects the body, and both will unite their efforts to defend or escape the danger the means of which the mind directs, and the body performs accordingly thereto.