Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3: containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and natural histories of countries as they have been delivered in to the Royal SocietyRoyal Society (Great Britain)
History
Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3: containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and natural histories of countries as they have been delivered in to the Royal Society
Royal Society (Great Britain)
Natural history; Science -- Early works to 1800; Voyages and travels -- Early works to 1800
Besides the Rattle-Snake, there is the Blowing-Snake, an absolute
Species of a Viper, but larger than any that I have seen in _Europe_;
it is so called, because it seems to blow, and spread its Head, and
swell very much before it bite, which is very deadly. It is Remarkable
there is none of their Snakes there, make any of that hissing noise
that ours in _England_ make, but only shoot out their Tongues, shaking
them as ours do, without any noise at all; this is a short thick
sort of Snake. There is another sort of deadly Snake, called the
_Red-Snake_; I once narrowly escaped treading on the back of one of
them: They are of an ugly dark brown colour, inclining to red; their
Bellies are of a more dusky white, with a large streak of Vermillion
Red on either side; this too is of the Viper kind, but is not so short,
but its Tail is more taper and small. The _Horn-Snake_ is, as they
say, another sort of deadly Snake; I never saw any of them, unless
once, shortly after my Arrival in that Country, which I cannot attest
to be the Horn-Snake, for I could not distinctly view it, being in
a Thicket of _Sumach_, it was perch'd up about two Foot high in a
_Sumach_ Branch, its Tail twisted about the Shrub, and about a quarter
of a Yard stood bolt forward, leaning over the forked branch thereof: I
could not see the Horn, which they say it has in its front, wherewith
it strikes, and if it wounds, is as deadly as the Rattle-Snake's bite.
The Gentleman that was with me, told me it was a Horn-Snake, but being
in hast, and on Horse-back, and the Snake in a Thicket, I could not see
the Horn; but had I thought I should never have seen more of them, I
should have took a little pains to have been better satisfied. This I
think may not improperly be referr'd to the _Dart-Snakes_.
The _Black-Snake_, is the largest I think of all others, but I am sure
the most common; I have kill'd several of them full six Foot long,
their Bite is not deemed Mortal, but it swells, and turns to a Running
Sore; they feed upon Lizards, Mice, Rats, Frogs, and Toads, which I
have taken out of their Bellies. I was once a Simpling in the woods,
on a fair Sun-shine day, when I saw a Snake crawling on a Tree that
was fallen, and licking with its forked Tongue as it moved; I stood
still to observe it, and saw it lick up small Insects and Flies with
wonderful nimbleness, catching them betwixt the Forks of its Tongue.
The _Corn-Snake_, most like the Rattle-Snake of all others in colour,
but the Checkers are not so regular, neither has it any Rattles: They
are most frequent in the Corn-Fields, and thence I suppose so called;
the Bite is not so venomous as the Black-Snakes.
The _Water-Snake_, a small Snake, I never saw any of them above a Yard
long, though I have sometimes seen Forty or Fifty at once; they are of
an ugly dark blackish colour: They say, they are the least Venomous of
any.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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