kill it, which he intended to do with a little fick. But on approaching the place where the fnakes lay, they perceived him, and the male in great wrath leaves his pleasure to purfue the fellow with amazing fwiftnefs; he little expected fuch courage in the fnake, and flinging away his ftick, began to run as fait as he was able. The fnake pursued him, overtook him, and twifting several times round his feet, threw him down, and frightened him almoft out of his fenfes; he could not get rid of the fnake, till he took a knife and cut it through in two or three places. The other workmen were rejoiced at this fight, and laughed at it, without offering to help their companion. Many people at Albany told me of an accident which happened to a young lady, who went out of town in fummer, together with many other girls, attended by her negro. She fat down in the wood, in a place where the others were running about, and before fhe was aware, a Black Snake being disturbed in its amours, ran under her petticoats, and twisted round her waift, fo that he fell backwards in a fwoon occafioned by her fright, or by the compreffion which the fnake caufed. The negro came up to her, and fufpecting that a Black Snake might have hurt her, on making ufe of a remedy to bring his lady to herself again, he lifted up her cloaths, and really found the fnake wound about her body as clofe as poffible; the negro was not able to tear it away, and therefore cut it, and the girl came to herself again; but the conceived fo great an averfion to the negro,

that he could not bear the fight of him afterwards, and died of a confumption. At other times of the year this fnake is more apt to run away, than to attack people. However I have heard it afferted frequently, that even in fummer, when its time of copulation is past, it purfues people, efpecially children, if it finds that they are afraid and run from it. Several people likewife affured me from their own experience, that it may be provoked to purfue people, if they throw at it, and then run away. I cannot well doubt of this, as I have heard it faid by numbers of creditable people; but I could never fucceed in provoking them. I ran always away on perceiving it, or flung fomething at it, and then took to my heels, but I could never bring the fnakes to purfue me: I know not for what reafon they fhunned me, unless they took me for an artful feducer.

This fnake is very greedy of milk, and it is difficult to keep it out, when it is once used to go into a cellar where milk is kept. It has been feen eating milk out of the fame difh with children, without biting them, though they often gave it blows with the spoon upon the head, when it was overgreedy. I never heard it hifing. It can raife more than one half of its body from the ground, in order to look about it. It skins every year; and its skin is faid to be a remedy against the cramp, if continually worn about the body. in this

Moft of the people country afcribed to this fnake a power of fafcinating birds and fquirrels, as I have described in feveral parts of my Journal.

Mr.

Mr. Peter Cock, a merchant of this town, affured me that he lately had himself been a fpectator of a fnake's fwallowing a little bird. This bird, which from its cry has the name of Cat bird, (Muscicapa Carolinenfis. Linn.) flew from one branch of a tree to another, and was making a doleful tune. At the bottom of the tree, but at a fathom's diftance from the ftem, lay one of the great black fnakes, with its head continually upright, pointing towards the bird, which was always fluttering about, and now and then fettling on the branches. At first it only kept in the topmost branches, but by degrees it came lower down, and even flew upon the ground, and hopped to the place where the fnake lay, which immediately opened its mouth, caught the bird and fwallowed it; but it had scarce finished its repaft before Mr. Cock came up and killed it. I was afterwards told that this kind of fnakes was frequently obferved to purfue little birds in this manner. It is already well known that the rattle-fnake does the fame.

The rattle-fnake often devours the fquirrels, notwithstanding all their agility. This unwieldy creature, is faid to catch fo agile an one, merely by fascination. I have never had an opportunity of feeing how it is done: but fo many credible people affured me of the truth of the fact, and afferted that they were prefent, and paid peculiar attention to it, that I am almoft forced to believe their una

nimous accounts. The fafcination is effected in the following manner: the fnake lies at the bottom of the tree upon which the fquirrel fits; its eyes are fixed upon the little animal, and from that moment it cannot efcape; it begins a doleful outcry, which is fo well known, that a perfon paffing by, on hearing it, immediately knows that it is charmed by a fnake. The fquirrel runs up the tree a little way, comes downwards again, then goes up, and now comes lower again. On that occafion it has been obferved, that the fquirrel always goes down more than it goes up. The snake 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 accidentally approaching, may make a confiderable noife, without the fnake's fo much as turning about. The fquirrel, as beforementioned, comes always lower,' and at last leaps down to the fnake, whofe mouth is already wide open for its reception. The poor little animal then with a pitious cry runs into the fnake's jaws, and is swallowed 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 fmooths it, and by that means makes it fit for swallowing. The fame power of enchanting is afcribed to the black fnake, and it is faid to catch and devour squirrels in the fame manner as the former *.

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told, that towards autumn, as foon as the air begins to grow a little cool, they hide themselves under the mud, which lies at the bottom of ponds and stagnant waters, and lye there torpid during winter. As foon as the weather grows mild, towards fummer, they begin to get out of their holes, and croak. If the spring, that is, if the mild weather, begins early, they appear about the end of March, old ftile; but if it happens late, they tarry under water till late in April. Their places of abode are ponds, and bogs with ftagnant water; they are never in any flowing water. When many of them croak together, they make an enormous noife. Their croak exactly refembles the roaring of an ox or bull, which is somewhat hoarfe. They croak fo loud, that two people talking by the fide of a pond cannot understand each other. They eroak all together; then ftop a little, and begin again. It seems as if they had a captain among them: for when he begins to croak, all the others follow; and when he ftops, the others are all filent. When this captain gives the fignal for ftopping, you hear a note like poop coming from him. In daytime they feldom make any great noife, unless the fky is covered. But the night is their croakingtime; and, when all is calm, you may hear them, though you are near a mile and a half off. When they croak, they commonly are near the furface of the water, under the bushes, and have their heads out of the water. Therefore, by going flowly, one may get close up to them before they go away. As foon as they are quite under

water, they think themselves fafe, though the water be very fhallow.

Sometimes they fit at a good distance from the pond; but as foon as they fufpect any danger, they haften with great leaps into the water. They are very expert at hopping. A full-grown Bullfrog takes near three yards at one hop. I have often been told the following story by the old Swedes, which happened here, at the time when the Indians lived with the Swedes. It is well known, that the Indians are excellent runners; I have feen them, at governor Johnfon's, equal the best horfe in its fwifteft course, aud almoft pafs by it. Therefore, in order to try how well the bull-frogs could leap, fome of the Swedes laid a wager with a young Indian, that he could not overtake the frog, provided it had two leaps before hand. They carried a bull-frog, which they had caught in a pond, upou a field, and burnt his back-fide; the fire, and the Indian, who endeavoured to be closely up with the frog, had fuch an effect upon the animal, that it made its long hops across the field, as faft as it could. The Indian began to pursue the frog with all his might at the proper time: the noise he made in running frightened the poor frog ; probably it was afraid of being tortured with fire again, and therefore it redoubled its leaps, and by that means it reached the pond before the Indian could over-take it.

In fome years they are more nu◄ merous than in others: no-body could tell, whether the fnakes had ever ventured to eat them, though they eat all the leffer kinds of frogs. 'The women are no friends to thefe

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frogs,