fatigue more than the danger of the road, From the Missouri Emigrant. EXTRAORDINARY PERSEVERANCE. Dr. Samuel Peters is now waiting at Prairie du Chien, the upper military post and settlement on the Mississippi, for the permission of the proper authorities to hold councils with Indians. His object is to gain their consent for him to settle the track of land at lake Pepin, given by them to the Dr. celebrated Capt. Jonathan Carver. P. is upwards of 81 years of age, he formerly lived at Hebron, Con. and is one of those who retired to England during the American revolutionary struggle, and for his loyalty received several appointments from the king. He was bishop of Connecticut and chaplain to one of the British commissioners at the first treaty of peace with America. In London he met Capt. Carver, (with whom he was formerly acquainted,) after he had been disappointed in having his grant confirmed, and so frequently deceived by the ministry, that he had spent all his property and means of support in fruitless attendance upon them, and had at last given up his claim in despair. Dr. P. took him home, and supported him through a long Dr. Peters returned to England, and before he was ready to return, war commenced, which kept him in England until the peace. Since this period he has been ardently employed to commence a settlement, and notwithstanding his age and infirmities, the extreme danger and almost insurmountable difficulties of the undertaking, he has undauntedly progressed as far as above stated, and so sanguine is he of ultimate success, that in a letter to the writer of this, for information, &c. he says, "I expect to build next summer, a saw and grist mills, dwelling house, &c. at Mount Lesoille,* township of —, county of Munroe and territory of Petrysylvania, near lake Pepin." S. Corrigenda in the review of Wirt's Life of Henry, in our last. Page 413. For items of the hero or statesman-read, items in the hero's or stateman's reputation, &c. Page 414. For, we acknowledge the ample assistance, &c.-read, he acknowledges, &c. Same page. For, the intenseness of his reputation,-read extension, &c. Same page. For, he would throw himself in all forms,-read into all forms. Page 416. For, with boots-read with hunting boots, &c. Page 417. For, to hide an enormous defect in the treasury,-read an enormous deficit. Page 419. For, even remain a matter of opinion, read, ever remain. Page 423. For, this common error,-read, the common error. Same page. For, perfect and entire here means-read, here mean. Page 424. For, a much longer life than ever that, &c.—read, than even that. For, proper in the long since of the bar,-read, proper in the language of the bar. Page 425. For, was almost death,-read, was almost instant death. Pages 425 and 427. Exuvia is incorrectly spelt with the diphthong œ. Page 426. For, few such can be found,read, few such instances can be found. Lesouille is the name of the principal chief of the Sioux, and I suppose the greatest counsellor of their nation. THE AMERICAN MONTHLY MAGAZINE AND CRITICAL REVIEW. No. II......VOL. III. JUNE, 1818. ART. 1. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. A BRIEF abstract of the remarkable sufficiently prove this, how then bit, facts, in regard to the power of fascination in serpents, related in the following letters, was made in our Magazine for November last, in the report of the Transactions of the Philosophical Society of New-York. But, from the nature of that department, the inferences drawn from those facts, by Mr. Garden, could not be given in detail, and they are so ingenious and interesting that we presume our readers will coincide with us in think ing them worthy of publication. For the copy of the letters, we are indebted to the politeness of Dr. Francis, of this city. To Dr. David Ramsay. DEAR SIR, Before I read the Essay of Dr. Barton (so strongly recommended by you to my attention) on the Fascinating Power attributed to Serpents, it is my wish to deliver my own sentiments in writing, that I may more explicitly declare my reasons for believing that it proceeds from a power possessed by the snake, of emitting, at pleasure, from its body, a very subtile effluvium, which, acting on the delicate organs of the smaller animals, deprives them of every power of exertion, and renders them incapable of flight. Nature has endowed every animal with an instinct, which at once points out the enemy it has cause to dread. The agitation of the mouse on the appearance of a cat, the confusion in a poultry yard if a hawk directs its flight towards it, will VOL. II.-No. In 11 we to account for it, that the rabbit, squirrel, or wood-rat, which, on the approach of a dog or fox, immediately flies to its lurking place for shelter, should, on the appearance of a serpent, lose every disposition to remove from it, and remain in a state of torpidity till it become its prey. It is my wish to prove the existence of this effluvium, and the power of the snake to communicate it at pleasure to the surrounding atmosphere, so as to ex tend it to the object it wishes to destroy. From the number of facts related to me, I shall select a few, giving the authority from which I received thein. The late colonel Thompson of Belleville, mentioned to me, many years ago, that riding on his estate in search of game, he came unexpectedly on a snake in coil, of so monstrous a size, that he believed it, in the first instance, a buck of the first magnitude; that, recovering from his surprise, he fired at, and killed the reptile; but, at the same instant, was assailed by an overpowering vapour, that so completely bewildered his senses, that it was not without the greatest difficulty that he could guide his horse and return to his dwelling,-that a deadly sickness at his stomach followed, and a puking more violent than be had ever experienced from the operation of the most powerful emetic. By Mrs. Daniel Blake, of Newington, I was informed, that an overseer on one of her southern plantations, being missed and sought for by his family, was found in a state of perfect insensibility, in a field near his dwelling, who, on the recovery of his senses, declared, that waiting the approach of a deer that had been troublesome to his crop, he had heard the rattle of a snake, and that before it was in his power to remove from the threatened danger, he perceived a sickening effluvium, which deprived him instantaneously of sense. From the president of our senate, Mr. John Lloyd, I received the following fact:-A negro working in hi: field, was seen suddenly to fall, uttering at the same instant a dreadful shriek. On approaching him it was found that he had struck off the head of a very large rattle snake, the body of which was still writhing with agony by his side. When restored to sense, which it took much pains to accomplish, he declared that he shrieked with horror as he struck the snake, and at the same instant fell, overpowered by a smell that took away all his senses. From these instances I think it would appear, that, although at all times possessed of the power of throwing off this effluvium, that it is only occasionally used by the snake; had it been otherwise-if always perceptible, Renty, the overseer of Mrs. B. and the negro of Mr. L. would have been apprised of their danger, and had an opportunity of avoiding it. But of its actual existence I have still stronger proof, since it has been well ascertained that a negro belonging to Mr. Nathaniel Barnwell, of Beaufort, could, from the acuteness of his faculty of smelling, at all times discover the rattle snake, and, with unerring accuracy, trace its movements; and I have heard my friend colonel Edward Barnwell frequently declare, that he had seen him quit his work, telling his companions that he smelt a rattle snake, and at a distance of two tasks, (210 feet) point out the animal fascinating, and always in the very act of seizing its prey. If such be the effects on the senses of man, may it not be supposed that the delicate organs of the smaller animals may be operated upon with equal or still greater effect. We know full well that a profusion of odours will not only impair health, but in many instances occasion death. Life has been repeatedly destroyod by the confined air of a bed chamber being overcharged by the fragrance of the sweetest flowers; it will not, therefore, be deemed improbable that odours noxious and offensive in themselves, should be productive of as deadly effects. In page 74 of Vaillant's Travels in Africa, vol. i. part 2, an interesting ac count is introduced of a fascinated bird, which died in convulsions in sight of the author, although the distance betwixt it and its enemy was three and a half feet, and upon examination no trace could be found of the slightest wound or external injury. Another instance follows, where a small mouse expired in convulsions, although two yards distant from the snake which caused its destruction. In the same work the following interesting anecdote will be found, as related by a captain in Gordon's regiment, then quartered at the Cape:-"While in garrison at Ceylon, and amusing myself in hunting a marsh, I was suddenly seized with a convulsive and involuntary trembling, different from what I had ever experienced, and at the same time was strongly attracted, and in spite of myself, to a particular spot in the marsh. Directing my eye to the spot, I beheld, with feelings of horror, a serpent of an enormous size, whose look instantly pierced me. Having, however, not yet lost all power of motion, I embraced the opportunity before too late, and saluted the reptile with the contents of my fusee. The report was a talisman, and broke the charm -my convulsions ceased-I felt myself able to fly, and the only inconvenience was a cold sweat, which was doubtless the effect of fear, and the violent agitation that my senses had undergone." It is evident that Vaillant, in the two first cases, believed that death was occasioned by fright; yet I cannot subscribe to his opinion, for the removal of the cause would necessarily destroy the effect; and he tells us, "that at his approach the snake glided off, and that it was not till some time afterwards that the mouse expired as he held it in his hand." In the case of the officer, fear could not have had the influence attributed to it, for his convulsions and tremblings took place before the serpent was discovered by him, and it would be the height of folly to suppose its existence where no cause appeared to excite it. Allow me then to say, that I consider these instances rather as confirmations of my opinions than militating against them; for as no external injury was received, no wound inflicted, and death the result of the faseinations, it is not unreasonable to conclude that the inhaling of the deadly effluvium, the existence of which I have endeavoured to prove, was the certain cause of it. That the officer escaped does not surprise me, for I cannot suppose the power given to every serpent in equal degree, and the quantity of effluvium emitted, though sufficient to bewilder and stupify, was not in its nature so completely baneful as to produce death. I shall now read Dr. Barton with attention, and having candidly stated my opinions, without a hesitation give them up, if I find (as you say I shall) his doctrines conclusive on the subject. I am, Sir, with great respect, ALEX. GARDEN. To General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. The opinions expressed in my letter to Dr. Ramsay, on "the existence of an effluvium, which enables the rattle snake, without any extraordinary exertion, to secure its prey," resulted from a candid consideration of the instances therein adduced in support of them. I had never read a line on the subject, nor imagined that similar ideas had been entertained by any other person; it is, therefore, particularly grateful to me, to find, from the perusal of the books you had the politeness to put into my hands, that so distinguished a naturalist as Monsieur La Cepede cherished such sentiments on the subject as give sanction to my own. He speaks with confidence "of the existence of the fetid effluvium emanating from the rattle snake, and ascribes to it the effect of suffocating or at least stupifying the animal on whose senses it is designed to operate." He even asserts" that it is so offensive, that it will occasion dizziness and head-ache in persons who continue long in the apartment in which the reptile is confined;" but although he believes it the foundation of all the stories which have been related with regard to the fascination of animals by the snake, he expresses his opinion, "that in most cases the animal which becomes a victim, has been previously bitten.” I subscribe cheerfully to this opinion-though not in toto. Colonel Thompson was not bitten, yet his declaration proves, that his senses were thrown into such a state of confusion, by the effluvium emanating from the snake which he killed, that he was nearly deprived of ability to guide the horse which he rode, while his subsequent sickness evinces its injurious effects on his constitution, and that it threatened life, although it was not sufficiently powerful to destroy it. On Renty, Mrs. Blake's overseer, and the negro of Mr. Lloyd, no wound was inflicted, yet both from the effect of the effluvium were deprived of sense; in these instances, the strength of the organs on which it operated, may pro bably have saved from destruction; and as the little bird and mouse mentioned by Vaillant, with organs of more delicate texture, perished in convulsions, though considerably removed from the snake, and never bitten, I think it reasonable to conclude, that death was occasioned by the noxious quality of the effluvium alone. Before I touch on the theory of Dr. Barton, permit me to remind you that in my opinion, "the power rests with the scrpent to emit at pleasure the effluvium which secures to it its prey; that it is rarely perceptible but when the snake is either anxious to obtain food, or provoked to anger, and that the free possession of its health and strength is necessary to its being able to use it with effect." "If," says Dr. Barton, "the vapor emanating from the snake, had the effect attributed to it, it would be a kind of Avernus which animals would avoid,-but this is not the case, as frogs and birds are frequently found near them uninjured and undestroyed." Now their security in this case, is, in my opinion, owing to the snake's being previously sufficiently supplied with food; for-from its sluggish habits-its inability to make at any time great exertion, it is probable that Providence has caused it to be satisfied with little nourishment, and that it should never endeavour to paralize where it did not mean to destroy, and I am confirmed in this belief from the perfect recollection of one having been kept alive for upwards of twelve months at Glasgow College, which during that period never took any food whatever. But although Dr. Barton has little or no faith in the existence of the effluvium, yet he says—“ My friend Mr. Wm. Bartram assured me, that he had observed horses to be sensible of, and greatly agitated by it, showing their abhorrence, by snorting, whinnying, and starting from the road, and endeavouring to throw their riders in or» der to escape." To prove that the vapor, if it did exist, was not prejudicial, he put a snow bird into a cage with a rattle snake;-the little animal exhibited no signs of fear, but hopped from the floor to the roost, and frequently sat on the back of the snake; it ate seeds which were put into the cage, and by all its acts demonstrated, that its situation was not uneasy. To account for this, it is of consequence to observe, that the rattle snake seldom eats when caged. Monsieur Bosc says, "when confined they for the most part suffer themselves to die of hunger;" and it is of still greater import to recollect, that when the experiment was made by Dr. Barton, the season was not arrived, when rattle snakes were accustomed to leave their dens the state of the reptile was little removed from absolute torpidity; and I am more inclined to believe it from the indifference shown by the bird, which from the never failing power of instinct, might at once perceive the want of ability in its enemy to molest or injure it. If Dr. Barton's opinion was accurate-"That at the season alone, when birds were employed in hatching their eggs, or nourishing their young, the uneasiness observed in them on the approach of the snake was perceptible, and that their cries and agitation, was occasioned by a desire to defend and protect them," I should be doubtful of the accuracy of my own opinions, and join in the belief, that their destruction was frequently occasioned by their exerting themselves beyond discretion, and persisting in their attacks till they became the victims of parental anxiety; but this is by no means the case, and particular inquiry justifies me in saying"that till the snake makes his retreat to his den, for the winter season, the power is completely his, of securing his prey, and producing all the effects on the animal destroyed, which are perceptible at an earlier season." My friend, capt. Wm. Cattel, at a late period, saw a rabbit so completely bewildered by the power of the effluvium emanating from a large snake which was about to devour it, that after driving the reptile off, he was compelled repeatedly to strike it smartly with his whip before it sufficiently recovered the use of its faculties to move away.Capt. Fuller and Mr. Miles, very lately, also took up from before a rattle snake, a large rabbit, that was too much bewildered to show the smallest desire to escape. Monsieur Beauvois denies the existence of the effluvium, and declares, in all the experiments made by Mr. Peale of Philadelphia, and himself, neither the one nor the other could ever perceive that any was emitted by the snake subjected to their observations. He also put a bird into a cage with a rattle snake, but found that the reptile remained perfectly tranquil and the bird altogether at ease; nor did the air appear to it, to judge from its behaviour, different from that which is found in an ordinary close cage ;-but, as in the case mentioned by Dr. Barton, the snake had been dug from the ground in a torpid state, and still remained without vigour, or activity, in that stupor when it is never known to emit any odour whatever. He had procured in Jersey, eight rattle snakes, which he had shut up in a box as soon as dug out of the earth, and forwarded to Philadelphia. Three weeks after, the box was opened and the snakes taken out, when no odour whatever was perceived, and in my opinion, for this plain reason, that being dug out of the ground when torpid, no disposition to gratify appetite existed in them,-that they were too languid and insensible to be susceptible of anger, and that the power was denied them of emitting the effluvium, which at a more advanced season, and in possession of health and vigour, had undoubtedly been theirs. The opinion of Monsieur Bosc, differs widely from that of Dr. Barton: "Nature," says he, "while she refused to the rattle snake activity, to warn man of his danger, has given to the reptile a pestilential effluvium and rattles." But this effluvium, according to his ideas, arises from the putridity of the food contained in the stomach of the reptile, while subject to the operation of digestion. Now, if this position be true, the snake, while gorged with food, would prevent the approach of all other animals by warning them of their danger, for, independent of his will, the pestiferous odour would be emitted, and when the sto nach is empty it would emit no odour whatever; whereas, I believe the fact to be diametrically opposite-that the snake, when gorged with food, is quiescent, altogether disinclined to exertion, and in no instance prone unnecessarily to waste the effluvium on which it depends for support; but, on the other hand, when its stomach is empty, impelled by hunger to seek for food, that it freely emits the effluvium, which prevents the escape of the animal it wishes to devour, and by stupifying, causes it to become an easy sacrifice to its rapacious appetite. I am sensible, sir, that you would have blamed me, had I feigned a conviction of error which I did not feel. The arguments which I now offer in support of my pristine opinions, may prove little satisfactory to you, but will, I hope, have sufficient plausibility to excuse me for subjecting them to your consideration. With grateful recollection of your politeness, I remain, Yours, &c. ALEX. GARDEN, |