'* ' »t '>^- ^■^:; « r\ ¥' '''>,:■ t :^'^ ^ . «Ai*sa»Jfev ^•, u I ■ -^ i 'O- HARVARD UNIVERSITY. LIBRARY OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY LiBKARY OF SAMUEL GARMAN ^, m^- APRS 1929 E S SAY TOWARDS A NATURAL HISTORY SERPENTS: IN TWO PARTS. I. The Firft exhibits a general View of Serpents, in their various Afpedts ; fuch as their Kinds, Bulk, Food, Motion, Propagation, Co- verture, Colours. In which is inferted a fliort Account of Vegetable, Mineral, and Animal Poifon, particularly that of the Serpent ; and its Cure in various Nations ; where alfo the Serpent is ufed as Food and Phyfick. II. The Second gives a View of moft Serpents that are known in the feverai Parts of the World ; defcribed by their various Names, different Countries, and Qualities. Illuftrated with Copper- Plates, Engraved by the Best Hands. III. To which is added a Third Part j containing Six Disserta- tions upon the following Articles, as collateral to theSubjedt, 1. Upon the Primeval Serpent in Paradise. 2. The Fiery Serpents that infefted the Camp of Israel. 3. The Brazen Serpent ere61:ed by Moses. 4. The Divine Worship given to Serpents by the Nations. 5. The Origin and Reason of that Monstrous Worship. 6. Upon the Adoration of different Kinds of Beasts by the Egyp- tians, with divers Inftances of the fame Stupidity in other Nations. The whole intermix'd with Variety of Entertaining Digres- sions, PhilosophicaI/ and Historical. By CHARLES OfFEN D. D. LONDON: Printed for the AUTHi^erham, A NATURAL HISTORY Among the Antients were very ftrange Notions about the Or/- ginal of Serpents, and other Animals : Bees, fays a certain Ora- tor, Hiftorian, and Philofopher, were bred from the Carcafs of Oxen J JVafps from the Corruption of Horfes ; Beetles from Afles 5 and Serpents from human Marrow : Hence they confecrated a Dragon to Kings and Princes, as a Creature pecuHar to Man *. I D o N * T know how to form an Apology for the old Philofo- phers, whofe Account of fpontaneous Generation is perfecftly ro- mantick : What can be more fo, than to fay Frogs are engendered of Slime, or in the Clouds, and dropt down in the Showers oF Rain ? So the Egyptians faid, that Mice were produced fron:i the Mud of Niliis, and Infecfts from putrid Matter animated by* the Sun. The Principle of this equivocal Generation, was the old Dodtrine o^ Egypt, and now juftly exploded, as contrary to Reafon and common Senfe, as well as to the Defign of the Creator in making Animals male and female ; the End of which Difference in Sexes, all Animals exadly anfwer, as if they were? endued with human Reafon. No Woman more tender of her Babe, or careful in providing for it, than Animals are of their, ( Young Ones. . SECTION IL THE Knowledge of mere Animals (who have no School for Arts and Sciences) is moft furprifing ; thefe, without vifible Inltrudlors, know how to perpetuate their Species to the End of the World ; and how to order their Eggs, as thofe, who were ap^ prized, their SuccefTors were contained in them, and that it was in their power to produce them, and fo perpetuate, or keep up the Name of their Family. The Serpentine Animals are thus taught by Nature j thefe differ in the Mode of Propagation j fome of them are 'vivipa- rous, an Epithet applied to fuch Animals, who lay their Eggs within their Bellies, who bring forth their Young ones alive and perfed, as Vipers, Sheep, Hares j others are oviparous, and bring forth their Young from Eggs, as Serpents, Snakes, Lisards, Frogs, Salmon, Tortoife, Herrings, &c. -f- In * Hut arch's JAves of Cleomenefznd^^is. -f Omnia ab ovo an'malia. OF SER PENTS. In this Contrivance of Male and Female, and different Me- thod of Multiplication for perpetuating the Species, we may fee an admirable Inftance of divine Wifdom : But for this Difference in Sexes, there would be no Increafe of Serpents nor other Animals. The oviparous and viviparous Manner of Propagation is as won- derful ; for, Were they all "oiviparoiis^ that is, brought forth living Births, there would be but a fmall Number, and not fufficient to fupport the whole animal Body : Corn, Grafs, Fruits, Gfr. are no Pro- dudions of the Sea, therefore can be no Food for Fifli : The Al- mighty Creator fo ordained it, that they fliould feed one upon another j and this made it neceffary that they fliould be oviparous^ that they might increafe in great Plenty, which they could not do, if • they were of the viviparous Kind ; that is, brought forth their living Offspring, as Vipers, Sheep, Hares, Cows do. But Fi0i being oviparous^ propagating their Kind by Eggs, which, for Number, are infinite, their Progeny is innumerable, . and fufficient to fupport all the Branches of the marine Family ; even the leffer Kind of Fifh fend forth an incredible Number of Spawn. On the other hand, if four-footed Beafls were propagated by Eggs, they would foon cover the Face of the Earth, without a daily Deftrudion of them, which would take up no little time the' an Army of Nimrods were employed. Birds increafe byEggs^ and bring forth great Numbers i and perhaps, for this reafon, that Birds of Prey and Serpents, Kitchens, &c. might not want proper Supplies. Now, if a female Bird was great with fix or twelve Young Ones at once, the Burden would be intolerable, her Wings would fail, and flie would become an eaiy Prey to her Enemies. B u T you will fay, what if they brought forth only one or two at a time, till they amounted to the ufual Number of their Eggs ? I anfwer, that then they would be troubled all the Year long with feeding their Young, or bearing them in their Womb. This Production of Creatures by Eggs, is a wonderful Phae- nomenon in the animal World j the Eggs are flielly and hard, to preferve the included Embryo from Accidents, and to contain luitable Nutriment for it. 'Tis obfervable that Chickens, while in their dark.embryotick State^ are nourifhed by iXiQWhite alone, till grown i A NATURAL HISTORY grown big, and then feed on the Tolk, as the flrongerDieti and, when that is confumed, the Shell opens, and lets out the Prifo- ners. Though all Fowl are hatched from Eggs, yet it Is not al- ways by the Parent's Incubation, or Brooding, but by fome other Warmth : The Tortoife is faid to lay no lefs than fifteen hundred Eggs, which fhe covers in the Sand, and leaves the Sun to hatch them. The Eggs of the Ojlrich * are hatched after the fame man- ner; fo the Serpent lays, and leaves her Eggs in the Dunghill. The Eggs of Serpents, and certain other Animals, are Parts formed in the Ovaries of the Female, covered with a Shell, which includes an Embryo of the fame Species. In the days of old, the Egg was the Symbol of the World 3 the World, by Tradition, be- ing made of an Rgg : Hence Eggs became of fingular impor- tance in the Sacrifices of Cybele the Mother of the Gods. Some of the Pagan Deities were faid to be produced from Eggs. In fome Parts of Afia, and at Grand Caii'o in Egypt, they hatch their Chickens in Ovens ; each Oven contains feveral thoufand Eggs which the Country brings in, and have their Eggs returned in Chickens. B Y this Method, they generally want fome integral Part, as an Eye, a Claw, (Sc. which may be owing to a Want of equal Impreffion of Heat, tho' the artificial Warmth be continued. There are Thoufands, yea Millions at a Batch, thus produced in Egyptian Ovens ; — and may as well be in Eiircpe, if our Bakers had the knack on't. An Experiment has been made by a Duke of 7ufcafiy, who having built fuch Ovens, did produce living Chic- kens in the fame manner. Under xh\s SeBion, I /liall confider the wonderful Sagacity of Serpents, in chufing their Paths for Deambulation, and finding out proper Receptacles for their Repofe and Security in Winter; and that in Climates that are Oppofites in their Nature. I N Summer, generally fpeaking, they are found in folitary and unfrequented dry Situations ; others delight in moorifh fenny Grounds; and in hot Countries, near to Groves, Rivulets-^Thefe, like other Animals, ftridtly adhere to the Conftitutions of their Family, without Deviation. Th E F * yob\XlsX^. I4j 15. l4'lUoughby\ Orvith>}l. lib, ii. cap.%.' OF SERPENTS, They take up their Winter-Quarters in Cavern?, hollow Places, Burrows, Rocks, old Hedges, and under the Roots of Vegetables, efpecially the Birch, others fay Beech-Trees, whicia were confecrated by the Pagans to the fupreme Numen. I N thefe lonefome Habitations they repofe themfelves during the Winter, in a kind of lleepy State, as half dead, with ope?i Eyes *. In this Solitude they lie dormant, indulg'd with a little humid Air, till the Sun, by its Entrance into the northern Con- ilellations, reflores them to the adive Life j without fome Air they could not live. Mr. Boyle made the Experiment, by putting Vipers into the exhaufled Receiver, which foon died upon pump- ing out the Air. I T argues no little Penetration, that they know when and how to fhelter themfelves In Places of Safety in all Seafons ; and what is yet more altoniihing, is, that they live there fo many Months without Food and without Adion ; and when releafed from their hybernal Confinement, how foon do they find out their appointed Food ? Taken in this light they are not fingular y for 'tis believed, there are other Animals that pafs the Winter- Seafon in a ftate of Indolence and Inadlvity, as Cuckows and Swallows, making way by their Retreat for Woodcocks and Fieldfeirs, which vllit us In Winter, and then return northwards : They are faid to breed in colder Countries, as Norway^ KiiJJia^ Sweden, and the IJlands of Orcades, the mofl northern Parts of Scotland y which Iflands were formerly in polTeffion of the Nor- wegians, and given and annex'd to Scotland by Chriftiern I. King of Denmark and Norway, on the Marriage of his Daughter Mar- garet ^ with "James III. King of Scotland, about the Year 1474. I T is probable, that when thefe northern Countries are buried In Snow, and their Rivers are frozen up, thefe Birds take their Flight hither, and fuch like Places, where they have Accefs to Water, ^c. Butas to Cuckows and Swallows, as Intimated above, 'tis generally allow'd that they fleep In Winter, having, as 'tis faid, been found in hollow Trees and Caverns. Nor is this at all unlikely; tho* on the other hand, I can fee no Abfurdlty In fuppofing that thefe fhould go upon a Summer, as the other do upon a Winter Pil- grimage ; that thefe purfue a leffer Heat, as well as the others fly from- a greater Cold. Yea, Vegetables are faid io Jleep in Winter^ and ♦ A^ertis Oiulis. Conrad» Gefner, pag. 3. ^e Ser^. 8 ANATURAL HISTORY and to be awake and lively In Summer : During the Months of their Reft, a quantity of Oil is laid up in them for their Defence againfl the CoM, and in proportion to the D^^grees of it, which they are to fuftain ; whence it is, that the Trees of the northern Climates fo much abound with Oil. N the other hand, there are Reptiles and Infedls that have Senfe enough to lay up Winter-Store in Summer, as the Bee, JVaJpy Field-Moufe, &c. a Property foreign to the antient Houfe of Serpents. 1 N Summer, the Bees labour hard for Winter Provifion : As foon as the Air grows mild and warm, they are out betimes, and gather their Harveft from the Simples of the Fields, which jthey fuck into their Bodies, and upon their Return to the Hive they difgorge it, as Pigeons do their Food wherewith they feed their Young. When the Bees have iili'd their Storehoufe with the De- licacies of Nature, they lock the Doors, which they feal up with delicate white Wax, to prevent the Emanation of the Honey, which is a vegetable Juice : The Combs in which their Treafure is lodg'd, are geometrically nice, and exceed the moil exquifue Art of Man. The Ants alfo in this refpe6l, are remarkable for Penetration and Forefight. In America are Ants which raife Hillocks four or five Foot high, and have fuch a way of cementing the Earth about them, that 'tis as firm as Lime and Stone, which prote6ts them againfl the Ant-Bears^ or Pi fm ire-eaters ; /. e, a kind of Creatures as big as Dogs, that feed on thefe Infecfts. One obferves, that the Spaniards left yamaica, and went to Cuba, for this Reafon among others, becaufe their'jChildrens Eyes were eaten by thefe Ants, when l^^t by themfelves in the Cradle *. Ceylon in thx EaJi^Indies produces feveral forts of remarkable Ants, particularly a large red kind, which make their Nefis on the Boughs of great Trees, with Leaves wrapt together in Clufters, in which they lay their Eggs: And another fort call'd Vacos^ whofe Hinder-part is white, and the Head red 5 thefe fwarm over the Land and devour every thing, but Stone and Iron : They creep on Houfe-vvalls, and always build an Arch over themfelves 3 on thefe their Poultry live chiefly; feme of them bite defperately. To * Sir Hans Sloans hitroduSlion to his Voyag. p. 68. OFSERPENTS. 9 To thefe I might add the Wafps, that have their Wlnter- Treafures in fubterranean Cells, and the Field-mice that know the proper Seafon to gather Acorns, which they carefully hide in hollow Places, (as Mole-runs) in the Earth. Thus we fee no Creatures fo mean in our View, but a Ray of divine Wifdom fhines in their Forefight and Contrivance : When we confider how wonderfully thefe inferior Creatures are conducSled in their Operations, how punctually they obey the Laws of their Creator, how folicitoufly every one propagates his Kind, and makes pro- per Provifions for his Family , it looks as if it were done by fome Principle that's more perfecft than the common Reafon of Man. Neverthelefs 'tis paft doubt, that Brutes of the highefl: Order, and'moft refin'd, are but Brutes, i, e, irrational, audit's well for us they are fo. This is call'd hiftinB, a natural Difpolition, or Sagacity wherewith Animals are endued j by virtue whereof they are en- abled to provide for themfelves, know what is good for them, and are determin'd to propagate and preferve their Species. /;/- jliitB bears fome Analogy to Reafon or Underflanding, and fup- plies the Defed: of it in Brutes. The Narrative of R'-oe'^ Temp- tation begins with affirming, "The Serpoit was more fubtle than any Beaft of the Field. And Chrifi recommends the Wifdom of the Serpent, but not without the Innocence of the Dove. The Proofs of its Subtilty are not fo obvious ; fome produce fuch as thefe, telling us, that the Serpent Cerajies hides itfelf in the Sand, with a view to bite the Horfe's Foot that he might throw the Rider. Jacob feems to allude to this, in the Bleffing he gave to Dan^ of whom 'tis faid, Dan Jhall be a Serpent by the V/ay^ an Adder in the Path, that bites the Horfe's Heels, fo that his Rider Jhall fall backward* G^n. xlix, 17. But more in Part third. SEC" 10 A NATURAL HISTORY SECTION III. SERPENTS are fuppofed to have many Enemies, befides Man, as the Eagky Hawk, Stork^ Ibis, Ichneumon^ Ma- gaiire^ &c. I fliall only touch upon fome of thefe : Ibh is a Bird of Egypt, and a faithful Ally in the War again ft Serpents -,, vaft Numbers of winged Serpents are annually bred in Arabia, fi'om whence, at certain Seafons, Swarms of them take their flight acrofs the Red-Sea into Egypt: Upon the firft notice of their Ar- rival, the Jbidian Birds aflemble in Troops, and immediately fly upon the Invaders, and foon deftroy them. In the fame manner they execute Vengeance upon the Serpents of Ethiopia, when they moleft the Land *. The Storh deftroy all Serpents that fall in their way, and are fo greatly regarded in Thejfaly for this kind oflice, that it is counted a capital Crime to kill a Stork, and the Criminal is pu- niihed as in the Cafe of Man-flaughter. •f* T H E Stork's Bill is very long and ftiarp, with which it makes a rattling kind of Noife : It is fiid, the Chirurgeons have learn'd the Clyfterick Art from thefe Birds. The Storks alfo are efteemed the Clergy's Friends, for the Au-> thor of the Book of Nature fays, they will not inhabit any City in Ge?inariy, where no Tythes are paid to the Prieft. An Ortho- dox Brood of Birds ! Wh e n Mofes conduced the Egyptia?i Kv my againft the Ethio^ piam, he was to pafs through a Country full of Serpents, and to fecure his Forces from them in their March, he carried with him feverai of thefe Ihidian Birds, before whofe Fury they fell or fied + ICHN EXJ MON is a little Animal of bold Spirit, and a great Dtftroyer of Serpents, and therefore iht Egyptians keep it in their Houfes, as we do Cats; and the young ones are com- monly fold for that end at Alexandria. In form it refembles an over-grown Rat, and is called the Indian-Rat, and Pharaoh' s- Rat ; and by its mighty Atchievements, it muft be of fome con- fiderable * Conradus Gefn. p, ^r. nay-GyUiiis. t TUnisNat. W(l. Tom. i. B. ic 1 y''>f^P^^"h B. ii. Cap. V. p. 65, OF SERPENTS. ii fiderable Bulk; for in its Encounters with great Dogs, Crocodiles, Serpents, &c. it generally comes off viifart R.egTO, '4 Atlas American. i6 A NATURAL HISTORY not above four or fix Inches long. Mod of thefe Minutillos vary in outward Form. And here, I can't but obferve that as the Magnitude of fome other Animals is very wonderful, fo, on the contrary, the Mi- nutenefs of fome is equally aftonifliing, if not more fo : There are fome very little Infers that are confpicuous to the Eye, but more that are invifible without the Help of a Microfcope^ which is an optical Inftrument, that magnifies Objeds, and makes them big- ger than really they are ; it helps to difcover minute Particles, of which Bodies are compofed, and the curious Contexture of them. To thofe who are not ufed to a rigid mathematic Proof, this may be ilkiilrated by the Smallnefs of many organized Bodies. There is a Plant called Haj^ts 'Tongue, ten thoufand Seeds of which hardly make the Bulk of a Pepper Corn. Now the Covers of the true Body of each Seed, the parenchymous and ligneous Parts of both ; the Fibres of thofe Parts, the Principles of thofe Fibres, and the homogeneous Particles or Atoms of each Principle, being mo- derately multiplied one by another, afford a hundred thoufand Millions of formed Atoms in the fpace of a Pepper-Corn, fays the learned Dr. Grew *. The fame is yet more evident from the flupendous Smallnefs of fome Animals, efpecially in the Sperm of fmaller Infedls ; which have been obferved by Mr. hewenhoeck, to be fome Mil- lions of times fmaller than a great Sand. This learned Gentle- man has obferved more of them in the Spawn of a Cod-fifli, than there are People living on the Face of all the Earth at once •\. N. B. It is the infinite Number of thefe little invifible Ani- mals that makes ftagnating Waters or Pools appear of fo many different Colours, as green, reddifh, brown, — accord- ing to the feveral Natures of thefe little Animals that live therein. Thus, among Men, we find' big and little ; Giafits and Pig- mies : Whether that Difproportion be from meer natural Caufes, or by Defignation of Providence, I determine not. It is very queftionable whether there be a particular Nation of Pygmies ; but no * Copnohgia Sacra, B. i. chap. 3. f Numerum ammakuhrum ex unius ajfeUi niajoris laSiibus provc7i!p?'itiiwi plus decies Juperare homines in uiiiverfo terrarum orbe 'viveiites.—^Epiliola ad Do?/i.N.Gr(:vj,Tp. i. OF SERPENTS. 17 no doubt is made about the Exiilcnce of Dwarfs in many Places as well as Giants. Julia^ the 'H'iqqc oi Auguftus^ had a Dwarf called Canopas^ that was about two Feet in height. FhiUppa Frenchy born 2XMilcomb in StaffordJlmt\ aged about 36, being then married, wanted fomething of three Feet in height*. On the other hand, we are not without Inftances of Men, that were of a gigantick Stature, after, as well as before the Deluge, as Goliah and the Sons of Anak. In the Days of Claudius the Emperor, P-liny tells us, that one called Gahara, brought out oi Arabia ^ was nine Feet and nine Inches high : He tells us alfo, of two others in the days oi Augiifius Ccefar, Iducio and Secundilla, that were half a Foot taller than Gabara "f*. Maximi?2us the Emperor, was eight Foot and a half in height. But to come near home : WILLIAM E VANS born in Monmoiithfiire, and Porter to King Charles I. was two Yards and a half high. Walter Par- Jons, Porter to King Jamesl, was about the fame height. "Some ** fay, William Evans exceeded Walter Farjons two Inches in height, but was far beneath him in proportion of Body. Tho' he halted a little, and going out fqualling with his Feet, yet made a ihift to dance in an Antimafque at Court, where he drew Little Jeffrey, the Dwarf, out of his Focket, firil to the Wonder, then to the Laughter of the Spe(2:ators J." cc iC (C SECTION VI. TPI E Apparatus in Serpents for their Motion is admirable.. How curious the Structure of their Mufcles, and their Jun(flion to every Point, whereby they are prepared for their dif- ferent Motions, and enabled to move according to their different Nature and Situation 1 In thofe that go upon their Bellies, the Movement is very fin- gular, which is in a Form curvilineal, different winding of their D Bodies. * Dr. P/o/'s Natural U\&iOX)\— Oxford x6. Nat. Wfi. B. vii. cap. id. X Fuller'^ IVonkies of Engl. Monmouihfliire, f. 54. A NATURAL HISTORY Bodies. The Serpentine Line, among Mathematicians, Is bor- rowed from the Foldings of a Serpent in its Motion. The Learned cbferve, there is a great deal of geometrical Nicenefs in the finuous Motion of Snakes, Vipers, and other Ser- pents; to affifl them in the right Management of it, the annular Scales under their Bodies are very remarkable, lying crofs the Belly, contrary to what thofe in the Back, and reft of the Syftem do ; which Contrivance facilitates their Motion. This tortuous creeping Motion of the Reptile Species is very curious : The whole Body of a Worm is, as it were, but a Chain of annular or fpiral Mufcles, whofe round Fibres, by contrad:ing, make each Ring more flrong. The Back- Bones of Serpents are a wonderful Compofition : How thick are they with Joints ? How numerous and ftrong are their co-operating Mufcles? By this cu- rious Articulation of the Joints, they can turn and wind their Bo- dies any way without any difficulty. The Outfide of their Skin is a moft elegant Compofition : to a common Eye, their Tegument has a rugged uneven Afpe6l ; but> to a proper Judge, the Scales of Vipers are found to be a mofl ex- quifue Piece of Mechanifm ; the Symmetry of the whole is geo- metrically exadl, and vaftly beautiful; notimitable by human Skill: Some of them are guarded by a Coverture not penetrable by a human Arm, which is their Security in a perilous Situation; yea, a greater Security than many innocent Inhabitants of the Field are privileged with. Among Serpents, fome are cloathed as with a Coat of Mail, /. e. an Armature of ftiong Scales ; and fuch of them as want that cruftaceous Covering, have either a Sting in the Tail, or a Tooth in the Mouth, that bids the AfTailant keep off, and obferve his Diftance. SECTION VIL WHAT is Poifon ? I anfwer, that, generally fpeaking, 'tis taken to be a malignant Q£ality in fome Vegetables, Minerals, and Animals ; a fmall Quantity of which is hurtful, and even mortal, &c. The OF SERPENTS. i$ The Learned in the Faculty tell us, Foifom operate in various manners ; Tome by diiTolving the Blood, others by coagulating it, and fome by corroding and deftroying the Solids. The Learned Sir Hans ^loane fays, " Some attack equally all Parts, fome on- " ly a particular one. Thus the Lepiis Marlnus is an Enemy to " the Lungs, Cantharides to the Bladder *." Some Vegetables again, which prove Poifon to Man, ferve for Food to other Animals. Thus, fays that learned Gentleman, Mandragora and JaJquiamJius that feed Hogs, kill Man. HEMLOCK, that is hurtful to Man, is wholefome for Goats J yea, the Cafavi Plant poifons unprepared ; but prepared, is the very Bread of the IVeJi-lndians, particularly Jamaica and the hotter Parts, with which they vidual Ships. Ibid. Tea is faid to be poifonous before it is cured. This perhaps may ferve to obviate an Objection made againft the Goodnefs of the Deity, in planting a Tree in Paradife that had fuch malignant Influences; becaufe, fuppofmg that it had any Properties, which might tend to the Diffolution of the human Syftem, yet the fame Tree might be very falutary and ufeful to other Beings in the Creation. Having divided Poifon into T^hree Parts, I fhall, in the next Place, confider them diftindlly. L THIS Contrivance of Divine Wifdom is Jo univerfal, that we find, in the Vegetable Kingdom, Jomething more than what is merely analogous to Poifon, both in Land and Water-Plants -, as the Napellus, Caffivi, Nux Vomica, Aconite, Cicuta Aquatica, Solaniim Lethale, Aconitum Hyemale, Some Poifons are of a Narcotic Quality, as Poppy and Henbane — being taken in too great a Qu.antity, become poifonous. I ihall only add fome In- ftances of Perfons killed by eating poifonous Plants, Roots, and Herbs. The Wife of W. Matthews, near Salop, who having gathered a quantity of Dog-Merctiry, which flie took to be another Herb, boiled it for their Supper, which very fenfibly af- - feded the whole Family. One of the Children ilept from Thurfday Night till Monday Evening, then jufL opened her Eyes, and died immediately. The other two Children jQept about 24 Hours, and, upon their awakening, fell a vomiting and purging, D 2 which, * Hn Voyage. 20 A NATURAL HISTORY which, 'tis thought, faved their Lives *. A certain Woman near Kilkenny in Ireland, eating, by miftake, a Hemlock'Root among Parjhips, was immediately feized with a Raving and Madnefs. Ibid. Eight young Lads went a fifhing to a Brook near Clonmel in Ireland, and there meeting with a great Parcel of Oenanthe Aquatica fucco virofo, they miftook the Roots of it for Siuin- Aquaticum Roots, and did eat heartily of them. About four or five hours after coming home, the eldeft of them, on a fudden, fell down backwards, and lay kicking and fprawling on the Ground, foaming at the Mouth ; foon after, four more were feized the fame way, and they all died before Morning : not one of them having fpoken a word from the moment in which the venenate Particles furprifed the Genus nervofurn -f-. Of the other three, one ran ftark-mad, but recovered j another had his Hair and Nails fallen off; the third alone efcaped : perhaps it might be owing to a ftrong Conftitution, and eating lefs of that iatal Root; or perhaps it might be attributed to his fpeedy running abo-ve two Miles home (after he faw one young Man fall) together with his drinking a very large Draught of warm Milk from the Cow, in his midway, and a violent Sweating, which might ex- pel many of thofe venenous Particles. Ibtd, An Experiment has been made upon a Dog, by giving him the Nux Vomica, which foon poifoned him. The American Phyfick Nut is faid to be fo poifonous, that no Animals make a near Approach to it. Wormwood in Perjia is fo venemous, that if Hoifes, or any other Creatures, eat thereof, they die imme- diately; upon which account, fay the Duke oi Holjlein's Ambaf- fadors, we durft not unbit that day +. The Indians have what they call yuico 'Juice among them, which deprives fuch as drink of it of their Reafon, and renders them perfed: Idiots; tho' at the lame time it leaves them in the perfepropriated to the moiil Fumes raifed from U^ater, and Exha- OF SERPEN TS, 23 Exhalation, to the dry ones emitted from folld Bodies, as Earth, Fire, Minerals, Sulphur. The nocuous Effluvia fent forth fi^om them may infed: the Air, and cauie epidemical Dillempers, and even new Difeafes. About Mines and deep Caverns, are frequently found copious Ex- halations continually ftreaming out, which, in a moment, dellroy any Animal that comes within their reach ; fo much as the very Infers themfelves not efcaping : Therefore thefe Places were by the Antients called Gehennce^ Averni^ — intimating thereby, that a Mineral Fit was Hell^ and that Subterraneous Exhalations were Streams from the Fiery Lake. STRABO takes notice oi2iCave ov Grotto in Natolia^ from whence iflue peftilential Vapours that infedt the Air : No fooner is any Animal put in, but it immediately dies. Bulls have been put in, and fuddenly taken out dead. Sparrows that have been thrown in, dropt down dead inflantly. The I'urks fancy it to be haunted by evil Spirits, becaufe thojfe who had the Curiofity to enter it, have either died or fallen de- fperately^^/^ *. Mineral Poifons are more or lefs dangerous, as their Salts receive a greater or lefs Force from the metallic Particles : And hence, as the mofl virulent may be mitigated by breaking the Points of the faline Cryftals, the moft i-inocent Minerals may become corrofive, by combining them with Salts, as is feen in the Preparations of Silver, Antimony, Iron. Nothing more fatal than mineral Poifon, which often brings fwift Deftrudlion without remedy. To a large Dog, fays the Learned Dr. Meady was given a Drachm of Mercury Sub" limate, mixt with a little Bread, who, after violent Evacuations, died next Morning. The fame Gentleman obferves, that in Ar^ Jenic is a very noxious quality : the fadHtious white is the moft violent of all the kinds, Superior in force to Mercury Sublimate, These mortiferous Steams that flow from the Earth, are called MephiteSy polfonous Damps ; and are very comm ^n in Coun- tries fruitful of Minerals and Mines : Damps happen in moft of the Hungarian-Mines^ not only in the direcfl Paflages, where they walk on horizontally, but alfo in the perpendicular Defcents. Now, to guard themfelves againft the fatal EiFedts of thefe Ex- halations, * Siraho Geograph, 5 24 A NATURAL HISTORY halations, they fomtimes clear their way by Fire and the Bellows, but generally by long Tubes or Pipes, reaching from top to bot- tom, thro' which they let the Air in and out ; and by this Cir- culation of the Air, they carry on their Work for fome time without Danger. CREMN ITS in Hungary (a fmall Town, reckon'd the chief of the Berg, or Mine-Towns) is famous for its Gold-Mine which has been work'd on 900 Years, where the Workmen fome- times are troubled with pernicious Damps, and many are kill'd by them j and fo it happens in the Mines at Schemnits, the faireft of the feven Mine-Towns*. Among the Minerals known to us, there are many more noxious than wholcfome^ and the Power of the former to do mii^ chief, is more efficacious than the Power of the latter to do good; which is evident from the little Benefit the Miner's Health re- ceives from any mineral Effluvia, compar'd with the great and fudden Damps, that are often caufed by the Expirations of Or- pimentj Sandarac^ and white Arfenic^ which is a deadly Poifon, and moft fatal of the whole Tribe of Fofiils. Hence the Refiners dread nothing fo much as Arfenic in their Me:als ; for its Fumes taken into the Lungs kill inflantly, and the oftner 'tis fubiim'd, the ranker it grows -f-. ME RCU RT is extremely volatile, being convertible into Fumes, even by a Sand-heat. Thofe who pradife the Art of Guilding, are but too well acquainted with thele mercurial Fumes, which frequently render them epikp-ic and paralytic, and fome- times throw them into a SaHvation. This kind of Poifon is found in Friuliy a Province in Italy j belonging to the Emperor, and alfo in Spain ^ Hungary ^ &c. The miferable People condemn'd, or hired to work in thefe Mines, all die in a little .time: thsy arc fo affcded with thofe ve- nemous Fumes, that from Tremors they proceed to lalivate, then their Teeth drop. — One of them who had been there fix Years, was fo full of Mercury J that holding a Piece of Gold in his Moutii a little while, it became of a Silver Colour ^ and when taken out, it .was found heavier than before, ibid. p. 74 COPPER is anotlier poiibnous Mineral, difficuJtof Fufion, and when fufed, if a fingle Drop of Water do but fldi upon it ; or any Veffel * Ad. Gergraoh.p. i6.\.o,-~j., — 2>~3. t Boerhaave't Theory of Chemi(lry. O F S E R P E N T S, 25 Vefiel it be caft in, be ever {o little moifl, it flies into innumerable Fragments, with incredible Noife, and deftroys all the Perfons near it. ii^i^. TIN, the lightejfl of all Metals, when urged by an eafy Fire, it fliines exceedingly ; but this Splendor is fucceeded by a fulphu- rous Steam, very deftrudtive to the Lungs, and throws the Body into a Confumption. il^iJ. A T Alendip in Somerfetfiire, thofe who are imploy'd in melt- ing head-ore, if they work in the Smoke, are fubjed: to killing Difeafes. There is a Flight (or Steam) in the Smoke, which fall- ing on the Grafs, poifons the Cattle that eat it. Thofe who live very near where Lead- ore is wafli'd, can't keep either Dog or Cat, or any fort of Fowl, but they all die in a ihort time*. Such are the mephitical Exhalations in a little Cavern in Italy, call'd Bacca Veiiofa, the poifonous Mouth, not far from Naples, but more generally known by Grotto de Cani, the Dog's Cave -, becaufe the Experiment of its poifonous Nature is frequently made upon Dogs ; tho' it be as fatal to any other Creatures that come within the Reach of its venemous Fumes. This wonderful Cave is (fituated at the Bottom of a Hill) in Dimenfion, about eight Foot high, twelve long, and fix broad. From the Ground within it, arifes a thin warm Fume (vifi- ble to the Eye) which is one continued Steam covering the whole Surface of the Bottom of the Cave ; it does not difperfe itfelf into the Air like Smoke, but quickly after its Rife, falls back again into the Earth. The Fumes rife about a Foot high and never higher, and hurt no Creature whofe Head is above that height J but when a little Dog, or the Head of any other Crea- ture is forcibly held in the Steam, it falls down as dead, the Limbs convuls'd, and trembling ; and if left there a little while, it dies, but if taken out foon, and laid in the open Air, comes to Life again, and fooner, if thrown into the adjacent Lake. CHARLES the Great, King of France, and Emperor of the Weft (a Title of Honour Gallick Monarchs have had in full view for fome time) made the Experiment upon an Afs, whofe Head was held in the Fume, and was foon deftroy'd. Two Slaves put in with their Heads kept down to the Earth, were both foon E kill'd. * Lov:thorp''s Air. vol. i'. p-^;^. i6 A NATURAL HISTORY kiird. To this, I fhall add fome Experiments made by the in- genious Mr. Addijbny who fays — — ** A Dog that has his Nofe held in the Vapour (within the ** Cave) lofes all the Signs of Life m a very Uttle time." Then he obferveSj how long a Dog was expiring the firfl: time> and af- ter his Recovery, and found no fenfible Difference. " A Viper ** put in, adds he, bore it nine Minutes the firfl time we put it *' in, and ten the fecond. When we brought it out after the firft " Trial, it took fuch a vaft quantity of Air into its Lungs, that " it fwell'd almofl: twice as big as before, and it was perhaps, on " this Stock of Air, that it lived a Minute longer, " A Torch, Snuff and all, goes out in a moment, when dipt in- ** to the Vapours or Steams of that Cave^ A Piftol can't fire in " it. I fplit a Reed, and laid in the Channel of it a Train of '* Gun-powder, fo that one end of the Reed was above the Va- " pour, and the other at the bottom of it; and I found, tho' the ** Steam was flrong enough to hinder a Piftol from taking fire in " it — that it could not intercept the Train of Fire, when it once " begun flaflnng, nor prevent it from running to the very end.— Fire " will live in it no longer than in Water, becaufe it wraps itfeif " in the fame manner about the Flame, and by its Continuity " hinders any quantity of Air, or Nitre from coming to its *' fuccour *." Nor are our Mines in Great Britain altogether free from- thefe fatal Damps, that have turn'd Coal-pits into Graves, In a Coal-pit belonging to Lord Sinclair in Scotland, feven or eight Men intending to work in a Place where they had been the Day before, but flepping a little further, they all fell down dead, as if they had been fliot. The Wife of one of them, venturing to fee her Hufl:)and, fell down dead as foon as (he came near the Corps -f-. III. We come now to the fenfible Region, where animal Poi- fons reign ; that is, Poifon drawn from Animals, as the Viper, Afp, Scorpion, Lepus Marinus : and here we are to encounter with an Army of Serpents, and their formidable Train. When we fpeak of the Poifon of Serpents, we mufi not f^ip- pofe it diffufed thro' the whole Body, as fome have imao;ined. Many * Ws mrkfj vol. iii. p. 8j 97. t Lowthorp's Abridgment, vol ii. p 37v OF SERPENTS. ' -37 Many Errors about the particular Situation of it, have been hap- pily removed by the Learned Dr. ReJiy and Di'.Mead^ who of)- lerves the Viper has alvi'ays been fo notorious for its Poifon, that the moft remote Antiquity, made it an Emblem of what is hurt- ful and deftrudtive, but were not agreed from whence the Poifon proceeded, whether from the Saliva^ the ^eeth^ the Gallj &c. which leads me to a Paflage in the Jioble Italian, w^ho fays : That as a certain Learned Society in Italy were debating this Point, one jacobus Sozzi {audiendi gratia) who was allow'd to be prefent, ftationed himfelf in a corner of the Place, and hear- ing fome of them affirm that the Poifon was in the Gall-bladder, fell a fmiling ; and being afk'd the Reafon, he anfwer'd, that the Serpent's Gall was an innocent Part : Whereupon, in their Prefence, he drank a Glafs of Wine, mixt with the Gall of a Viper\ without any ill Effetfl. One of the Company faid, he came thither with his Body prepared by Alexipharmicks. He, to convince them of the con- trary, try'd the Experiment upon Dogs, and other Animals, by giving them the Gall of Vipers to drink in abundance, without any Danger enfuing *. i N the Debate about the Seat of the Poifon, the famous Ita- lian maintains, that all the Venom of a Serpent confifts in a yellow Liquor contain'd in a Bladder, at the bottom of its Tooth, which Liquor, upon its biting, by the Preflure of the Bladder, is forced thro' a Tube within the Tooth, into the Wound, and thence en- fue direful Eifeds. This Hypothefis he fupports by a good num- ber of Experiments upon various Animals, which were bit by a Viper, after thofe venemous Bags were taken out, without any Signs of Poifon, or any ill Confequence at all-f*. Another celebrated Pbyfcian maintains, that this yellow Liquid is not poifonous, that he had given it to Pigeons as Food, without their being at all diforder'd thereby.— That the Viper's Bite, he had always found mortal to Animals, even after the ve- nemous Bag was taken out, as well as before. That therefore the Poifon muft lie in the irritated Spirits of the Viper , which it exhales in the Ardor of its biting, and which are fo cold that they curdle the Blood, and flop the Circulation %. E 2 Both * "Redi nobilis ^retini Experm. in Kes NatuTaksj pag. 163, 164, KJ5. -f- Seignior Redi. % Monfteur Charras, 28 A NATURAL HISTORY Both thefe are ingenious Men; their Syftems are oppofite, yet both maintain'd by well-attefled Experiments. The Publick, however, give into the Sentiments of Seig}iior Redi, asanfwering. the beft to the Mechanifm of the Parts. Seignior Vigani has in fome meafure reconciled thefe two Learned Combatants, who alledges, that xh^ yellow Liquor where- with Dr. Redi kill'd Pullets, ^c. after the Death of the Viper, was either faturated with the Spirits of the enraged Viper, by whipping it before, or elfe (as 'tis probable) in the hot and dry Climates of Italy^ thofe Creatures are more venemous than in Golder Countries. This Poifon of Vipers feems to lie in their hollow Teeth, becaufe the Mountebanks of old, to impofe on the People, ufed to flop thofe Cavities, or hollow Places in the Teeth, with fome kind of Pajie^ before they fufifered the Vipers to bite them in fight of Spectators; which was commonly done, and fucceeded ac- cording to their Wifh; — and fometimes, with a Needle fcratch'd the Gums, and prefs'd out the Poifon*. Pliny fays,- they have but one venemous Tooth. D R. Mead J having given the various Symptoms attending vene- mous WoundSj proceeds to the Remedies ; and in particular, mentions the volatile Salt of Vipers^ as alone fufficient to do the Work, if given in due time, in proper quantities, and duly re- peated -f-. M R. Robert Burdet^ an EngliJJj Merchant at Aleppo (in Turkijh Afia) was bit by a Serpent about ten in the Morning, and died a- bout three in the Afternoon. The People of that Country fay, the only Cure in that Cafe, is immediately to fuck the Wound; but they mufi: rub firft their Gums and Teeth with Oil, that none of the Poifon may touch any place where the Skin is broken, and fpit out immediately what they fuck ||, The Learned Batavian obferves, as a prefent and efFe(5lual Remedy in the Cafe of the Bite of a mad Dog, or other venemous Animal, immediately to burn the afFed:ed Part with a hot Iron, or rather thruft deep into the Wound ; for by this means, the Juices about the Part being coagulated, and an Efcar produced^ all Communication of the Poifon to any other VefTels is ffopt, and * Loxctborp's Abridg. vol- ii. p. 815. f McchaJiicaJ Account. II Loivttorfs ^hrid^. vol. ii. p. 814. O F S E R P E N T S. 29 and thus the Cure may be eafily effr(5led. Not th^t the hot Iron draws out the Poifon, as is vulgarly imagined, but renders the Parts incapable of being penetrated, or afFcdted thereby *. B u T to come nearer home, and to a cheap and eafy Antidote againfl the Terpentine and canine Venom, by a certain Experiment lately made in Rngland^ which was thus, njiz. ....One William Oliver, and his Wife from Bath^ who follow the Bufinefs of catching and felling Vipers, ofFer'd themfelves — ■• to be bit by any Viper, that fhould be procured, trufting to the Virtue of a certain Remedy they had found out by chance in try- ing things, when the Woman was once accidentalJy bitten. The ufual known Medicine, tvtn \ht Oil of Vipers^ having no ' Effeft in afTuaging her Pains, they had recourfe to the common Oil of OliveSy which proved an effe. f Vurchas Pilgrim, Part ii. 1. 7. % ^^^- ^fri<:- V- 741- II Tacitush hwai)\sj Vol. i. B. iv. ** Heylin's Cofmographyj B. iv. P. 151. O F S E R P E N T S: 4i Kwg Mithridates coud not poifond jbe. He drinking Poifon oft^ greiv-FoiJ on-free] After King Mithridates was vanqiiiHi'd, Cneus Pornpeius found in his Clofet the following Receipt, againfl Poifon, writ with his own Hand, in this Manner, viz. TAKE tivo dry Walnut-kernels, as many Figs^ of Rue twenty Leaves, ftamp all thefe together ijito one Mafs, with a Grain of Salt, Under this Receipt was "wxii'-^Whoever eats this ConfeSllon in the Morning fajiing, no Poifon fiall hurt him that Day *. In America, where Lizards are very good, they eat them, and fo large, that one Lizard is enough to fatisfy four Men. 'Tis very probable that they were eaten in Arabia and yudea, fince Mofes ranks them among the unclean Creatures -f. Though the Flefh of venemous Creatures be nutrimenta!, and eaten with a good Relifli, in many Places, yet it mufl: be al- low'd our old Historiographers in fome Things hyperboliz-e upon the Subjedl. Thus Avicenna, the great Arabian Dodor, and others, /peak of a young Maid, who was fed v/ith the Flelli of poifonous Creatures, from her tender Age ; by which her Breath became venemous to thofe who flood by her. And thus Porus, a certain Lidian King, is faid to ufe Poifon every Day, that he might kill others. It is a known Hiftory, adds he, of a young Woman, fed with Poifon, with which the Perjian Kings deftroy'd whom they pleas'd. A D D to this another traditional Opinion, viz. that fome parti- cular Perfons have an evil Eye, which affedts Children and Cattle 5 yea, that fome have this unhappy Faculty, tho' at the fame Time void of any ill Defign. This has been an old Tradition, as ap- pears from that of the Poet J. O N the Mountains of Ceylon in the Eaji-Indies, are Serpents offuch vaftSize, that they fwallow young Cattle : Their Flefh is very delicate, and has a moft pleafing Tafle -, therefore is very much eaten. G This * FUny\ Natural Hifl. Tom. ii. B. 23. t Cahnet in verbum — Ukronym. contra Jo'vmtan. lib. ii. % Nefcio quii teneros oculm mibi fafcinat a^nos. See Marti?^ on the Weftern Iflands, p. 122, 123. 42 ANATURALHISTORY This I (land of Ceylon is one of the moft charming Situations on the Earth, the Key and Glory of the Indies ; the Air fo tem- perate, that, properly fpeaking, they feel neither Heat nor Cold j the Vales and Hills are always cover'd with Flowers, the Fields cover'd with Fruits of all Sorts j and in the Woods are Serpents call'd Lizards, full three Hands long, whofe Flefh is excellent Meat *. In the fecond Part is a more ample Defcription of Ceylon, The Iguafta Serpent is amphibious, lays numerous Eggs, grateful to the Tafte, is very good Nourifhment, preferable to Spanijlj Rabbits; and in the City of Mexico thefe Serpents are brought to the Markets, efpecially in the quadragefimal Days. A Spanifi Hiftorian fays, the Iguanas are fhap'd like the Alli- gatorSy very ugly, as big as Lap-dogs, of feveral Colours 5 the Spaniards obferve, that their Fle0i taftes like the Pheafants, and feed upon it with Plcafure *f-. The learned Riy fpeaking of the Lihoya, that monftrous Jlmerican Serpcntj fays, that after it has fwallow'd a large Ani- mal, its Head grows heavy and fleepy, that it can neither run nor fight ; the Hunters finding it in this fi:upid Pofture, foon firangle him with a Rope j and being kill'd, cut the Carcafs into Parcels, and fell the Flefli for Food,, which is reckon'd a delightful Enter- tainment :|:. The fame Author adds, that both yllfricafis and Americans having cut off the Head and Tail of the Kanina Ser- pent, eat the Body as part of their conftant Repaft. Ibid. 328. BRASILIAN Serpents call'd Lizards are flay'd, broil'd as little Fifhes, and eaten by the Negroes or Blackmoors that are tranfported into that Country from Africa. I A M inforiTi'd of a Gentleman of the Law at Ludloiv, who having prick'd a living Toad in various Parts, fucks its Moifture, and leaves it as much a Skeleton as the Purfe of a Client. T H u s we fee that the ^y mighty is fo far from being charge- able with Defed: of Wifdom and Goodnefs, in forming of Ser- pents, that both as Food and Phyfick^ they, may be equally ira^ prov'd to our Advantage. i. * Riheyro'sUi^ory o? Ceykay prefented to the King of Po"-'^^ j/, 1^85, 'ranflated omofPorfuguefe into Fre»chy primed azTrevoux, 1701. f Herrera Hift. Vol. ii. p. 1 1. X Raii Sjnopjis, p, '^■!^^''^—Soto rejie^^caro^ue ejus p'O cibo gratijjtv o-ven litun cc cr <( cc C( cc cc OF SERPENTS. 43 I SHALL only add one Remark here, that if Serpents, and other venemous Creatures, are hurtful to us, 'tis only by Accident, that is, they are not vexatious to us, of Neceffity, but through our own Ignorance, Careleffhefs, orMiftake j e. g, *^ Th E Birds we call Stares^ fafely feed upon Hemlock; Storks feed on Adders, and Slow- Worms ; which, and other hurt- ful Creatures, would be as harmlefs to ourfelves, had we al- ways Caution enough to avoid them, or Wit enough to ufe them as we fhould. Thus Aloes has the Property of promot- *' ing Haemorrhages j but this Property is good or bad, as 'tis ufed : if by one that has the Green-Sic k?iejsy it will prove a good Medicine j if by one fubje<5t to a Dyjcntery^ or to fpitting of Blood, a pernicious Poifon." * And it is very probable, that the moft dangerous Poifons, skilfully managed, may be made, not only innocuous, but, of all other Medicines, the moft effedlual. Opium corredled, lofes its narcotic Quality, and is fafely given in great Dofes, in Fluxes, Catarrhs, and convulfive Cafes. I T is generally agreed, there is no Part of a Viper, not even the Gall itfelf, but may be fwallowed without harm, accordingly the Antients, and, as feveral Authors of Credit affure us, the Indi- ans and others at this day, both of theEaft and Weft, eat them, as we do. Eels. Spontaneou s Produdions of the Earth were the firft Food, and ftill are the Suftenance of numerous Nations. It was fometime before they came to the Juices of Cattle, as Milk, and longer before they commenced carnivorous, and devoured their Fellow-Animals. Some think the Fruits of the Earth were intended as Man's fole Food, and that nothing but Neceffity or Luxury firft promp- ted to feed upon Flelh: And indeed, by the Strud:ure of Man's Teeth, it looks as if they were not proper to devour Flefli ; and that Nature had rather intended and prepared them for cutting Herbs, Roots, — than, for tearing of Flefh. Yea, Children don't affed; Animal Food, till their Palates be vitiated by Cuftom ; and, further, when we feed upon Flefh, it muft be prepared by roafting G 2 or * Dr. lieb. Crew's Cofmobgia Sacra^ B. iii. cap. 2. p. 103. 44 A NATURAL HISTORY or boiling, which makes it harder of Digeftion, than all other Animal Food ; and therefore forbid in Fevers, and other Diftem-^ pers. SECTION VIIL THA7 venemous Creatures have been made Infirimtents of di-- 'Vine and human Vengeance^ is mofi evide?2t. The romantic Account given in Antiquity, of ftrange Feats done by apoifonous Breath— does not alfed: the Truth of this Propofition. The Antients divided Serpents, into good and evil Mini- flers ; thus the Egyptians looked upon fome of them to be Admi- niftrators of Mercy, and others to be MefTengers of Juftlce. Ofiris^^ one of their Gods, is faid to fend out Serpents, to chaftife Evil-Doers 'f. When the Church of i/rj J murmured againft God in the Wildernefs, and cenfured the Condud of Providence, he employs an Army of Serpents as his Agents, to corred the Rebels. Plagues^ and other peftilential Difeafes, were, in old times, reputed to be the MelTengers of the Gods, and commiffioned by them, to execute Wrath upon the Wicked. Some of the Heathens had exalted Notions of Virtue, and believed Men of Virtue to be the Favourites of the Gods, and that a vicious Life, being oppofite to the Sandity of their Nature, they could not let it pais with Impunity. A N Inftance to this purpofe we have in the Hiftory of the Apoftles, j^cfs xxviii. i, — — — 6. The IJla?jd was called Me- iita. And when Paul had gathered a Bundle of Sticks, and laid them on the Fir e^ there came a Viper out of the Heat, and faftiied on his Hand. And when the Barbarians f aw the venemous Beaft ha?2g on his Hand':, they faid among themfehes. No doubt this Man is a Murderer, thd he has efcaped the Sea, yet Vengeance {^'-^r,^ f if ice) fujers not to live- -They looked when he fould havejwoln, or fain down Horn. Iliad iJ. •JI- ^liam Hifi. Anmaliuw. OF SERPENTS. down — ^^And when they faw ?io harm come to hlm^ they changed their Minds, and /aid he was a God. How came they to alter their Opinion ? Becaufe, apcording to their Divinity, none elfe could thus command, and cc^ntroul a venemous Serpent, which was one of the Me[fengers of the Gods. ** No venemous Beafts, according to the fabulous Tradition, ** will live in the Ifland, which they afcribe to St. Paul's Blelling, *' when he was fhipwreck'd there/' They fliew the Cave where they pretend he refided, and reckon the Earth of it, an Anti- dote againfl Poifon, From this hiflorical Paflage, 'tis evident, that thefe Barbarians did believe a Providence, and the Do(^bine of Divine yujlice, which yujlice they openly adored, under the Name of VindiBa,Qi Nemejis, which was the Goddefs of Revenge, whofe Province was to infpedl the moral Condud: of all Men, and diflribute Rewards and Punifliments as the Cafe required. It was painted in the fame manner as Jufiice^ with a Pair oi Scales in one hand^ and a Sword in the other. In Ethiopia, v/e read of a large Country, this fide the Cyna- molgi, that was laid wafle, and entirely depopulated by Scorpions, before whom, the Inhabitants not being able to fland, fled for their Lives. The fame Defolation was made by Scorpions ai- Salamin, an Ifland not far from Athens, called the IJland of Dra- gons, for which Lycophron is quoted *. The InhabitantG of Amycla, a Town in Italy, were deflroyed by Serpents, being, as 'tis faid, of the Pythagorean Race, whofe Laws forbid to kill Animals, and by fuffering thefe venemous Creatures, to multiply without Controul, they became infuiFe° rable -f-. The Inhabitants of Pefcara, an antient City m Africa, were conflrained to forfake their Habitations in Summer^ by reafon of Scorpions that were very numerous, and in thai Seafon, their Sting moft dangerous: In Winter, when their Wounds v/cre leis dan- gerous, the Refugees returned to their Houles \, DIODORUS SICULUS obferves how many Regions Lave been deferted, for this reafon j both People and Cattle b ing driven away by an Army of Scorpions^ and their Allies, In "^ Conrad. Gefnerds Scorp. i Ibid: ^//, G?5^r. p. 3 i g 3 45 46 A NATURAL HISTORY In the Canary-JJlands^ thefe venemous Animals are more dreaded than the Ptflilence. 'Tis faid they are hunted and taken by the Turks^ who prepare the Oil oi Scorpions from them *. In India J about the Arrahban-hake^ the Country has been intirely dirpeopled by thefe mifchievous Creatures, Ibid. \ N Times of War, Serpents have been preft into the Service. Thus Ileliogabalus (Emperor of Romt\ fo called becaufe he was Priefi of the Sun before his Election) having, by his Sacerdotal Incantators, or facred Conjurers, gathered together feveral Ser- pents, contrived a Method to turn them loofe, before day, among his. Enemies, which foon put them into a terrible Hurry, and a Motion, that was a Trial for their Lives i the Sight of the crooked Serpent being far more dreadful, than the Whizzing of a ftraight Arrow -f*. The fame Author informs us of Snakes thrown by a Sling-Staff into the Camp of the Barbarians, which did great Exe- cution. King Frujias being overcome by King Eumenes^ by Land, and intending to try his Fate by Sea, Hannibal^ by a new Invention, made him vid:orious. The Stratagem was this : Hannibal having procured a great Number of Serpents, put them into earthen Veffels J and by another Device, and in midft of the Engage- ment, convey'd them into A?itiochus\ Fleet, which proved more dreadful than Fire-balls, and feather'd Weapons^ that flew amongfl them. At firfl, it feemed ridiculous to the Romans ^ that they Ihould arm themfelves, and fight with earthen Pots-, but when they were broken, an Army of Snakes rulh'd out, which fo ter- rified the Marines, that they immediately yielded the Vidory to Pru/iaSy the Carthaginian Hero's Friend. W E read in Hiftory, how Juno^ out of her hatred to Hercu^ /(?^, fent two dreadful Serpents to devour him in the Cradle, which he foon crufh'd with his Infant- Hands. 1 T was common among the Antient Swedes, to fend out cer- tain Flies (which they pretended to be their Familiars) to plague their Enemies. They alfo made Magical Balls for the fame pur- pofe, boafting how they thereby conveyed Serpents into their Ene- mies Bodies. The * Cofirad.Gefner^ p. 29. f Gefner. de Scorp. \\JuJiini Hiji. lib. xxxii.ad finem. OF SERPENTS. 47 The Laplanders had their Magical Tyre, which was a Ball about the Bignefs of a fmall Apple, (made of Mofs, or Hair of Beafts) which, they fiiy, is quickned and moved by a particular Art J they perfuade themfelves^ that by this Tyre, they can fend Serpents, or what they pleafe, into any Man, to torment him. When this Ball is thrown, it goes like a Whirlwind, and as fwift as a pointed Arrow *. In the Book o{ Da/n'el, mention is made of feveral kinds of Magicians in Chaldea, under King Nebuchadnezzar ; one is Mecaf- phim, a Word which by St, Jerome, and the Greeks is tranflated Malejicij Encha?2ters, fuch People as make ufe of noxious Herbs and Drugs, the Blood of Vi(ftims, and Bones of the Dead, for their fuperftitious Operations -f*. " The Tyrants of Japonia invented a ftrange Punifl:iment for *^ thofe who confelled Chrift. They hung them with their *' Heads downwards, half their Bodies into a large Hole digged " in the Earth, which they filled with Snakes, Lizards^ and other *' poifonous Vermin j but even thofe (fays my Right Reverend '^ Author, the learned and pious Bifliop Taylor) were betterCom-- '' panions than thofe infernal Dragons in the Pit of Hell ||. " The Komans, when they puniHi'd any iox Parricide, to exprefs their Abhorrence of fo heinous a Murder, they fliut him up in a Sack, with a Serpent, an Ape, and a Cock. To thefe Inftances, I fliall add, that the Attendants of P/^//i?, Prince of the Infernal Regions, are reprefented in a Serpentine Habit, viz. the Furies, Harpies I N his Train, are three Dirce, Eumenides^ov Furies, viz. AlcBo\ Meg£ra, and Tvjipkone, whofe Heads are covered with long and dreadful Snakes, inftead of Hair, wiih Whips, Chains, and flam- ing Torches, in their Hands, to punifn the Guilty. Thefe a^fo attended the Throne of Jo-vCy and were accounted to be Mef- fengers of the Gods, v^^hofe Office it was to execute their Decrees in the Infiidion of Calamities upon Mortals. These Furies had their Temples and Worfliippers, and were defcribed in Figures of fo frightful a Form, that they durft fcarce mention their Names without Horror. Tn * Schefents^s HiiT:o''y or Lapland-, cap. xi. p. 60. f Cahnet^s Hill, Cric.-^ j!)i'5lionary. 1| Contempla icis^ Book ii. chap 6, . o .o c> A NATURAL HISTORY TrS IP HO NE, ouQ of them, enraged at an innocent Youth, pluck'doffone of her Snakes, and threw if at him, which wound about his Body, and immediately flrangled him. Some fay, that we fee thele three Furies on a Medal of the Emperor Philip, flruck at Antioch, on whofe Reverfe are reprefented three Women, arm'd with a Key, burning Torches, Poniards, and Ser- pents. T H E Daffodil was facred to the Furies, and fuch as oBered Sacrifice to them were crowned with it. "* As foon as departed Souls had been examined hy Mi jios, Ra- 'lamanthus, 'SivA/Eacus, and found guilty, and Sentence paft, they were delivered to the Furies, who cafl them down headlong into Tartarus^ the Place of Torment,— and all thofe who had lived well, were conduded to the Elyjian Fields. HOMER fpeaks of them as the Executioners of Juftice upon falfe Swearers, among other Inflances : . Infernal Furies, and 'Tartarean Gods^ Who rule the Dead, and horrid Woes prepare For perjiifdVJngs, and all ivho faljly Jwear , The Harpies \ were monftrous and cruel Birds defcrib'd with Womens Faces, and Dragons Fails, to render them more formi- dable to Mankind : The Antients looked upon them as Demons or Genii, which lafl Homer calls Podarge. About Kaskan in Ferjia, is a fine and fertile Country, but plagued with Multi- tudes of Sco7'pions, which haunt the Inhabitants, efpecially in that Town (one of the moft populous and eminent Marts in that Em- pire) where the Inhabitants, for fear of that venemous Animal, dare not fleep upon the Floor (as in other Places, where they on- ly throw a Quilt upon the Tapeflry) but have light Couches, hanging down from the Roof, like Seamens Hammocks, or hanging Beds on fhip-board. They have indeed a ready Help againil: its venemousWounds, which is made of the Filings of Copper, tempered with Vinegar and Honey, which proves a fpeedy Cure j but if negleded, the Patient is in danger of his Life. This, fays the Hifl:orian, I prefume, has been iirft found out by the antipathetick Qua- lity, * From Euftathius, on the firft Book of the Iliad. f Aelloy Ocypete, and Celano, Virg. iELncid. lib. 3. OF SERPENTS. lity, which feems to be between Scorpions and Copper ; for not far from the City is the Copper-Mine, where, as before, if one of thefe Animals be brought, it dies immediately. ^ Whether this be not Herbert's Parthian ? Yea, to render a future State terrible to Mortals, the Heathens, fpeaking of departed Souls, feigned, that at their defcent from Charon s Boat (who was the Ferryman of Hell) they met Cerbe- rus, a monftrous Dog, with three Heads, who was covered all over with Serpents, inftead of Hair. There was the Moniler Chimcera that vomited Fire, her Head like a Lion, Middle like a Goat, and her Tail like a furious T>ragon -, fo fings the Poet : •^^ Cerberus, who foon began to rear His crejled Snakes — he gapes with three enormous Mouths. Dryden's Virgil. So another : For as the Pope that keeps the Gate Of Heaven, wears three Crowns of State-, So he, that keeps the Gates of^ Hell, Proud Cerberus, wears three Heads as well. And, if the World have any Troth ^ Some have been canonizdin both. Hudibras. But further, we may obferve, that belides this frightful Ap- pearance of Serpent^o falute their Entrance into Hell, there was Variety of Punifliments for them when there. Thus the Danaides were condemned to Tartarus by the Poets, to be continually em- ployed in filling a Cask perforated at the bottom ; Phlegas, con- demned by Apollo to Hell, where he lat upon a rolling Stone, in conftant danger of falling into a Pit of greater Miiery 5 Tityus, adjudged to Hell, where a Vultur feeds on his Liver, and the Liver always grows with the Moon: Nay, fuch were the horrible Preparations in Hell, that Virgil^, afcer a Survey of it, declaies, that had he a hundred Mouths and Tongues, they would not luf- fice to recount all the Plagues of the Tortured : fo that it is no wonder to fee them reprefent the infernal Prifon in Figures the moil frightful. H And * jEneld. lib. vi. ver. 638. 49 50 A NATURAL H I S T O R Y, ^^. A N D as the Heathen had their terrible Place for bad Men, fo, to prompt them to Virtue, they had their Elyfnwi, i. e. a Place of Pleafure in Hades^ furnifhed with moft pleafant Fields, agreeable Woods, Groves, Shades, Rivers; whither the Souls of good Peo- ple were fuppofed to go after this Life. Thefe are finely defcribed by the Poet: — locos Jatos (if amcena virenta For tuna tor u?n nemorum Jedefque beat as. A 51 NATURAL HISTORY O F S E PEN T S PART 11. Which gives a View of mojl Serpents that are know7t i7t the fever a I Parts of the Worlds defcriU d by their various Names^ differ e72t Countries^ ^ualities^ Sec. A a "^ H E Serpents are a numerous Tribe and their Dominions I of large Extent, lying both in Sea and Land : No part "*- of the World but what is replenifli'd with them, more or lefs, in fome form or other. In dcfcribing them, I fhall begin with. I. T H E Viper ^ or Adder ^ a fubtle and poifonous {lender in Body, about a Foot and half long, with Creature, th fiery and flaming Eyes, a long and cloven Tongue, which wlien irritated it darts forth with Violence, and looks lii:e a glowing Fiie-braLd^ has a big Head, and flatteft of the Serpentine kind. H 2 It 5^ A NATUPvAL HISTORY I T is flow in its morion, and does not leap like other Ser- pents, but is very nimble to bite when provok'd. The Scales un- der the Body refemble that of weli-polifli'd Steel. They appear in divers Colours, yellow, a(h, green ; and others of Lybia, like the Inhabitants, of a blackifh Huej its Front not unlike that of a Hog. VIPERS of other Nations, are fuppofed to be larger than the Europcajj, efpecially the Troglodite-Viper *, which is faid to be above fifteen Cubits lone: and the Hiftorian adds, viz. 'That there are no domejiick Vipers. I prefume, he means they are not brought up among the Children of the Family, as Ibme Serpents arc faid to have been; this little venemous Reptile being of a more mifchievous Nature -f-. The Viper differs from the Snake in bulk, being not fo large, and their Scales m.ore fliarp, and Head more large: They alfo differ in this, ijiz. Snakes lay their Eggs, twenty, thirty, iixty, and a hundred fometimes, in one Nefl, not quite fo large as that of a Magpye (which are inclofed with a whitifh Skin, but not with Scales) in Dunghills and other warm Situations, where they are hatch'd by adventitious Heat, commonly calPd Adders in this Country; v^hereas Vipers make ufe of their own Matrix, and bring forth live Vipers: Their young ones come forth wrapt up in thin Skins, which break on the third day, and fet the little venemous Creatures at liberty, therefore rank'd among the vivi- parous Animals. Their Births are much like young Snigs for Bulk ; they ge- nerally bring forth about twenty young ones, but only one each day. It is obferv'd of the/ Viper, that its Internals are not fetid, like thofe of fome other Serpents, that are intolerable. The Eggs of Lizard-Serpents^ vv^liich are fo much efleem'd in the French-1/Iands in America^ are of the lame Size and Figure as thofe of Pigeons, and are generally ufed in all forts of Sauces: When tlie Females lay their Egp;s, they make a Hole in the Sand, and cover tlicm with it, and tlie Keat of the Sun is fufficient to l:atch them t ALB ERTUS IS quoted for a Battle between 'a Viper and a Magpye, occafioned by her creeping up in^o a Magpye's Neft, and * /Elian lie K-Jt. Animal f CnnracLGff,:er. /i'^/?. p. 75. J F.v'.ILi's Jourfialofth! Phi!. MaiL mid Bot. Ohf. OFSERPENTS. c? 5 iC (C and devouring her Brood in the Mother's abfence, who npcn her Return made a hideous clattering, v/hich foon brought in its Mate J whereupon both, with united Beaks, fell upon the Plun- derer, and after a {harp Engagement demolifli'd the Enemy. Father Fevillee in the Woods of the liland Marthnqiie^ " being frighted by a large Serpent, which he could not well *^ avoid, his Dog immediately fell on, and took the Serpent " by the Head: The Serpent furrounded him and prefs'd him *' fo violently, that the Blood came out of his Mouth; and yet the Dog never ceafed till he had entirely tore it to pieces. The Dog was not fenfible of his Wounds during the Fight, but foon after, his Head prick'd by the Serpent fvvell'd prodi- gioully, and he lay on the ground as dead; but his Mafter hav- ing found hard by a Bafia'nier^ which is a very watry Tree, he cured him with the Juice of it, and fome Treacle *." The Viper is common in fome parts of France, efpeclally in Daiiphi?iy or FoiBou^ from whence all the Vipers come that are fold in Paris. They are ufualiy taken with wooden Tongs, or by the end of the Tail, which may be done without danger; for while held in that Poiition, they can't wind themfelves up to hurt their Enemy. The Viper-Catchers have their Specihcks, in which they can fafely confide, as not to be afraid of being bitten ; which they fay is the Fat of a Viper ^ immediately rubb'd into the Wound, which is one of the mod venemous in the animal V/orld. These Vipers are ufualiy put and kept in a Box with Braa or Mofi; not that thefe higredients ferve to feed upon, as fome may fancy; becaufe 'tis faid, they never eat after they are taken and confin'd, but live on the Air, and \vill live fo, many Months: But more hereafter, l^he DeftruBion of Vipers by human Spittle, the Coition of the Marine with Lampreys, the pregnant Viper biting off her Companion's Head, and the Revenge of it by the Younglings 1 place among vulgar Errors. II. The Amodyfes is a Serpent very venemous and 9:Zxzq, of a fandy Colour, black Spots, and of about a Cubit long. The Wound given by the Female, the weaker Vefle), is faid to be moii dan- gerous: Its Jaws are larger than the common Vipers, and from fome Eminencies upon the Head, like a Tuft of Flefh, is called Corniitus^ * Fevillies Journal of the Phil. Math,^ and Bot. Obfsr.. 54. A N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y CormifUi. Its Wounds prove fatal without a fpeedy Cure. It is found in I/jbia, a Limb of Jfrica, and alfo in lllyricuin^ and in foine parts of Italy ^''■. . This Serpent is called Corniitus, a horned Beaft -f-. Of this Form, is a numerous Flerd; we read, that in the Roman Army- was a Band of Foot Soldiers called Corniiti. Upon the Continent of A?nerica are Bulls and Cows, that have no Horns, lavs Dr. Cb. Ijcizh who adds, " The Defeat *' of Horns in thefe Beafts, brings into my mind a remarkable *' Phenomenon of one Alice Green ^ whofe Pidture I have feen in Whalley Abby^ in LancaJJnre. This Woman had two Horns which grew out of the back part of her Headj they grew backwards like thofe of Rams, and were about three Inches long; thcfe fhe caff once in three Years, and had always into- " lerable Pains, before the Horns broke out J." He might have mentioned another innocent Creature, on whofe Head a treacherous Companion inoculates a Scion, which intitles him to the title of Cuckold, a word derived from Ciickows^ who having no Beds of their own, invade their Neighbour's. Of the Ciickow 'lis faid, that having no Neft, fhe takes pofTeffion of fome other Bird's Neft, deftroys the Eggs, and lays in it an Egg of her own, which the innocent Bird brings forth and nurfes for its ovm II . III. The Ceraftesh a Serpent of the viperlne Kind; its Head refembles the Cornigerous -, it belongs to the Lybian and Nubian Family : Its Teeth are like thofe of the Viper, and it brings its SucceiTors into the World after the fame manner. Its Conftitution is very dry, which refines and exalts its Poi- fon, and makes it more dangerous ; the Wound is generally at- tended with Diftradion, and continual pricking as with Needles. Some f^.y, 'tis of a whitifli Colour, others arenaceous; it loves fandy Habitations, where it often farprifes the unwary Traveller: And all agree 'tis of a moft cruel Nature; and therefore in fome Places 'twas made the Executioner of .Malcfadors **, as the Juice of * Cc7n'itatu imprhnis Gor'itienji Invcn'itur. — Ray. t Lucan. Pharfal. lib. ix. t His Natural HiJIory of Lancnjhire^ Book ii. p. 3. IJ \^x. Willoughhy^ wht) writ the Kiftory of Birds, affirms this Account of the Cuckow to be truL- upon his own Knowledge, according to Mr. Ray. ** Nunc potei aSlutum tnfid'iatoremqiAe CeraJicn—-Non is corpus habet, fed quatuor aut duo prof ert Cornua. Nicander in Ther. ^\ o. y i^A^ Vyier^ (?r,^^//^£^. ^is^ tyT^//n/9?'rA/^^t:f , ie^€ra/t€j . 9^/a^e /, ^Ae t/e. ^e/zj .^ OFSERPENTS. 55 of the Cicutdj (an Herb like our Hemlock) was among the Athe- nians. Some fay 'tis of the afpick kind, as the Arabians-^ in length a Cubit or more, with two Horns on the Head, refembling Snail- Shells: It lies perdue near travelling Paths, and is very crafty in decoying little Birds into the Snare. Its V/ounds foon kill, if one of the Ffylliaii People be not im- mediately called in. A^. B. Thefe Fjjlli are a noted People of Syrenaica in Africa^ endued with a natural Faculty of deftroying Serpents upon light, and curing their Wounds by a Touch of the Hand , of whom we have this Account, vvz Crates of Per- gamus fays, that about Farium in the HeUejpont, there were Men, named Ophiogenes^ who cured thofe wounded with Serpents with a Touch. Varro teftifies there were Ibnie of them in his time. AGATHERCIDES writes, that in Africa the Pfylllans (a People fo called from King Pfyllus, from whom they were de- fcended, and whofe Sepulchre is to be (ttn at this day in the greater Syrtes) did in the fame manner heal People wounded by Serpents. 'Tis faid they had fome extraordinary Quality in their Nature, that would fuddenly kill all Serpents. I T was by thefe they tried the Chaflity of their Wives, thus, I'lZ. When a Child was born, and its Legitimacy queftionable, they laid it in a great Vejfel full of thefe Cerajlik Serpents^ that immediately breathed deftrud:ion; but Vv'hen they came near the Child, their Rage foften'd, and they immediately fled from it; which proved the Legitimacy of the Child, that he was a true Pfyllian^ born in Lawful Wedlock, becauie Serpents could not poifon it, nor endure its Prefence*. However this romantic Account may appear, it may doubt- lefs be phiiofophically accounted for by Eiiiuviuu^iS emitted from their Bodies, that proved fatal to Serpents. The EngUjlj Annotator upon Lucan, who was Nephew to Seneca^ obferves much to the lame purpofe, when he lays, Theie Pfylli (a People inhabiting thofe parts of Africa called Mannarica^ bordering on the Nile) are fortify'd by Nature v/ith an incredible Privile2;e * In dol'mm cerajl arum ■plenum infantem conjicere^ HLWivt. lib. i. C3p. 57, G)l!ii Acceflio, cap. 37. N. B. Ifthe Child was begotten by a Stranger, 'tws killed by Poifon ; if lawfully begottCDj the Privilege of his Fath.u'^ Uioud ^lo.cclcd iiiin againll the Venom. 56 A NATURAL HISTORY Privilege againfl: the Strength of Poifon, and fuftain no Harm by the biting of Serpents. The Serpents, fays Pliny, are afraid of them, and when others are bitten by them, thefe Pjyllians by fucking the Wounds, cure them. The Marfians in Italy, 'tis faid, are flill in poffeffion of this natural Power againfl Serpents, and are fuppofed to defcend from the Son of Circe, the fimous Enchantrels. The Trial of Children's Legitimacy by Serpents, puts me in mind of Hereditary Right; whofe Title was try'd by the Fatal- Stone, on which the Irijh Monarchs ufed to be inaugurated on the Hill of Tar ah', and which being inclofed in a Wooden-Chair, was made to emit a Sound under the rightful Candidate, when he fat in it; but was quite filent under one who had no Title, or not a good one; that is, one who was not, for the Druidick Priefl's Turn. *' This Stone was fent to confirm the Irijh Colony in Scotland, ' where it continued to be the Coronation-Chair till in the Year '■ 1300, Edward I. of England brought it from Scoon, and placed ' it under the Coronation-Chair at fFefttninfler * ; and there it ' ilill remains, is ufed in the Coronation, the antienteft refped:ed ' Monument in the World -f. The Vulgar call it Jacob's Stone, ' as if this had been his Pillow at Bethel" Note, Antique Ap- pearances often give birth to popular Superftitions. Such natural Power againft Difeafes did in our Days appear in the celebrated Mr. Greatrix, before whofe Hand they Jled. \\\ the Philofophical Tranfadions we have the following Account of it, received fiom Eye-WitneiTes — e. g. " • • • • My own Brother, John D- n, was feized with a vio- lent Pain in his Head and Back : Mr. Greatrix (coming by ac- cident to our Houfe) gave prefent Eafe to his Head, by only llroaking it with his Hands. He then rubb'd his Back, which he moft complain'd of, and the Pain immediately fled from his Hand to his right Thigh; then he purfued it with his Hand to his Knee, from thence to his Leg, Ancle and Foot; and at lad to his great Toe. As it fell lower, it grew more violent 3 * Ni fallat fatum Scoti quccunque locatum Invenieiu lapidem, regnare tcnentur ibiJem, t IpruVs Collat. A. D. 1726. OF SERPENTS. 6x in Jlrahia^ which (according to the Tradition) if a Man Jlept upon^ he died in his Sleep without any Pain. A C E R T A I N le-c rned Pen, makes this Remark upon Cleo^ fatras Cafe, viz, that flie was not bit by an JJp^ as Ibme have allerted, but did that which was more fecret and furej that is, after fhe had bit her own Arm, infufed Poifon into the Wound, exprelTed before-hand from an j4fp by Irritation, and preferved in • a Phial for that purpofe : Or, as Dio lays, ilie wounded her Arm with a Needle, or DreiTing-pin, and then poured the Poifon into the bleeding Wound. This feems probable, becaufe no Serpent was found in her Chamber or near it. The ^ieeity in order to find the moft eafy Paflage out of this Life, made an Experiment upon Criminals by various kinds of Poifon, and Application of diverfe forts of Serpents, and found nothing came up to AJpick Foifon^ which throws Perfons into a pleafant Sleep, in which they die* . Qbj. If it be faid, that in the Triumphs oi Auguftus, Q^z"^ Cleopatra is drawn with an Afp in her Hand: I A N s w E R, That I apprehend that Device might only be PiBo- rial' Licence, or a Flouriili of the Painter to affed the People, by difplaying the Heroifm of a Woman, who to prevent the Difgrace of Captivity, embraced Death at the hands of a Serpent, a ter- rible Creature, to which none has fo great an Averfion as the fe- male Sex. Excufe a poetick DigreiTion. On the A S P and its P O I S O N. Welcome thou kind Deceiver, T^hoii befi of Thieves ! who with an eafy Key Doft open Life, and unperceiv'd by us. Even flea I us from our f elves \ difcharging fo^ Death's dreadful Office^ better than himfelf Touching our Limbs fo gently into Slumber^ That Death flarids by, deceivd by its own Image y And^hinks himfelf ajleep -f Some * Plutarch's Lives of Man Anton, and Cleopatra, and Fr, RtJi Neb'dis Jrftini Experiment, p. 170, — i, — 23—3, f Dryden, All for Lovt, 62 A NATURAL HISTORY Smoe are of Opinion, that the Afp is David'?, deaf Adder ^ Pial. Iviii. 45. ney are like the deaf Adder that flops her Ear, which will 7iot hearken to the Voice of Charmers, charming never Jo loifely. They are like the deaf yifp, fays the Hebrew and the Septuagirit. The word in the Original * P^/'^f;?, q. d. Unperfuadednefs-y hence, wicked Men are called ATrjiSfi,- in the New Tefl, unperfuadable, which the E/i!^/{//^ Tranllation renders Difobedie?itj Tit. i. 16. The common Tradition is, that when Men by Inchantments and Charms have attempted to take thefe Serpents, they flopt one Ear with the Tail, and the other was either deaf, or made fo bv laying it clofe to the Ground. Some are of Opinion, that there is a fort of Afp that really is deaf, which of all others is the mofi: dangerous, and is meant by the Royal Prophet here. That there was a Pradice of charming Serpents by fome Art or other, fo that they could neither bite nor fling, feems evident from the facred Writings, e.g. Eccl. x. 11. Surely the Serpent will bite without Inchantment. Jer. viii. 17. Til fend Serpents, Cockatrices^ among yon ^ that will not be charmed, and they fl:all bite voii^ lavs the Lord. Among other Things the Word Charmer, fome fay, figni- £es one that conjoins and confociates; that is, that by Sorcery gather'd Serpents together, and m^ade them tame and familiar; or the Perfon may be fo call'd, becaufe by Magick Art, he aflb- ciated with Demons, the Lords of Serpents. W E are inform'd by Hiftory, of fome who have fummoned together a hundred Serpents at oncej but by what method, I leave the Reader to judge. Mont anus, a famous Phyfician, and Profeilbr at Padua in Italy, fays he faw this Coadunation of Serpents. T H E learned Dodor Cafaubon tells us, he had feen a Man, who fi-om the Country around him, would draw Serpents into the Fire, which was inclos'd in a magical Circle : When one of them, bigger than the reft, would not be brought in, upon repeat- in'>- the atbrefaid Charms, it fubmitted to the Flames. W E read of a famous Charmer at Saltsburgh in the Circle of Bavarian that, when (in fight of the People) he had charm'd a (Treat Nunibsr of Serpents into a Ditch, where he kill'd them; there O F S E R P E N T S. 63 there came a Serpent of great Bulk, fuppofed to be the Devil, that leapt upon the Charmer, and immediately flew him *. Answer me, fays ParacelfuSy (the celebrated AS'Ziy//j Phyfician, who did wonderful Cures by Liquids extrad:ed from Vegetables,) from whence is it, that a Serpent of iiZd'/i;^//^, Algovia^ or Suevi a ^ does underftand the G7'eek Idiom, OJj\ Ofya^ OJjy that they fhould, at the firft Sound of thefe Words, ft op their Ears^ remain immoveable, and do us no hurt with their Poifon ? From whence he infers, there was a Power in Words to operate upon the Ear, without Superllition. The Antients feem to have entertain'd fome favourable Thoughts of the Power of Spells upon Serpents :. Their Poets fpeak often of thefe Charms and Incantations. Frigidus in prat is cantando rumpitur anguis. Virgil. Vipereasrumpo verbis, ^ carmine fauces, Ovid. Ingue priiinofo coluber diftenditiir arvo^ Viperes coeunt abrupto corpore nodi, Hiimanoque c adit fer pens aflata veneno. Lucan. PHILOSTRATUS defcribes particularly how the Indians ' charm Serpents — they take a Scarlet-Coat embroider'd with golden Letters, and fpread it before the Serpent's Hole, and thefe golden Letters have a fafcinatin^ Power over it, and therewith its Eyes are overcome and laid aileep -j-. If we conlider the ftrange Things done by Force of Words, Co much extoll'd in Antiquity, it will be no wonder to fee Letters, out of which Words arefor?nd, made the Rudiment andfirji Study of human Life : But as to the Mode of Operation by Words, the Learned are not agreed. Some fay, there is a natural Virtue and Efiicacy in Words, and appeal to the notable Feats done by Force of Floquence. This was the favourite Study and View of Orators; in this they triumph'd, and never wanted Acclamations and loud Applaufes. I N Plutarch, we have, among others, one remarkable Inflance, vix. Ccefar, upon the Accufations brought in by Tubero again (I ^iintus Ligarius {Pompefs Friend) he was refolved to ficrificc ebat Rebel, till he was charm'd by the Words of the Orator that pleaded in his favour No fooner did Cicero begin his Oration in ^ Doaor Mor/s Antidote. t His Life of Apollonius Tyanaus, writ at the Defire of the Emprefs falia, lib, 3. £>. 2. his 64 A NATURAL HISTORY his defence, but Ccefar's Countenance chang'd, and his Indigna- tion begun to foften .... but when the Orator touch'd upon the Battle of Pbarfrdia (where Cafar was Conqueror) Ccefar's Heart tender'd, his Body trembled with Joy, and certain Papers in his Hands dropt to the ground. And when Cicero had linifli'd his Oration, C^fars Wrath againft his Enemy was intirely extin- guidi'dj and Ligarius was fet at liberty *. The fame Orator, by the Dint of Eloquence, overthrew the Ccnftitution of the De- cemviri. Others fay, there is a mighty Force in Words in fuch a ^oiic, and 'Talifmanicdl CharaSlers, rightly-adapted Figures, and Images under certain Conftellations -f-. Some affirm that Magick confif!:s in the Spirit of Faith^ for Faith is the Magnet of Magicians^ by which they draw Spirits to them, and by which Spirits they do wonderful Things, that to vulgar Eyes appear like Miracles. No doubt but feveral extra- ordinary Effects have been afcrib'd to the Devil, that in reality were natural, and artfully difguifed: The Story of Sieur Brioche, a famous Puppet- player, is well known, who in a Town in Swit- zerlandy where that Show had never been feen before, he was ap- prehended as a Warlock or Magician, and ran the hazard of be- ing punifh'd as fuch J. Others affirm, that Charms by Words are but means to heighten the Imagination ; and the ftrange Effects produced by 'em, fiow'd only from the Activity of an exalted Thought, or Fancy of heated Brains. In proof of this 'tis faid, that if a Wo- man at a certain Seafon, ftrongly fix her Imagination upon any particular Obje(5l, the Child will bear the Image thereof. I T n I N K 'tis pretty obvious, that thofe extraordinary Im- preffions made by Pagan Sophijis upon the Minds of their Au- dience by the Charms of Rhetorick, pad for a divine Afflatus or Infpiration; and therefore in fuch Cafes, we fliall find this For- mula (Aliqiiis nefcio quii DeusJ frequently ufed by Enthufiaftical Orators, as v;ellas their P^j^'/j; Thus Cicero fpeaks ofhimfelf, that he was mov'd by a certain Impetus or Ardour || : Apollonius lya- 7ieus, * Plutarch's Life of Cicero. t Paracelfus, C. Jgrippa, Life of Mr. Duncan Campbell, A. D. 1720, page 256. Gapl'iirel. % De Saifit Judre's hctiQrs. \\ Nulla ingentif fed magna vis a nimi iri^mantis ut nic ipfc non icneam. OF SERPENTS. 65 nein, who was looked upon by the ChriAians as a notorious Ma- gician, being afk'd by the Governor of Rome under Nero, what was his Profellion? he anfwer'd, S-e-'a^ao;, an Enduifiaft, q. d. Fa- natic, Conjurer. 'Tis true, that wonderful Things have been done by Words, but how njcrbal Charms operated upon Serpents^ wants Explica- tion: Offome Inchanters 'tis faid, that by vocal and inflrumental Sounds, they have charm'd Rats, Mice and Serpents, fome into a ftupid State, and others into a flexible fubmiffive State. A remarkable Inftance in Rats we have in the publick Records of Hamelcn, (an antient City on the River Wejer in Gen?2any, about 28 Miles S. E. of Ha?2over) where the following ftrange Account is regifter'd, njiz. That iii June 26. 1284, a certain Stranger undertook to deftroy an Army of Rats with which the Town had been long pefter'd, on promife of fuch a Rewardj and immediately playing on his Pipe and Tabret, the Rats march'd out, and follow'd the Mufick to the River, where they were all drovvn'd: But being denied the Reward, he threaten'd Revenge; and next day he went about with the fame Mulick, and moft Children in the Town follow'd the Piper to the Mouth of a great Cave on a neighbouring Hill call'd Koppelberg^ where he and and they entered, and were never heard of after. I N remembrance of this fad Cataftrophe, the Citizens for many Years after, dated all their publick Writings yro/;; the Day they loft their Children, as appears by their old Deeds and Records: They ftill call the Street thro' which the Children went out, I'abret-Street ', and at the Mouth of the Cave there is a Monument of Stone, with a Latin Infcription, giving the Particulars of rliis tragical Story. As to the other Inftance, ^uiz. Serpents charm'd into a du6lile manageable State, 'tis thus accounted forj viz. Serpents, they fay, are ftrangely influenced by the Smell of thofe Emanations, proceeding from the Cornus, or Dog-tree (why not the Cornelian- Cherry, antiently dedicated to ApolM) and that by a Wand or Rod taken from it, they are thrown into an obfequious Temper — ■ " When touch'd by a Rod from that Tree, they are immediately " intoxicated, but fo as to be able to follow the Motion of the *' Rod; but whether by reafon offome great Difproportion or K *' Incom- n 66 ANATURALHISTORY " liiCompofTibility, between thefe fubtile Effluvia and the Tem- perament of the vital, fpiritual Subftance of the Serpent, or by what other way, we are not told *". The Saffiifras-tree, a Na- tive oi America J is calfd Conms alfo, whofe Wood is very odo- rous and fragrant." Now, fay thefe Gentlemen, why fiioiild it feem impoffiblc, that he who underftands this invincible En- n:iity, and how to manage a Rod of the Cormis v/ith Cunning and Dexterity (having firft intoxicated a Serpent by the Touch there- of) flioLild during that Fit make it obferve, and readily conform to all the various Motions of the V/and, io as that the unlearned Speculators, perceiving the Serpent to approach the Enchanter^ as he moves the Wand near to himfelf, or to retreat from him, as he put the W^and from him, or turn round and dance as the Rod is mov'd to and fro, or lie flill as in a Trance, as the Rod is held ■ftill over it; and all this Time, the People knowing nothing of the \^irtue m the Rod, are eafily deluded into a Belief, that the Avhole Scene is fupernatural, and the main Energy radicated in thofe Words or Charms, which the Impoilor with great Cere- mony and Gravity of Afpeds mutters forth, the better to difguife his Legerdemain, anddillemble Nature in the colour of a Miracle. The Rattle-makes in America are faid to fecure their Prey by Incantation ; for they have the Power or Art, (I know not which to call it, fays my Author) to charm Squirrels, Hares, Partridge?^ or any fuch thing, in fuch a manner, that they run diredly into their Mouths : This I have feen, adds he, by a Squirrel and one of the Rattle-fnakes ; and other Snakes have in fome meafure the. lame Power -f-. It is allowed indeed, that there are dumb Creatures\hi\.d.Q ex- ceed Man in ^omo, Jhijibie Perceptioits, particularly in that of Smel- ling^ as the Harriers^ and other Dogs. How flrange, that Odours from the Plare's Body, fhould fo affect the Nofe of a Hound, as to raife in him that Senfation or Scent, by which he follows her all the Day (tho' he never had a Sight of her) thro' a Cloud of Oppofition, from perplexing intricate Places, and Efflu- viums proceeding from other Animals! These Emanations are exceeding fine Effluvia, or Particles flying off odorous Bodies in all Directions ; and as they tioat in the Air on the Surface of the Earth (within their Atmofphere) flrike againfl * Qmrhon. t Natural Hiftory of Carolina^ A.D. ijii. page 129, OF SERPENTS. 67 agalnftthe Dog's Nofe, and produce that Senfation of Smell.- N. B. The Jntenfity of Smell in all Creatures, is in proportion to the Denfity or Thicknefs where we are: This Deniity is always diminifh'd in proportion to the Squares of the Diftances from the odorous Body. Y E A, a little Cur, by the Power of Smelling, can find out his Mafter among Thoufands, will trace his Steps thro' Crouds in Fairs and Markets j yea, throughout a whole Country. Our Hiltories inform us of Dogs in fome parts of this Ifland, that being put up- on the Scent, would purfue a Thief and a Murderer; and if he crofs'd a River, would fmell where he entered, and fwim after him 3 and when arrived at t'other fide, would hunt about till they found where he landed, and then run on, till they overtook the Criminal. I N Animals is a fulphurous or oily Matter, fo attenuated and fubtiliz'd as to become volatile, which is denominated a Spirit: Now that there is fuch a Spirit in Man, and a peculiar one too in every Man, is evident from thefe Dogs, which will purfue the Game by their Nofe, and follow their Mafter's Track, and di- llinguifli it precifely; yea, tho' a thoufand other Perfons had pafc the fame way. I T muft be by meer Force of Smelling, that the Dog is able to do this, that is, to diftinguifh his Mafter from all Men by the Inftrumentality of his Nofe. Therefore there muft be fome fpecifick Matter exhaled from the Mafter's Body, which the Dog can perfed:ly diftinguifti from the various Eftiuvia flowing from all other Perfons. The Dog muft exceed us, in that he can thus exad:ly difcern his Mafter, by thefe fubtile, oily, or fulphurous Effluvia, which no human Nole was ever able to do. We find the like Spirit in the Hound, who when put in the Track which a Deer has lately been in, will follow the Steps of that Deer thro' all crofs Paths of a thoufand others, and at lall fingle out that individual Deer among a whole Herd of thofe Ani- mals. I N Scotland are a fort of Dogs (in Colour generally red and fpotted with black, or black with red) of extraordinary Sagacity, being, as 'tisfaid, put upon the Scent, will purfue Thieves with Succefs; and the Ufe of them has been authorifed by the Magi ft rate ■ K 2 Niii/us 68 A NATURAL HISTORY Nulhis fcrturhet out impediat canem trafa?ite??jj ant homhies trail- J elites cum ipfo ad fequendum latrones aut adcapicndum malefaSiores. N. B. ^Trafantem is a Word latiniz'd from the old French 'Tracer or Traffer, fignifying to follow by the Track. I F any (liou'd fuggeft, That this derogates from the Wifdom and Goodnefs of the Creator, who has given to fome Beafts ftronger Perceptions, Nerves more exquifitely fine and delicate than he has beflow'd upon ?vlan : ■: ,^ Answer , this is fo far from derogating from divine Wif- dbfft and Goodnefs, that it is an admirable Inftance and Illuftra- tipn of both; for were our olfactory Nerves fufceptible of fuch quick Senfationsas Dogs and fome other Animals, we iliou'd be continually annoy 'd with peftiferous Fumes and .Exhalations, fo as not only to render mofl: Situations troublefome, but even Life it felf miferable and wretched. Such quick Senfations may be very ufeful to carnivorous Ani- . mals, fo as to dired: them to their Prey, but to human Beings it wou'd be very vexatious, if not peftiferous and deadly. I (hall only add to this Digrellion, a lliort Hint about the Magick Art, the moft furpriling of all Arts, and in its firft: Appearance moft jiinocent and ufeful. Among the antient ChaldeajtSf Babylonians and Perfians, where the Art-magic was fir ft and principally cultivated, it fig- nificd no more than Wifdom -, and hence the Sophi^ or Wifemen of the Greeks were by them called ^^ocyoi^ that is, Magiciaiis-, who being acquainted with many of the hidden Powers of Nature, di- re-cted them in fuch manner, as to produce Effeds, whofe Caufes being unknown to the Vulgar^ were attributed to Dce?nons. Hence the Art in procefs of Time came into Difrepute, and Magicians have been cenfur'd, as working by CompacSt with the Devil: But this is invidious; for ,in the Gofpel we find, the Magi or Magicians^ are faid to covnt frotn the Eaft to Jerufalem, faying, where is he that is horn King of the Jews ? for %ve — are come to wor- f:ip him. No body can imagine this to be undcrftood of thofe that have been called Sorcerers, Wizards, Conjurers, Witches or Magi- cians, in the modern Senfe of that Word * ; for thofc who were familiar with the Devil, would fcarce come to enquire after him, who came to deftroy his Works. T H E *Matt. ii. I, 2, OF SERPENTS. 69 The Notion of Witches in the Days of Ignorance and Super- flition, was very prevailing in thisliland, but of late Years has un- • dergone a parliamentary Excommunication; though the Lauca- JJjtre Witches, who are conftituted of the fairer Part of the fairer Sex, triumph even over our Senators, and will maintain their faf- cinating Charms, while their rival Beauties, the Sun and Stars endure. W E read of a certain King of Egypt , who having alTembled his Magical Pricjis without the City Memphis^ caus'd them to en- ter where the People were gather'd, by beat of Drum; All of them made feme miraculous Difcovery of their Magic and Wif- dom. 0?ie had his Face furrounded with a Light, like that of the Sun, fo bj-jght that none could look earneftly upon him. Another feem'd as if enrob'd with precious Stones of di- verfe Colours, red, green, yellow, or wrought with Gold. A Third came mounted on a Lion^ compafs'd with Serpents, like Girdles. The next came in with a Pavilion, or Canopy of Light, di- ftended over his Head. Another entered furrounded with Flames of Fire, turnincy about him j fo that none durft come near him. After him appeared one with dreadful Birds, perching about his Head, and (Iraking their Wings like Vulturs and black Eagles. The laft made his Appearance with an Army in the Air marching before him, of winged Serpents and terrible Perfo- nages. In fine, every one did what was taught him by tlie Star he ferved; and after all, the whole Scene was but an Ap- parition and lUufion, according to their own Confeffion to tlie King, when the Farce was over *.—— Something analogous to this are the Magic Lanthorns in our days. I N antient times, the Word Magician generally fignified Men of Wifdom or Learm?7g, i. e. of fuperior Knowledge in Things natural and divine, and more elpecially in that fort of Learning relative to the Sun, Moon, and Stars, as we learn from Porphyry, yl^uleius, * This PafTage is taken out of the Egyptian Hiftory of the Pyramids- by Mur- tadixhQ Jrabian^ printed at Tibe, a City in Arabia^ \\x.\\ o{ Regehe, 992; which correfponds to Jidy lid, 1584; about 156 Years ago ; trunflateil into Fri?icby and into Englijhy 1672. 70 A NATURAL HISTORY Aptilelus^ and others. And feeing the infpired Apoflle gives them that Name (^Magicians) not as a Mark of Infamy, but a Title of Honour, therefore does the EugHPi Tranllation llile them Wife- men^ fuch as the old Greeks called o-o^^jj, Sages of theit^ ^ime^. How, and how far this Art is degenerated, I refer to the Judgment of the Learned: We fee there are Revolutions in Words, as well as in Families and Kingdoms j a Magiciafi being formerly a IVife- inan^ as well as a Knave an honeft one. Sed tempora mutantur. I Shall only add to the Afpick SubjeB^ the Tribute of Ve- neration paid to this poifonous Animal in the Land of Egypt. The Hiftorian fpeaks of a certain Perfon, who in digging, hap- pened unawares to cut an Afp with his Spade, and went mad up- on it,— -was taken into the Houfe of Serat)is^ an Egyptian Idol, — the Relatives of the Patient praying the Spe^rian of that Serpent might be deftroyed, which being accordingly done by Magick Art, the Man was cured. By this we fee, how highly Afps were venerated among the Egyptians^ who not only fuffer'd them to live, but to live in their Houfes, where they were carefully fed, as Favourites of the Family '\. And Queen Cleopatra^ Cafe was not fingular, for the Perfian Kings kept an exquifite Poifon by them, made of the Dung of an Indian Bird, which would kill v^ without putting them to pain, that they might ufe it themfelves in cafe of any Difafter J. DEMOSTHENES, who flew his Soldier, when he was afleep, was a merciful Executioner; a kind of PuniQmient the Mildnefs of no Law has yet invented. It is ftrange that Lucau and Seneca made no difcovery of it. Sleep is a kind of Death, ^ by which we may literally be laid to die daily i and in this Senfe, Adam may be faid to die be- fore his final Exit. VIII. I NOW proceed to the Serpent Scytale-y the Name is borrowed from the Greek Word o-Ji-jraAn, a Staff, or any thing like a Cylinder, of a long fmooth round Form; the Body of this Ser- pent being in (hape equally round, like a Rolling-Stone, with very little Variation in the Extremities of it. It * 5(?d'r^i7(7w"'s New Theory, p. 211. f Cicurantur cibo, cum infantibus vivunt, & crep'itum dighorum vocata ex cavi prodcimt. Jonflonus, p. 16. % Atlas ^ Jfiei. ^/aU 2 ? ^^A^J^-C^&Tri l/??Z(99Zy <^2^ ^7/^^^a^^ ^ra^on^^ ,^A^^r&fi^aou OF SERPENTS. 71 It forms a beautiful Profpedl, being an AggregiUe of moil: charming Colours, (therefore call'd the Painted Ssrpent by Man^ tHa?ius.) It may be viev/'d without Danger, becaufe ilo\v in its Motion. 'Tie an Error in lAican to attribute its Slownefs to a Defign of enticing Spediators, if it be not P(7^//V^ Lice?2tia. When releafed from its Winter-Confinement, the firli thino; fhe does, fays the Hiftorian, is to refrefli her languid Body with Fennel-Leaves ; but does not tell us what is done, in cafe that Plerb can't be readily found. It mufl indeed be allowed, that wild Fennel is a common Herb of the Field, and well known and of Ufe in Phyfick *. The Poet cbferves, that no Snake cafis her Coat in Winter, but the Scytale -f-. This Serpent being adorned with beautiful Colours, excufe a fhort Digrelfion upon the Dodrine of Colours in Natural Bodies, Know then, Colours are the Children of Fire and Light. I. IVhere there is LJgU, there is Fire-, and Fire (hews itfelf to be prefent by Light. The Senfation of Light is produced when the Particles of Fire, diredled by the Adion of the Sun, reach the Eye in right Lines. Now, Fire thus, entering the Eye, gives a Motion to the optick Fibres at the Bottom of the Eye, and thus excites the Idea of Light. II. FIRE difcovers itfelf by Colour -^ for all Colours depend upon Light, and Light depends upon Fire; and different Colours appear in Natural Bodies, as their Surfaces are difpofed to refled: this or that fort of coloured Rays more than others. Colour is- a Property inherent in Light. Colours therefore are not connate with Natural Bodies, which are all of the fame Hue in the dark. To this the Poet alludes, when he makes Darknefs the Definition of Colours \. — ' Colours are only in the Rays of the Sun: In Natural Bodies is a equality or Power to refle(5t the Light falling upon them, which frriking the Eye, produces in the Spectator the Senfation of Co- lour. Clou d& * jEUan^ GylUt Accejno, f Et Scytale fparfis ei'icm nunc fch pruinis Exuvias pojitura fnas. Lucan's Pharf. % Rebus nox abJhUt aira cohm.- Vir^iU A NATURAL HISTORY Clouds often appear very beautifully coloured j they coniifl of aqueous Particles, between which Air is intcrfperfed; therefore, according to the various Thicknels of thofe aqueous Particles, the Cloud will be of a different Colour *. IX. AMP HIS B^ NA Serpent, fo called from oc^P^ & |3^'^^, Biceps, a Monfter with two Heads. This is a fmall and weak Crea- ture, equal in Bulk to a little Finger, and about a Foot long, of a whitiih or terraceous Colour; of the oviparous Family, of fmall Eyes, no othcrways vifible than the Prick of a little Needle; lives* much under ground, and is often found by digging; feeds upon Ants. Under this Head, the Hiftorian mentions three Serpents, viz. The Brafilian, that has two Pleads, and moves as a Crab -f*. The '^aprobanenjian, with four Heads : and he who believes it muft have a four- headed Faith. The Himgariau; of which elf&where. The flime Hiftorian adds, that the marine Amphisbana, taken in the Ejiglifi Sea, has two heads. Ibid. Pli?iy, Mlian^ Lucaji^ Mantuan, — affirm it has two Heads; Matthiolm denies it, Hefychius is doubtful. Mention is made of a Serpent found near Chipping-Norton^ not far from Oxford, having two Heads, and Faces like Women; one being fhaped after the new Tyre of that Time; the other was habited after the old Fafliion, and had great Wings refembling thofe of the Flinder-Moufe or Bat J. This happened in the Reign of Edward III. A SpaniJJj Author fays, that in Chiapa he found a two-headed Serpent, 1 8 Inches long, in the Form of a Roman T, and very ve- nemous; it does not only kill, adds he, by its bite, but if any tread upon that part of the Ground over which 'twas jufl gone, it proves fatal ||. The Poet alfo fubfcribes to two Heads**.- If this two-headed Serpent has llain its Thoufands, there is a certain metaphorical three-headed Serpent on the Banks of Tyber, that has llain its Ten Thou£u:ids. Perhaps * Bcerhaave, Grave fand. f Acofla, % ^/jzu's Annals, Z<7«^iP«, printed, 1631, jj Antcnio de Herrera'% Hiftory of America. ** Et gravis ingeniumfurgein caput Amphisbceiia, Lucan, p. 270, OF SERPENTS. Perhaps the Reafon of afcribing two Heads to this Ser- pent, might be, becaufe it is faid to poilbn by the Tail and Teeth. Others fay, both Ends are fo like in Figure and Bulk, that they are not eafily diftinguiflied. It ieems probable to me, that this Serpent, like fome Infedls or Worms, has a double Motion, antrorfuml^ retrorfum, which made fome of the Ancients conclude it had two Heads ; one in the ufual Situation, the other in the Extremity of the Cauda. Its Body is of equal Thicknefs, and recommended to the View by various and delightful Spots *. W E read of this Serpent in Gothland^ where it comes forth in the Spring before all other Serpents, being more able to encounter the cold Air -f*. Some Authors tell us, that its Skin wrapt about a Stick, drives away all Serpents ; which I place among the Tales of Antiquity. This Serpent is found in the Lybiaji Deferts, and alfo in the liland of Lemnos^ in the /Egean Sea. The Pundlure made by its Wounds is fo fmall, that it can fcarcely be difcerned, yet termi- nates in a dreadful Inflammation and a lingering Death. ERASMUS was puzzled about the Senfe of that Greek Pro- verb '^^f*^ ^i' ^^^^\ hydrus in dolio, a Serpent in the Hogfhead. The Meaning of it, faid an Interpreter of Dreams, is this : A cer- tain Perfon had a VelTel of Wine, that was conflantly diminifli- ing, tho' carefully lock'd up ; the Reafon of which he could not account for, till he empty'd the Veflel, at the bottom of which he found a Serpent rioting in Wine J. Perhaps as good an Interpretation may be this, that there was Venom in the Cask (of which the Serpent was an Emblem) to all thofe who rioted in the Bowls of Excefs. Not fo, fays a Son oi Bacchus 'j for The thirfiy Earth foah up the Rain,, And drinks J and gapes for Drink again. 'The Sea itfelf which one would think. Should have but little need of Drink^ Drinks Ten thoufand Rivers up. L Th£ * Conrad. Gefver. /Elian. Columella, lib. vi. t Olaus Mapius Hiji. B. xxi. % Conradus Geftier. 73 74 A NATURAL HISTORY ^e bufy Sun, and one would guefs '' Bfs drunken fiery Face no lefsy Drinks up the Sea.- ■■ ■ Fill up the Bowl then, Jill it high. Fill all the GlaJJ'es there, for why. Should every Creature drink, but I f Why, Man of Morals, tell me why f * Some of the Poets have thought this Amphisbana to be the Hydra Lernaa, the many-headed Serpent, that was very terrible to the adjacent Country, and flain by Hercules : When one Head was cut off, many others fprung up; fo that there was no way to deftroy the Monfter, but by cutting off all the Heads with one Stroke. T H o' there be no Amphisbanick Animals, there Is fome Re- femblance of it in Plants, whofe Cotyledon is always double, and in the common Centre of the two, is a Point or Speck, which is the Plantule, or the Tree in Embryo ; which Plantule being aded on by the Earth, warmed by the Sun, begins to expand, and ihoots its Root both upward and downward. Thus, in a Bean 'Committed to the Ground, we foon fee it to cleave into two Parts, and in the Fiffure appears a little Speck, which fends out a Root downward?, and a Bud upwards.— -A remarkable Phaeno- menon, fays the Note on Boerhaaves Theory. X. Among Serpents, Authors place Dragons; Creatures ter- rible and fierce in Afped: and Nature. They are divided into Apodes and Pedates, fome with Feet, and fome without them -, fome are privileged with Wings, and others are deffitute of Wings and Feet: Some are covered with (harp Scdes, which make a bright Appearance in fome Pofition. Some have obferved, that about the Ganges, are Dragons whofe Eyes fparkle like precious Stones. They differ in external Form : The Draconopades are repre- fented by a human Face, and fightly Countenance; the reft of the Body in a tortuous winding Shape. In one of Dr. yohnjbn's Fi- gures, a Dragon is made to appear like a Man's Face, with a Gre- nadier's Cap on the Head. Some differ in Colour, fome are black * Covj/e/s Anacrcon. OF SERPENTS. 75 black in the upper Part of the Body, according to Philofiratus j red, according to Homer-, yellow, according to Paufanias -, and Lucan makes it a golden Colour *. The fame Hiftorian obferves, that in the Atlantick Moun- tains, they kill where they touch, and thofe that are in the King- dom of Narfinga^ and dwell in the Woods, kill all they meet. Ibid. f. I Presume, the Author means Narfinga, a potent King- dom, bounded on the Eaft with the Bay of Bengal, that noble Part of India, fays Herbert ^-^ where the Monarch is always at- tended with 1000 for his Guards, has 5 or 6000 Jefters, and rec- kons it one of his chief Titles to be the Hulband of a Thoufand Wives. Dragons are Inhabitants of Africa and AJia-, thofe of India exceed moll in Largenefs ^nd Longitude : In the Tower of London, is the Skin of one, which is of vaft Bulk. In Mthio^ pia, they have no Name for Dragons, but Killers of Elephants, which is fuppofed to be the largeft of Land-Animals. OvE R the Water-gate in the City of Rhodes, there is fet up the Head of a Z)r^^o;7, which was 33 Foot long, that wafted all the Country, till it was flain by Deodate de Gozon, one of the Knights of St. John Baptiji \\. The Knights of that Order had frequently attack'd it, but in vain 5 for its Scales being proof a- gainft all their Arms, it deftroyed fo many of them, that the Grand Maftcr forbad them to engage the Monfter any more. GOZON, who, after feveral dangerous Onfets efcaped with his Life, refolvcd to make another Trial by Stratagem ; perceiv- ing it was no where vulnerable but in the Eyes and Belly, con- trived the Refemblance of a Dragon by a Machine of Paftboard, of equal Bulk with the Dragon, and by certain Springs made it leap like a true Dragon : Having trained up a Couple of fierce J)ogs to attack it at the Belly, he went out privately one Morning, well-armed on a managed Horfe with his Dogs, and rode up to the L 2 Den, * Vhiloftratus de Vita Apol. lib. iii. cap. 2. Homer. Iliad, lib. 12. Lucan. Fharfal. ip Jonjioni Hijioria SerpentnM, />• 33, 34. •f- TJude quidam in arhores ^ chamt dracenes diflinxere. X His Travels mto Africa and A Ji a, the famous Empires o( Perf a and Inda- Jian, — Oriental lilands. jl Atlas Geog. Anatolia^ p. 4. 3 ,"4- from Tavernier and JD« Mont^ 5 76 A NATURAL HISTORY Den, from whence the Dragon leaped furioufly at him : In the Encounter, the Dogs laid hold on his Belly, and forced him to lie down; upon- which the valiant Knight alighted, thruft his great Sword feveral times into his Throat, and foon killed him : Upon which the Spectators drew near, and with great difBculty fever'd the Head from the Body, and lugged it into the Town in Tri- umph. The Conqueror was degraded for the fake of Form, becaufe he had violated the Grand-Mafter's Order ; but was immediately reftored, and foon after was eleded Grand-Mafter himfelf 3 he died in the Year 1335, and on his Tomb were engraven thefe Words, Dracofiis ExtinSlor ; 77?^ Dejiroyer of the Dragon. I N the Life of Attilius Regains (the Roman General in the War againft the Carthaginians) is defcribed a Dragon of prodigious Bulk near the River Bagrada^ that annoyed all the Country round, without Remedy. Several Devices were formed to deftroy it, but without effedl, till the Military Po^^' was called in, who difcharged the Engines of War againft it with Succefs : And fo great was this Deliverance, that an Ovation, or a fmall Triumph, was publickly made at Rome for the Victory. XI. Th e Pythian Dragon, fo called from its being the Guar- dian of the Delphick Oracle : Its Eyes are large and fharp, and the Body painted with Variety of Colours, as red, yellow, green and blue, andfurniflied with Scales that are refplendent, well com- pad:ed and hard. It has been called Deucalionc^eus, becaufe in the Language of Ignorance, it was produced from the Mud left by the DeucaUonian Deluge: a Serpent of prodigious Bulk^. PT'THON is alfo taken for a prophetic Demon, by St. Luke t. — u^s 'we went to Prayer^ a certain Damfel pofefi with a spirit of Divination^ (having the Spirit of P)'//^c, according to the Greek) which brought her Majlers much Gain by Socth faying, that is, by PredidHons, telling of Fortunes. Python of the Greeks is luppoled the Syphon of the Phoenicians, and the phivnician Ty- phon to be Ogg King of Bajhan, and Apollo that ilew it, to be Jojhua. Apollo is called Pythius from this Serpent, or from fome notorious Tyrant of that Name, flain by him, as the antient Geo- grapher OF SERPENTS. gfcipher obferves. So Gefner from Paufanias. The Prieftefs of Apollo^ that delivered the Sacred Oracles, was called Pythia and Pythoniffa. This Pytboiiick Spirit among the Gentiles, was cfleemed as a God, and by yuvefial is ftyled Vates^ a Prophet. The Prieftefs that delivered the Sacred Oracles, was called Pythia^ from Apollo Pythias^ and muft be a pure Virgin. Moft of the Fathers of the Church were of opinion, that it was the De- vil gave the Anfwers, which were generally dubious, a Sign of his Ignorance about Futurity. One Oc^nomaus^ a certain Pagan Philofopher, highly refenting. it, that he had been fo often befooled by the Oracles, fpeaks to Apollo thus — " When we come toconfult thee, either thou know- ** efl; Things to come ornot. If thou knowefl them, why doft " not thou fpeak fo as to be underftood ? If thou knowefl not, " why doft thou pretend to it ? If Things neceftarily come to " pafs, why doft thou amufe us with Ambiguities? *" F, BALTHUS^ a learned Jefuit, and F. Bouchet, fay there were real Oracles, and fuch that can never be attributed to Priefts and Prieftefles; and that the Devil ftill gives Oracles in the Indies^ and that not by Idols, which, would be liable to Impofture, but by the Mouths of Priefts, and By-Standers ^ and that the Devil becomes mute, in proportion as the Gofpel prevails.' " It is generally believed among the more Learned, that the Pa- " gan Oracles were mere Frauds and Impoftures, and calcu- " iated to ferve the political Views of Princes, and covetous *' Ends of Pagan Priefts." According to the learned Bayk they w^ere meer human Artifices j and he is feconded by Van- dale 2.w^ Fontenelle. But to return to the Oracle at Dt'//>Z;oj, which. was very antient and much in vogue before the Trojan War : The Situation of the Place, where People were made to believe God; fpoke, was at ihe Mouth of a certain Cavern, whence they received their Intelligence. The Prophetefs fat upon a Tripodiu?ny'3L three- footed Stool, alTifted in her Fun(flion by divers Priefts. Under her Seat, 'tis faid, that fome time there appeared a. Dragon, through whofe Throat Refponies were audibly deliver'd, with a loud and ftrong Voice : According to EiifebiuSy a Serpent: rolled itielf about the Tripod, on v/hich the Prieft fat.. Of * Eufehiut. 77 78 A NATURAL HISTORY Of all Oracles, that of Apollo Pythius at Delphos, in the JEgean Sea, was the moft celebrated, and confulted as the dernier Refort by the Princes of thofe Times ; yea, all the Greeks reforted thither for Counfel in Matters of Importance. At the firfl opening of that Oracular OJlce^ Anfwers were given to the Querift in Verfe j but upon People's ridiculing the Poornefs of the Verfification, the Oracle fell to Profe. 'Tis flrange, that what they made a God^ could not make a goodVerfeyhnt not flrange to fee the old Serpent adhering to its firft Scheme of Politicks, by making the weaker Veffel the Vehicle to convey his ilrong Delufions to the World. Some of thefe Draconick Serpents excel in the Senfation of Hearing and Seeing, as well as in the Art of Killing ; and therefor© a Dragon was made the Cofifervator of their Treajures and Ctirioji- ties-, e.g. Mauritania in Africa y was famous for the Gardens of the Hejperides (fo called from three Sifters and Daughters of King Hejperius) that produced Golden Apples, and were guarded by a Dragon, which Hercules having killed or charm *d into a profound Sleep, he robbed the Golden Orchard. The Rod of Mofes, 'tis faid, ivas turned into a Serpent, The Syriack,Arabick, and Septuagint Tranllations, fay, 'twas turned in- to a Dragon ; and fo the Rods of the Magicians became Dragons, XII. TuEBaf/isk or Cockatrice, is a Serpent of the Draconick Line, the Property of Africa, (ays ^]lian, and denied by others: In fhape, refembles a Cock, the Tail excepted. Authors differ about its Extra(5tion; the Egyptians fay, it fprings from the Egg of the Bird Bis ; and others, from the Eggs of a Cock : Other Conjedures about its Deibent, being as ridiculous, I forbear to mention them. Nor are they agreed whether it more inclines to the black or yellow Colour j nor^re their Sentiments lefs various about its Stature. I T is grofs in Body, of fiery Eyes, and iliarp Head, on which it wears a Creft, like a Cock's Comb; and has the Honour to be lliled Regulus by the Latins^ the Little King of Serpents-, and 'lis generally fuppofed to be terrible to then). The Sight of this Animal, and Sound of his Voice, puts them to flight, and even to over-run their Prey*: Yea, TraditioJi adds, that his Eyes and Breath are killing; that is, I prefume, when he grafps the Spoil. Several * S'lli'.o ejus n 'iq-uos terreri c^ pradi?!? derdiniuere. c^2^^^^f Lv-o/t^z/r^u^ OF SERPENTS. 79 Several dreadful things are attributed to his venemous Qu^alities, fo fing the Poets *. According to Pliny and other antient Hiftorians, this Ser- pent in its Motion, inclines to the Eredl; it goes half upright, the middle and poilcrior parts of the Body only touching the Ground. The Venom of the Bafiiifk is (aid to befo exalted, that if it bites a Staff, 'twill kill the Perfon that makes ufe of it j but this is Tradition without a Voucher \, The reafon why this Serpent is dubb'd King, is not becaufe *tis larger in bulk than others of the Fraternity, or becaufe it wears a Crown, or becaufe that Title feems to be recognized by a divine Prophet, who fJDeaking of Ahaz and his Son Hezekiah, fays. Out of the Serpert's Root Jloall come forth a Cockatrice, and his Fruit f jail be a fiery flying Serpent. The Hebrew exprefles it by a word, that fignifies a Prince or King, but not with a View to Empire over the ferpentine Race. But 'tis moft probable, that the royal Stile is given to this Serpent, becaufe of its majeflic Pace^ which feems to be attended with an Air of Grandeur and Authority. It does not, like other Serpents, creep on the Earth 5 which if it did, the fight of it would not be frightful, but moving about, in a fort of an eredt Pofture, it looks like a Creature of another Species, therefore they conclude 'tis an Enemy. Serpents are for Uniformity, therefore can't endure thofe that differ from them in the Mode of Motion. 'T I s faid of this Creature, that its Poifon infedts the Air to that Degree, that no other Animal can live near it, according to the Tradition of the Elders famous for magnificent Tales. Thefe little Furiofo's are bred in the Solitudes of Africa, and are alfo found in fome other Places, and every where are terrible Neigh- hours. The crown'd Bafilifk leads me to Ovid, who, fpeaklng of Man's ered Poflure, fays 'tis a Mark of Diftindtion due to the Excellencies of the human Mind : * Tarn teter vacuas odor hinc exhalat in auras, Atque propinquantes penetrant non fegniter artus. Nica?i. Anteveneni nocensjlate fibi fubmovet omne Vulf',u , & in vacua regnat Bafilifcus arena. Lucav, 270. f ^Eliaff. G^ilii Acceljio^ cap. xviii. p. 247. Jonjloni Bi^oria NaturaKSerp. P- 34> 35- ' So A NATURAL HISTORY A Creature of a ?Jiore exaked khid Was wanting yet j and then was Man defigrid^ Conjcioiis of T'hought, of more capacious Breaft.-—^ 2. And partly as an Enfign of Royalty, fome Charaders where- of Naiuralifts have obferved in fome other petty Principalities; fuch as the Crown on the Dolphin, Diadem on the Bafilifk, the Lion's flately Mane, which ferves as a Collar of Honour. But Man, being vefted with an univerfal Monarch, walks upon the Earth, like a Mafter in his own Houfe. XIII. The Cctcilia or TypJjH?ius^ the blind Worm, as the Greek word imports; not that it wants Eyes, butbecaufe they are fo little, that he mud be furnifli'd with good Optics that can dif- cern them : And the Ear alfo is as remarkably dull, therefore call'd by the Greeks >tw^ia?*; of a brown Colour, full of Spots, varie- gated : The Belly is blackifh, the Neck fky-colour'd, garnilh'd with certain black Spots ; Head like a Lamprey, and is as free from Poifon : Little Teeth, a. forked Tongue, and may be handled without hurt -f-. This Serpent feems to refemble thofe People which we call My ops ^ i. e. Moufe-eyed, or purblind, which happens when the Eye is fo convex^ that the Rays of Light unite, before they come to the Retina^ which makes the Eye alfo look fmall, whence the Name;};. The Ccecilian Serpent is about a Foot long, and diftinguifliahle from our common Serpents by the Form of its Body, which is al- mofl of the fame CralTitude, excepting two or three Inches at the extremity of the Tail. Coiiradus G^;/fr tells us, his Wife flruck one of thefe Serpents on the Head, when 'twas pregnant, and it immediately caft forth its young |). XIV. The Generis^ or Cencrina is a fpotted Serpent, and very •venemous; denominated ixom Milium, a fmall Grain call'd Mil- let-feed ; to which Hillorians compare the Spots wherewith this Serpent * ^tmf furdafler, cj-ndk^b'^ti'; [\t: audit!/!. t Nicander calls it uTt>inxFToy, quod nullam noxam infcrar. Jovjionus^ p. 19. X From Tr^PAiM excneco, xw^ow, exfurdo, I] Gfjuer, p. 36. /EUa7i, OF SERPENTS. 8i Serpent is adorn*d: For the fame reafon, a certaifl Species of the Herpes, that is, a cutaneous Diftemper, which is a kind of fpread- ing Inflammation, (and is like Millet-feed on the Skin) is called Miliary : And by fome, this is called the Miliary Serpent *. This Serpent is compared by Nicander to a Lion ; either for Cruelty in thirfting after Blood, or for its Courage^ which ap- pears in all its Attacks. How furious in all its Wars, offenfivc and defenfive ! always fighting, Lion-like, '^\\\\ 2in ereSledTiail : Which leads me to a DigrefTion about the Turkifi Standardy which is a Horfe-Tail ereSled: The Original of that Cuftom was this, viz. One of the Turkijh Generals having his Standard taken in a Battle with the ChriJiianSy and perceiving his Men difcouraged by the lofs of it, he cut off a Horfe-'Tail, and faftening it to the top of a Half-pike^ advanced it on high, crying out. This is the great Standard^ let thoje that love me follow it : Upon which his Men rallied, fought Y\\it Liens, and obtained the Vi6toryj-.. B u T to return to the Serpent, which moving in a diredl Line, goes faft, but being of great Bulk, can't fuddenly wind about J: Circumvolution is the way to avoid its Menaces. 'Tis commonly found in the Ifland of Lemnos (the old Dipolis, and now the Sta~ limene of the Turks) and aifo in Samothracia, an Ifland in the Archipelago, a Province antiently famous for the J3ii Cabiri, that is, certain Gods wor {hipped by the Samothracians and PhenicianSy and had in fuch high Veneration, that it was a Crime to mention Names fo facred among the People ||. Some fay they were God's Minifters, others think they were Devils. XV. The Acontia **, called by the Latins, Serpens Macular is ^ and by fome, the Flying Serpent, becaufe of the Celerity of it? Motion. In Lemnos 'tis call'd Sagittarius, the Bowman or Archer: By the modern Greeks, Saeta, a Dart j for it flies like an Arrow at its Prey -f-f-. A certain Perfon in Cato\ Army call'd Paulusy was flain, * Ab aliquibus MiUarii appelUtur., JonflonuSj p 20. f Tavernier. :{: Et femper rs^o lapfurus limite cencris. Lucan. Pharfal. p. 2^9. (j Bocbart Geogr. Sacra, lib. i. cap. 12. ** A%» ra uHovToq, quod, jaculi inftar, fe vibrer. ft Rumpat 8c Serpens iter inftitutum Si per obliquum fimilis fagittce Terruit mannos. M ■ ,. 83 A NATURAL HISTORY llain, not by the Polfon, but tbe Violence of its Blow * : Pro- bably on the lateral part of the Scull. Authors are not agreed about its Dimenfions. Ambrojinus fpeaking of one he had feen in the Bonomaii Miifaiim^ fays, 'tis- about the thicknefs of a Staff, and about three Foot long : It is found in Egypt, its Wounds are dreadful, being attended with Putrefadion and Defluxion of the FleHi* Th A T which Bellonius faw, was three Palms long, or fixteen Inches and a Finger's Breadth. A^. B. Palmus flands for two dif- ferent Meafures; Palmus major contains twelve Fingers j Palmus minor, four Inches. It lies in wait under Bulhes, from whence it ruflies out una- wares, and flies like an Arrow at Paflengers : Before it leaps at the Prey, it lies on the Ground, and turns itfelf round, to give the greater fpring to the Motion, by which fhe'U do execution at twenty Cubits diftance -f*. These nimble Leapers are found among the Weft- Indians , efpecially in Hifpaniola, where there are little Serpents in green Apparel, that hang by the Tail on the Branches, from whence they fuddenly leap upon their Prey. Among the ^abcsans are fome cloathed in red, four Inches long, that thus leap upon Men unawares ; and hurt, not only by ftriking, but touching. This Serpent refembles the Afli in Colour, inclining to the white. It traverfes the Libyan Provinces, where it makes travel- ling dangerous : It is alfo found in the Ifland of Rhodes ; an Ifland on which, the Poets tell us, Golden Showers are rairid, and where the Air is never fo clouded, as to hinder the Light of the Sun.. It appears alfo in Norway^ according to Olaus Magnus. One tells us, that he was inform'd by one John Vitus, a learned Hungarian, that there were in that Country little Serpents about fix Inches long, and without a Tail, therefore called by the Vulgar, the curtail d Serpent, the whole Body is much of an- equal thicknefs ; and thefe, upon View of their Prey, leap upon it with the Swiftnefs of an Arrow J. * immifit (jaculum vocat Africa,) ferpens Perquc caput Pauli tranfadta tempora fugit Nil ibi virus egit : rapuit cum vulnere t'acum. Lucajii Fharfalia, lib. ix. p=..273« t Jo7ipoms, D. 20, XI' % Conrad. Gefner. i» Verbutn. XVL OF SERPENTS. S^ XVI. The Drm'na Serpent, from ^pi^f, an Oak, by Scaltgcr called ^erctilus ; it takes its Name from the Oak, in whofe hol- low places it feems to refide j and to which, it retires for Refuge, when affuulted by Hornets.— ^ Some credulous Authors have faid, that thefe Serpents take up their hybernal Lodgings about the Roots of the Beach- trees ^ and by virtue of the Warmthy which thofe Roots derive from them, that Tree, fo enhappy'd, iiouriflies all Winter. This Serpent is of the amphibious kind, and a mofl: venemous Creature, therefore rang'd with the firil Order of the ferpentine Race. 'Tis of monftrous bulk *, guarded by a rough fquamma- tick Armour, in the Cavities of which, 'tis faid, little Flies build their Nefts. Whether it appears in white or blue Habit, is not material, nor do I fee what Honour it gets by wearing a Coronet on its Head. In the Language of Tradition, to tread upon it will caufe an Excoriation in the Foot, (tho' no V/ound be given) and a Tumor in the Leg ; yea, adds the Tradition ift, the Hands that attend vthe Patient, will be in danger of loiing their Skin: But he who believes all the Fables of Antiquity, is in more danger of loiing his Reafon. The Druinical Serpent goes under various Denominations. 'Tis faid to follow the Acontia in Authors, becaufe its Figure exacftly quadrates with Bellonius\ dart Serpent -, and Scaliger was in the lame Sentiment -f*. But I fnall only mention that of C}jerfyd?'uSy from Nicander in Jojjftonus, p. 28. or Chelydrus, called by fome a Sea-Snail', which the learned Sir Hans Shane defcribes thus. " That it is " more flat than moil of the cochlean Marines, confiding only *' of Circumvolutions, round the Axis of the Shell ; of a fine pur- " pie Colour." He calls it Cochlea Marina J, and not without reafon, becaufe of their difference in Magnitude. The terreftrial Druina lives upon Frogs^, and other Infers ; many of them are found in Africa- Interior, and the Hellefpont by Conjlantinople. It is a fetid Animal, and fends forth an ill Scent, efpeciallv when its Body is wounded ||. M 2 This "* It is a Load for a Porter, f Jonjloms:, Articul. xiii. p. 21. X His Voyage [o Jamaica^ vol. i. p. 34. [] x%liav. Gyllists. Gejher. 4 84 A NATURAL HISTORY This Serpent exceeds moft in bulk, and loudnefs in biffing, whicb refembles the Cry oi Sheep and Goats^ ibid. Gyllius makes the Druina to be the Chelydrus^ defcribed by the Poet, who makes it a Calabrian * : Of which, more in another place. XVII. The Elops or Ehphis of the Antients, which fome confound with the Caciliay as yonjionus obferves : It is of the amphibious Sort, and known at Lemnos, where 'tis call'd Laphiati by the Natives. In Aldrovajiduss Study, y^mbrofinus faw the Picture of this Serpent, which was about three Foot long ; the Belly is of a yellow Colour, the Back is brown, and diflinguifli- able by three black Lines -f*. There is a marine Elope ^ an Animal counted facred by the Poets, a Set of merry Mortals, famous for turning every thing into a Godj or 'Ridicule. The Hiftorian mentions a certain Fifli io called, that upon any loud Noife made on Land near the Shore, would immediately haften towards the Place, as if it would fee who durfl rival Triton in Sound ; 'Triton^ Herald oi Neptune ^ So- vereign of the Sea. XVIII. The F areas or Parvas^ is a Serpent of a fiery Co- lour, fharp Eyes, wide Mouth, two Feet fituated near the Tail, by which its Motion is guided J : It is called the Serpent of Mfcu- iapius^ being of a gentle, innocent, friendly Nature. In Italy they frequent Houfes, and are no more dangerous than common Eels J and if provoked to exercife their Teeth, there is nothing venemous in the Bite. This is fuppofed by fome to be the Italian Baron: One of its commendable Properties is, that it devours poifonous Serpents ; and therefore is facred to the Myfteries, and highly efteem'd in the Temple of Dionyjius. GESNER ||, from Albertus fays, it goes as it were upright, on its Tail, not perpendicularly upon the fharp End, but on that part of the Body joined to the Tail : It is bred in Syria, Alexandria, and in the Eafl, (^c. Thefe Serpents are known alfo in Spain and * ' ■ • Nidore chelydroi E(i etiam tile mslus coluhr'ts in faliibus avguis Pofiquam exhaufia falus. — Virg. Georg. 1. iii. This is applied alfo to the Hydrus. + Ray. ^ Ef contentus-) iter caudafukare F areas. Lucan. Pharfal. 270'. !) ^'^fi '"^"^ ereiius graditur Juper caudayn, 1. v. p. 65. OF SERPENTS. Ss and other temperate Regions, and every where efteemed Enemies to hurtful Serpents, and Friends to Mankind ; therefore were con- fecrated to the divme MJculapiuSi that great and glorious Exemplar of Humanity. XIX. The Dip/as or Dipfacus is a little venemous Reptile of the Afpick-kind *, lefs than a Viper, but kills fooner j and is moft remarkable in this, that when it bites, the Poifon brings an un- quenchable Thirfl on the Perfon afFed:ed, who finding no Relief, runs to the Water, and drinks till he burfts afunder -f*. The Poetick Hiftorian obferves, how Aldus, an Enfign- bearer in the Roman Army in Africa, was flain by this Serpent ; at firft he felt httle or no Pain from the Bite, but as foon as it be- gan to operate, he was immediately fcorch'd to death J. Gale?i calls this Serpent Diabetes, and Mgineta Dipfacus, from the in- curable Thirfl that accompanies its Bite ; By others 'tis called *S/- tula, becaufe of the burning Heat caufed by the Wound. I T is about a Cubit in length, lives in fait Marflies and Shal- low Waters ; it dwells in Arabia, Rhodes, Africa, efpecially in Libya, where fome Branches of the venemous Family live on Ca- mel's Flefli, and Locufts dried in the Sun. The more hot the Climate, the more terrible the Wound, as it is in that hot Coun- try, where they have no Springs, but a few fait Wells, which en- creafe the animal Appetite of Thirft. The learned Venetian makes the Serpent Dipfas an Hieroglyphick of illicit LcFue, the Poifon of which will, without timely Repentance, excite the Thirfl of Dives, who wanted a Drop of Water to cool his fcorched Tongue ||. XX. Common Snake. Thefe Serpents in their Summer-rambles haunt among Burt:ies, moffy Grounds, uliginous and unfrequent- ed Situations. In a fultry Day they may be feen bafking them- felves * Some make it of the viperine fort. One calls it Vipera Jiticuhfa. Viper a [item facieates. Avicenna. Conrad. Gefner. p. 42. Inter ajpidem df viperam, fays ano- ther. Uii/. f Accejjio Gjl/ii, cap. 47. X - Sa7iguwis Aulam Torta caput retro Dipfas caJcata momordit. Vix do'or' — . p. 270. II Joativis Pierii Valeriani BeUunenJis Hierogfjphica) inter Col/e^antaj p. 34, Tttu- lusj Amoris ignes. 86 A NATURAL HISTORY felves in the Sun, near their Apartments: The Sight of a Perfon, puts them to flight ; and upon a ciofe Purfuit of them, they make a Stand, raife up their Heads to a confiderable height, and oppofc the Enemy with a loud and angry Hifs. No Danger is appre- hended from their Bite, and they are handled with Impunity. This Species of Serpents refembles xhQ Mfculapiariy that has been fed in fome FamiHes j and when provoked to ufe the Teeth,, the Danger is no more than that from a Bee, whofe Weapons are defenfive, and not employed without Provocation : In Winter they retire into fubterraneous Spaces, v/here they lie dormant, till the vernal Sun invites them out. Though they propagate as Vipers, it does not appear that they fit on their Eggs, as moH oviparous Animals do ; for we often find a Brood of young Serpents in old Hedges and Dunghills, and no vifible Sign of a common PafTage to and from the Neft. XXI. The Elepbantra Serpmts are thofe whofe Wounds cart: People into a Leprofy or Roughnefs of Skin, like that of an Elc^ phant: Hence Leprofy proceeding from inward Diforders, is call'd ■Elephantia or Elephantiajis^ which is a cutaneous Difeafe, makes the Skin fcurfy and rough, in Colour refenibling that of an Ani- mal, that in Bulk and Intelligence is fuperior to all four-footed Beafts. ELEPHANTS in hidia are fiid to be about 12 Foot high, and of a Moufe-colour, the Skin not only rough, but hard, fo hard that it is not penetrable by a Sword ; their Eyes like thofe of Swine 5 two Teeth hang out beyond the reft, which are Ivory. We have an Account in Hamilton^ Travels, of an Elephant in the Eajl-Indies^ which a Man \Vas conduding one Morning to water, and paffing clofe by a Taylor's Shop, who was work^ ing at an open Window, the Taylor had the Courage to prick him with his Needle : The Beaft did not then feem to refent the Affront, but when he returned from the Water, which he hav- ing artfully muddled, took into his Trunk; as he came back by the Taylor's Window, fpouted it in his Face, which very much difobliged a Piece of Scarlet-cloth on his Table. That Elephants are fubjedt to Wrath and Revenge, is evi* dent from other Inftances ; e. g. We read of an Elephant, that whce /j^a?t^/iaAe ^^U4^f ^A^f^^^?/^//iJ^ OF SERPEN TS. 8 when he was brought into a certain Theatre, f.uv, as he pafs'd along, a Keeper of wild Beafts, fitting in the Market-place, whom he luddenly killed ; And that the occafion of this Revenge wa^^ becaufe the faid Keeper about ten Years before had flruck him with a Sword in that fame Place *. And Acojia writes, that a Soldier in the Town of Cochine^ had thrown the Kernel of a Nut at an Elephant, which the Ani- mal took up and carefully hid : Some Days after, the Elephant feeing the laid Soldier pafs by, threw it in his Face, and went away leaping and dancing. Ibid: In that fame Town, another Soldier,, meeting an Elephant and his Keeper, would not give way to them ; Whereupon the Keeper complained to the Elephant of the Affront, who fome days after, ftanding on the River Mangata^ which runs through the Town, and feeing that fturdy Soldier ftand idle, ran haftily towards him, lifted him upon his Trunk, and plunged him feve- ral times in the River ; after which, he drew him out, and left him where he found him. Ibid, XXII. The Scorpion is one of the Inhabitants of the World in Miniature j though a little Infed:, yet is reckoned to be one of the chiefeft among Hinging Animals, whofe Poifon in different Re- gions is lefs or more dangerous, as it is exalted by various degrees of Heat. It has eight Legs, and two large Claws, refembling thofe of a Lobfter, and a Body like a Crab or Craw-liih : They are of various Colours, as red, white, yellow, black : They differ jilfo in their Size and Kinds, as the marine, terreflrial, reptile, winged, hurtful and innocent. Some are of the Bignefs and Length of a Man's Finger, not much longer than a Beetle or a black Fly : Thofe known to us are of a brown Colour, the Back compofed of Joints refembling thofe of a Crab, but more cruflaceous. Authors differ about the Tail, whether it be knotty or not; but all agree, that it is furnifhed with a terrible Sting, worfe than the knotted Whip. Many places produce Scorpions of the minute fort, not much exceeding the length of a large Bean. Othe rs * Michael Glycaf's Anral par. i. in the Memoirs of tlie Royal Society, vol. v,Yi^ p. 280, 281. il^id. p. 281. 7 S8 A NATURAL HISTORY Others are more bulky, as thofe at 'Jerufalern^ and all about »S)'nVz, not unlike our little fluvial Crabs for bigneis, which they call Gambarl. I N the Eaji-Lidies are large Scorpions of the winged kind ; fo . in Egypt, where it is reported they are armed with two Stings *. , I T is obfervable, thefe large Scorpions taking their flight againfl: the Wind, fometimes drop down, and fo are taken by the Country- People, and perhaps fent to fcorpionize other King- doms. The Sea-Scorpion is a flying Animal, and of a red Colour, whofe Flefli is good, and much better than what they call Scor^ pcena, that affeds muddy Water and moorifli Habitations. There is a vaft Spread of thefe venemous Animals over the World, both of the winged and creeping kind, in the Eafl:ern and Southern Climates. Some of them move with Tails fome- what eredled, others trailing on the ground ; and are thought to be more dangerous than the former : The Coal-black Scorpion is accounted the mod hurtful ; 'tis faid, that in many places in Perjia, the Inhabitants dare not fleep in Ground-rooms, for fear of thefe little plaguy Creatures, the moil terrible of all Night- walkers: Of which more elfewhere. A Cert A IN Hiftorian informs us of ftimulating Scorpions, xhsit initio Cajhanm Part hia : They are of fmall Size, not ftrong in Body, but very terrible in their Wounds, there being the greatefl Malignity in their Strings j upon which is grafted this pro- .verbial Curfe in that Nation, May a Scorpion of Caflian fting thee -f- : But Chardin^ Tavernier, and others, place CaJJjan in Per- Jia, *' where they are very much infefted with Scorpions at all ** Seafons, but efpecially when the Sun is in that Sign, which is " one of the twelve Signs in the Zodiack j fo that 'tis become, " fays another Hifl:orian, a Curfe, May the Scorpions of Caflian ^^ fling thy Gulls" This occaflons every one to be provided with fovereign Remedies againfl them, which is a piece of Copper'inojiey they put upon the Wound, take it oflf 24 Hours after, and apply a Plaifter of Honey and Vinegar. The Holftein Ambafladors fay they are very black, of the Length and Thicknefs of a Man's Finger, * Conradus Gepner in Verbut/j, p, 4. t Her^er/'s Travels; Book ii. p. 13, OFSERPENTS. 8« Finger, and run fafter than Crab-fifhes, with their Tails always ereded *. W E read of a certain Emperor of Ferjia^ who defigning to make a Tour into Media, durfl not undertake the Journey, for the vaft Quantity of Scorpions lying in the Road : So that he was obliged to detach a great Number of flout Fellows to deftroy thofe peftiferous Animals, promifing a fuperior Reward to them that kill'd moft : Till this Execution was over, he durfl not ven- ture his dignified Carcafs abroad. The Scythian Scorpions are of the large Size, and terrible when they ihoot their Stings. I N Madagajcar, a large African Ifland, are feveral Sorts of Scorpions, particularly Water-Scorpions, that lie in the Marfhes and flanding Waters, which are very mifchievous, killing Dogs and Beafls, and then fucking their Blood. There is another Sort of Scorpions with a great round black Belly, that arc very dan- gerous J for thofe whom they flrike immediately fwoon, and fome for two Days are weak, and cold as Ice. The only Reme- dy they have, is that ufcd againfl Serpent's Wounds, ijiz. to fet the Patient by a great Fire, and giving him Antidotes to expel the Poifon, which proves a Cure -f-. I N Italy, Land- Scorpions are call'd Scurtijicio, becaufe they have their Poifon ?2cl-pizzo, in the Extremity of their Tail. Among the Germans, pizzo isfiarp, z.'i [pits als een naalde^ point- ed as a Needle : The Country-people bring them in Sack-fuls to Florence, and take them out with naked Hands, as if they were fo many Eels, which fuppofes them to be of the innocent Kind, like thofe ivhite Scorpions in Pharos, a little Ifland in the Mouth of Nilus, where there is plenty of thefe pacifick Animals, who of- fer no Violence to their Neighbours. Mention is made of other Provinces where they live and hurt no body J. B Y the Spaniards the Scorpion is call'd Alaicran, from an Ifland in America, called the IJland of Scorpions, for the numerous Multitude that ravage the Place. In Brajil is a vaft Number of Scorpions, and fome four or five Foot long, in Shape like thofe of Europe ; but not fo venemous : Some of them chufe to kill them- felves rather than die by the Hands of an Enemy. A certain Gentleman who made the Trial obierves, that a Scorpion being N furrounded * Duke of Ho//?f/7/s AmbatTidors Travels into Perjia:, fp,irj/m. f A/uis (Je-j^ruph. ^-^/v/j tc'cm L.a Croix. X Praji. Kedi opufculorum, pars prior. go A NATURAL HISTORY furrounded with a Circle of burning Coals, chofe to fling itfelf to Death rather than be burnt. In Ceylon in the EaJl'Lidies, they have many Species of Ser- pents J as, XXIII. The Pimbera Serpent^ whofe Body is faid to be as big as a Man's Middle, and in Length proportionable. The Creatures of this Kind fecure their Prey, even horned Beafts (which fometimes are pretty large) by a fort of a Peg, or pointed Hook^ that grows upon the Extremity of the Tail : They are flow in Motion, and therefore fkulk in hollow Places j and when they have taken the Spoil, tho' horned, they fwallow it alive, and whole i which often proves fatal, becaufe the Horns may goar the Belly. More, further on. XXIV. The Noya Serpent is another ill-natur'd /W/^;/, about four Foot long, will ftand with its Body half upright two or three Hours together, thereby difplaying an Air of Majefty : The In- habitants call it the King's Snake, Their Poifon in that Part of the Country operates va- rioully : Some after they are bitten, fall into a profound Sleep, and without fpeedy Help die in about fix Hours time ; Others grow diftradted, and if neglected die in twenty-four Hours, and bleed at all the Pores of the Body, and are irrecoverable : Of which before *. XXV. The Polonga Serpent is five or fix Foot long, and a moft venemous Creature, deftroying all manner of Animals that fall within its Circuit, as well as Men, Women and Children. When the Noya and Polonga Serpents happen to meet, a bloody Battle enfuesj they fight till one be kill'd, and then the Conque- ror eats up the flain. XXVI. The Cob res Cape I los, Sea-ferpents from eight to ten Yards long, are moft dangerous Beafls, and frequently kill People in that Country -f-. When Alexander was in the Eaji-hjdies^ he and his Mace- donians were flrangely alarm'd by an Army of Serpesits that fallied upon * Atlas Ccogr. /i[ia- \ lh\d> from BaU^us. OF SERPENTS. ^i Upon 'em from the Woods, which would foon have deftroy'd them, but for the Humanity of a Native, who directed them to a certain Herb that cured their Wounds, and faved them from Ruin *. The fame Hiftorian adds, that in thofe great Deferts, frequent and terrible ScufBes happened between Elephants and Serpents about Water, when they met at a Spring, and it fo fell out fome time, that both perifh'd ^ for the Serpent roll'd it felf about the Elephant's Leg by feveral Folds, who finding himfelf wounded, falls down, and in falling often crufhes his Enemy to death. Ibid. I N America Is a vaft variety of Serpents, and fome of prodi- gious Dimenfions ; in particular, they are very numerous and large in Cordillera^ i. e. A?ides, or high Mountains of Chile, which Mountains, Antonio de Herrera calls a Prodigy of Nature, not to be match'd in the kind : They are two Chains of high Mountains, about 1 500 Leagues in length : In that fpacious Re- gion are Adders red as blood, {^vtv\ or eight Foot long, which in the Night appear like burning Coals, but not fo dangerous as other Serpents, that are Imps of Darknefs. Acojia 2i.nd. other Writers tell us, that the Devil appear'd among the Americans in the fhape of a Serpent. There are fo many Sorts, fays Nieiihoff] that the Brafiliajis regkon up no lefs than thirty-two, mofl of which are here ac- counted for. XXVII. The Caudifonant, or Rattk-fftake, is a large Species of the Viper, and in its exterior Form every way limilar, the ruftling Tail excepted ; it moves with as much Agility as if fup- ply'd with Wings, called therefore the Flying-Snake : It has fmall Eyes, and four Teeth longer than the reft, of white Colour, and fl:iarp, like Thorns j the Head is guarded with fmall Scales, the Back with larger and thicker Armour j the Tail is compofed of feveral loofe bony Articulaments that make a roaring Sound, loud enough to be heard at a diftance j and therefore called the Bell- Snake. It is common in Vlrgi^ua^ where it appears to be from three to four Foot long, and reckoned to be very poifonous ; but fcarce- ly hurts any, unlefs provoked j and when offended, like the God N2 of * Diodor. Siculus. 92 A NATURAL HISTORY of War, makes diredly at the Enemy, without dread of Confc- quences. I N the Hiftory oi Peru, an Account is given of a young Wo^ man who was wounded by a Rattle- fnake, and died on the Spot, before any Relief could be had j and when they came to take up the Corpfc, the Flefh came off her Bones ; fo fpeedily did the violence of the Pcifon diffolve the flrudture of the Body. The method of killing this Snake, is thus given by Captain Silas Taylor, viz. Of the Leaves of Dittany of Virginia {i. e. wild Penny royal) bruis'd, we took, fays he, and having faften'd them at the end of a cloven Stick, we held it to the Nofe of the Rattle-Jhake, who by turning and wriggling, laboured hard to avoid it; but was kill'd with it in lefs than half an Hour's time, and as is fuppofed by the meer Scent of that Vegetable *. This was done, A. D. 1657, in July, at which Seafon thofe Creatures are re- puted to be in the greateft Vigour for their Poifon : It is alfo re- markable, that in thofe Places where this wild Penny-royal grows, none of thefe Snakes are obferved to come -f*. The bruifed Leaves of the Virginian Dittany are very hot, and biting upon the Tongue : Probably the ftrong Smell of it might flop the Paffages of Refpiration in thofe Animals, or ferment with the Blood, fo as to fuffocate them. In Grefiam College at London may be feen fifteen Skins of Rattle-fnakes checker'd Some appear in Afh-colour : Several Rattles of thofe Snakes, mofl of them compofed of above ten Joints. XXVIII. The Salamander is an amphibious Serpent, very much fpotted ; fuperior in Bulk to common Lizards. The Land-Salamander is a little poifonous Reptile, that re- fembles the green Lizard, but more grofs in Body ; and is found in Germany and other Places. CONRADVS Gefner fays he faw one of 'em on the Alps perfedly black, with a fhort Tail : When wounded, a kind of milky Liquid runs out. In Germany are feveral great Woods, where black Salamanders have been i^tw 3 lefte Matthiolo %. This * "Regnauh, vol. ii. from Journ. des Scav. \666) p. 113. Leivthorfs Abridg. of Philof. Tranfad. vol. ii. p. 811. f Uid. X Jonjionus de ^adruped:bus^ p. 137. 4 OF SERPENTS. This little ftrange Animal afFecfls moift, cold and folitary Habitations. In fome parts of Germany great numbers of them have been found in a Body piled up, one upon another : They are of the oviparous kind, and propagate their Species by Eggs, the common Semen of Fov^ls and Infedls. They are Enemies to Frogs and the Tortoife, and feed on little fmall Infedls; and when they have Accefs to Honey and Milk, they never want a Feafb. I T is of a poifonous Nature, and many have fufFer'd by its Biting J fo fays Fliny, with whom agree Nicander, AetiuSy and Abenjince. GESNER is in a contrary Sentiment, and fays he had do- me'ftick SalamanderSy that offered no violence with their Teeth without Provocation, yonftonus adds, that in Germany there ap- peared no ill EfFed:s of its Bite ; but in France its Wounds were of a moft deadly Nature, as appears by a Saying in that Kingdom, 'viz. That a Man bit by a Salamander^ fiould have as many Phy- Jjcians to cure him, as the Salamander has Spots^ which are numerous *. The Aquatic Salamander is not very unlike the former, un- lefs it be in Colour and Figure j fome with a Tail turn'd up, others with a flat Tail, prominent in the Middle : There are va- rious forts of them j one of which appears in the form of a Tur- bot, whofe Eggs are as large as Garden-pears. When upon Land their Mouth will not open, unlefs it be by Force, or they be caft into a Veflel of Water : When put upon Salt, they move the Tail and die 5 their Skin is clofe com- pacted, and not penetrable by a Sword ; and 'tis faid that Swine's Flefh is Poifon to them -f-. The common Report is, that the Salamander is able to live in the Fire, which is a vulgar Error : The Hieroglyphick Hifto- rian obferves, that upon Trial made, it was fo far from quench- ing it, that it confum'd immediately J. It is true, that Newts (or Water-lizards) Frogs, Snails, and fuch icy Animals, will endure the Fire for a longer time than others will, by reafon of an * — — f(j/ medicts indigete quot macula! bejiia hahetj proverbio jaifant. Jonftonus deQuadrupedibus, p. 137. t Jo7ifionus de ^adruped. p. 138. X Joannis Pierii Hierogl. cap. 21—26. p. icjj — 5, 7, " 93 94 A NATURAL HISTORY an extraordinary degree of Coldnefs, which diffipates and fcatters the Flame for a Httle time. I Have read an Experiment made upon a Salamander^ that was thrown into the Fire, and there came from it a fort of gelid, moift, vifcous Humour, which refifted the Power of Fire for a little time ; but thofe Exhalations being dried up, was foon con- fum'd. In the Philofophical Tranfa5iio?ts, we have another In- flance, which feems to carry the matter further. M. STENO writes from Rome, that a Knight called Corvim^ had affured him, that having caft a Salamander (brought to him out of the Indies) into the Fire, the Animal thereupon fwelled prefently, and then vomited ftore of thick flimy Matter, which did put out the neighbouring Coals, to which the Salamajider retired immediately, putting them out alfo in the fame manner as they rekindled; and by this means faved his Life about tWo Hours, and afterwards lived nine Months; that he had kept it eleven Months, without any other Food but what it took by licking the Earth, on which it moved, and on which it had been brought out of the Indies, which at firft was covered with a thick Moifture, but being dried afterwards, the Urine of the Animal ferved to moiften the fame : Being put upon Italian Earthy it died within three days after *. As to the Poffibility of the thing ; I make no doubt but he, who made Water the Habitation of Fifli, can make Fire to be the Refidence of another fort of Beings. The Sun, which is the Centre of our planetary Syftem, for aught we know, may be the Seat of glorious Inhabitants ; or, as others conjed:ure, the Place of future Mifery. Upon the whole, the Salamander being of a mucous, flimy, and cold Body, will, like Ice, foon extinguifh a little Fire, but will be as foon confum'd by a great Fire ; therefore it was no Ab- furdity in Galen, when, as ^feptical Medicine, he recommended the Afies of a Salamander. The like Humidity is obfervable in Water-Lizards, efpeclally if their Skins be prick'd: Yea, Frogs, Snails, White of Eggs, will foon quench a leffer Coal. We read of incombiiftible Cloth ^ {Linnen, Paper,) made from a Flaxen-Mineral, call'd Ao-Cero? by the Greeks^ and Linum vivu?n by the Latins, This * Lofjothorp's jibridgementy vol. ii. p. 816. rtati r^ B c^ OFSERPENTS. 95 This Asbejios^ or Matter out of which this wonderful Cloth . . , is made, is a Foffil, a mineral ftony Subflance, of a whitifh Co- lour, and woolly Texture (call'd Salamander s-JVool) the downy Fibres, feparable into fliort Filaments or Threads, capable of be- ing fpun, and move into a fort of Cloth, which will endure the Fire without confuming. When foul, inftead of wafhing, they throw it into the Fire, which cleanfes without burning it. Whole Webs and Coats, Napkins, Handkerchiefs, Towels, have been made of it j which were fo far from being con fumed by Fire, that they were only clean fed from their Drofs, and came out purified into a greater Luftre than if wafli'd with Water. Its principal ufe, according to P//;zy*, was for making of Shrouds, in which the Corps of their Kings were ufually burnt, left their royal Aflies iliould be blended with common Duft. The Princes of Tartary ufe it to this day in burning the Dead -f-. Nero had a Napkin or Towel made of it. The Brachmam a- mong the Indians, are faid to make Clothes of it. The Wicks for their perpetual Candles were made of it :J j and fome to this day ufe it for Lamp-Wicks. The Emperor Conjiantme ordered an incombuftible fort of Linnen to be made of Lapis Amianthus, the growth of Cyprus, that might burn in his Lamps, which were in his Baths at Rome, The Commentator on St. Aiigujlin fays, that he faw feveral Lamps at Paris, which would never be confumed : and at a Feaft 2.1 Louvain, there was a Napkin thrown into the Fire, which was reftored to the Owner clearer and brighter than if it had been rinfed in Water ||. The incombuftible Paper is made of this lanuginous Mineral, viz. Asbe/iinc-Stone, which will bear burning without being in- jured. Whoever would be farther informed about this wonderful incombuftible Stone, may perufe Dr. Bruckman, Profeflbr at Brunfjoick, who has publifh'd a natural Pliftory of the Asbejlos, or incombuftible Paper -, and what is moft remarkable, has printed four Copies of his Book on this Paper, which are depofited in the Library of Wolfembuttle. The manner of making this extraor- dinary Paper is defcribed by Mr. Lloyd, in Philojoph. T^ranfaBionSy N^. 166. N.B, * Book xix. cap. I. -^ Vhihf.TravfaB. J Dr. L//??r \ LudovicusViveSyiuhisSiholia — de CivifafeDef. VanciroL Hijioriarerumdeperdit, 96 A NATURAL HISTORY N. B. The Salamander is fa id to live in the Fire, and has power to extinguifh it ; " From which Conjedlure was taken the " Device of Great King Francis, the firft of the Name, (Father " of Arts and Sciences) Nutrifco C^ Extinguo, I Feed and Ex- " tinguifh *." XXIX. The C^;;;^te belongs to the ClafsofQuadrupedes, andis alittle Animal refembling a Lizard, but of a larger and longer Head: Its Eyes ftand out of its Head above one half of their Globe, which he turns fo obliquely, that he fees every thing behind him : Nature perhaps has given it this Advantage, becaufe its Legs (by the flownefs of its motion) are of no ufe to avoid his Enemy, by running away. There is yet fomething more ex- traordinary, in the motion of his Eyes, for when one of them moves, the other has no motion at all i one looks upward, the other downwards -f-. The length of thefe Creatures does not exceed twelve Inches, and they have a proportionable bignefs. The Skin is plaited and very fine, tranfparent, jagged like a Saw, and thin ; and mufb be very compact: and hard, fmce, according to the Hiftorian Xy 'tis not penetrable by the Teeth of Serpents. It has four Feet, and on each Foot three Claws j its Tail is long and flat, v/ith which, as well as with its Feet, it faftens itfelf to the Branches of Trees: its Nofe long, and ends in an obtufe point : In other refpeds it is made like a Fifh ; that is to fay, it has no Neck || : Reckoned by Mofes, among the Unclean — Numb. xi. 30. The Cameleon is faid to transform itfelf into variety of Colours; perhaps this change may arife from the different refledions of the Rays of Light: Thus they may put on a brown or whitifh Ha- bit, from Trees of that Colour, on which they fit. Others ob- ferve, that its Colour is changeable, according to the various Paf- fions that agitate the Creature ; e. g. When affeded with Joy, 'tis of an emerald Green, mixt with Orange, etch'd with little grey and black Strokes: Anger gives it a livid and dufky Colour : Fear makes it pale, and like flided yellow **. All thefe Colours com- pofe fuch a pretty Medley of Shadow and Light, that Nature does not ♦ Vedfo Mex'ia and M. Francefco Sanfovh:o, the famous Italian. f A Journal of the Philofoph. Mathematical and Botanic Obferv. by Lewis Veuille, A. D. 1 725. X Milan, iv. 33. || Calm?t, p. 351. ** I eCompt is Memoirs, p. 502- OF SERPEN TS. 97 not afFord a finer Variety of Shadowing, nor our fioefl Pi(5tures more lively, fweet, and proportionable Drawing. For the further Illuftration of this Subje(fl:, I fhall add fome- thing from the Philofophical Tranfadtions about a female Came- leon, the Skin of which appear'd mixt of feveral Colours, like a Medley-cloth. The Colours difcernable are green, a fandy yel- low ; and indeed one may difcern, or at leaft fancy, fome mix- ture of all, or mofl Colours in the Skin, whereof fome are more predominant, at different times: There are fome permanent black Spots on the Head, and Ridge of the Back. But our modern Naturalifts afTure us, that its common Colour, when it is at reft:, and in the Shade, is a bluilh grey; when 'tis expofed to the Sun, this grey changes into a darker grey, inclining to a dun Colour : If 'tis put on a black Hat, it appears to be of a violet Colour. ....Upon Excitation or Warming, fhe becomes fuddenly full of little black Spots, equally difperfed on the fides, with fmall black Streaks on the Eyelids ; all which afterward do vanifii. The Skin is grain'd with globular Inequalities, hke the Leather call'd Shagreen. The groflefi: Grain is about the Back and Head, then on the Legs -, on the Sides and Belly, fineft; j which, per- haps, in feveral Pofiures, may (hew feveral Colours ; and when this Animal is in full Vigour, may alfo have in fome fort, i^^- tionem SpccuU^ and refied; the Colours of Bodies adjacent j which, together with the mixture of Colours in the Skin, may have given occafion to the old Tradition, of nhangmg into all Colours *. A Certain curious Gentleman made the following Ex- periment, when he lived ^t Smyriia, m Afia-miiior : He bought fome Cameleons, to try how long they could be preferved alive under Coiifinement ; he kept them in a large Cage, and allowed them the Liberty to take the frefh Air, which they fuck'd In with pleafure, and made them brifker than ordinary. He never faw them either eat or drink, but feem'd to live on the Fluid in which we breathe. The Antients were perfaaded that Cameleons fed upon the Air, for which reafon one of the Fathers calls it a livifig Skhi-f; but now it appears by Experience, that they feed upon different Intedts, as Palmer-worms, LocuMs, Beetles, Flies, and alfo Leaves O of * Lo-jjthor^"s Ahv'uig. vol. ii. p. %i6. f Pellicula livit. Tsrtull de Pallio, cap. ]. 98 A NATURAL HISTORY of Vegetables. Father Feuillee *, in a Journey into Afia-mimr^ opened one of thefe Animals, and found in its Belly Peach-Leaves, which were not then digefted.— — A^. J5. Digeflion is very flow in Ca?neleons^ which is the reafon why they take fo little Nou- rifhment. The fame Father mentions a fmall Lizard, which he faw in Tern, that was not above an Inch thick, which he calls Chame- kontides, becaufe he changed his Colour, like the Cameleons ; being in a certain Situation, he faw it of a dun Colour ^ in ano- ther, 'twas green This little Creature, he fays, had the fame Figure and Proportion as the Great Lizard; named by the Spa- ?iiards, Iquanna j and Senembi, by Marcgra'uius j and he makes that Lizard a fourth kind of Cameleon^ and to be added to the two kinds of Bellonius, one of which is to be found in Arabia^ and the other in Egypt, and to that mention'd by Faber, Lynceus, which may be feen in Mexico, Their Tongue is fomewhat peculiar, it being as long as their Body, with which they catch Flies, and other Infedis, which fettle on their Tongues, to fuck the vifcous flimy Matter, adhe- rent to them. The Cameleon puts out his Tongue to draw them upon it, and when 'tis full of thefe Infedts, he pulls it in witli wonderful Agility. Others think, it enclofes its Prey with the tip of its Tongue, which is made in a form proper for that purpofe. The Cameleon is an oviparous Ajiimal. y. Jonjionus fays, it has above a hundred Eggs, from Piereskiiis, who nurfed a Fe- male on purpofe to make Obfervations upon the Subjed: -f. Af- ter all the Gentleman's Care about 'em at Smyrna, all of them died within five Months ; and having opened the Female, found thirty Eggs in her, fallen'd one to another in the form of a Chain. Ibid, fupra. The Atlas % calls the Cameleon, the Indian Salamander || ; that goes there by the Name of Gekho, from the Noife it makes after hiffing, and is thus defcrib'd, viz. 'tis about a Foot long and fpotted, has large Eyes flarting out, the Tail has feveral white Rings round it, and its Teeth {harp, and ilrong enough to pene- trate an Armour of Steel : it has a flow Motion, but v/here it faftens, * Feu'tllee's Jotmial.Franchf. 155)7. p. '^. ^ Jonjlojius de Auimahb. iuter ^iar dru^edes, p. 141. % Afnta, U For America. OFSERPENTS. 99 faftens, 'tis not eafily difengaged. This Creature is found in Arabia^ Egypt^ Madagafcar^ Java, and other parts of India. Bellonius faw feveral of them among the Shrubs of Attica * : He fays it frequents Cairo, and other Places, is found among Hedges and Buflies ; mutes like a Hawk ; fwallows every thing whole. It moves the Feet of each fide alternately, but runs up Trees very faft, and lays hold on the Boughs with its Tail. Leo and Sandys fay, the Neck is inflexible, and it can't turn without moving its whole Body : the Back is crooked, the Skin is fpotted with little Tumours : the Tail long and flender, like that of a Rat ; when it fucks in the Air, its Belly fwells, whence fome think that the Air is part of its Food. One Author fays, it fubfifts only upon Air 5 another fays, 'tis a vulgar Error.—- 'Ti s faid, that if a Serpent lurks near the Tree, where it fits, it throws a Thread out of its Mouth, with a little fhining Drop at the end, which falls upon the Serpent's Head, and kills it -f*. ' I N America are Serpents, fome of whom are fo poifonous, that if touch'd but with a little Stick, the Venom runs up the Hand ; and fuch as are touch'd with the Blood of dead Serpents, die a lingring Death : This is Tradition : I fhall begin with the firfl of them, viz. XXX. KUKURUKI, a Serpent of Braflm South- America, which is under the torrid Zone, where their Winter begins in March and ends in Augufi ; and is like our Summer. This Ser- pent is of an a(h Colour, and in its Scales refembles the Bocinga, or Rattle-Snake, but is more grofs ; on the Back, variegated with yellow, and large black Spots. 'Tis reprefented as a very vene- mous Animal, eight or nine Foot long J ; and when prepared, the Inhabitants feed upon it. XXXI. The Ibiara is a Brajilian Adder, about a Foot and half long ; an Inch and half in thicknefs. Serpents of this kind are very numerous in that Country, and nothing more poifonous than their Wounds, tho* not incurable, if proper Remedies be applied in time. O 2 In * Jonflonus de ^adrupedibui. f y^tl. Afric, p. 45, 50, X 9 & inter dum 12. pedes longus eji. Ray. 4 100 A NATURAL HISTORY In Scafons of Danger, they flielter themfelves in Cavities under Ground, and feed upon Pifmires, whicli are very large in that Country, and in fuch prodigious Quantities, that the Fortugiieje call them, Kings of BrafiL XXX II. In Chlapa^ in Old-Mexico^ now called New-Spain^ is a noxious Animal call'd 'Teuthlacokauquiy or Fortrefs of the Ser- pcnfs, whofe Head is like an Adder, thick Belly, glittering Scales, the Ridge of the Body black, with an Interfperfion of white Croflesi the Teeth poifonous, and the biting kills in twenty-four hours, unlefs the wounded part be held in the Earth fo long, till the Pain be over. It has a frightful Afpedl ; when it moves it makes a Noifs with its Tail, that founds an Alarm of Danger. The Americans, who have the Art of taking it by the Tail, carry it home, and by degrees make it tame : 'tis maintained at a cheap rate, for it can fubfift a whole Year without any vifible Food. yONSTONUS calls this Serpent the Bocininga, and de- fcribes it from Marcgraviiis and Pifo. The former fays, 'tis four Foot and three Fingers long. Belly fmooth, fmall Eyes, forked Tongue, rattling Tail. The other obferves, the Spaniards call it Cafcavel, and T^angedor, becaufe its Tail emits the found of a Bell; in thicknefs, as a Man's Arm ; in length, about five Foot ; a clo- ven Tongue, long and fharp Teeth ; of a dark Colour, inclining to the yellow *. According to Nierembergius, this Serpent is called the ^een of Serpents^ which they fuppofe to be like the Viper, in its Poifon, and Shape of the Head \. By the Definitions of feveral Authors, this Serpent feems to be the Caudfonant 5 and the Dutch in America call it the Ratel-Stange^ i, e. Rattle-Snake. Now we are in Mexico, excufe me in giving you two In- ftances of monftrous Cruelty; one in the Natives, the other in the Spaniards. When the Mexicans v/ere difpofed to do fignal Honour to their Idols, they fent out Armies to bring in Prifoners. for a Sa- crifice, whofe Flefh they did afterwards eat ; and Montezuma the Emperor, commonly facrificed 20000 Men, one year with ano- ther^ •* Jonfionusy Articulus xvii. p. 23. ■f- Hijhria Nafura Maxims Pereirina, p. 268— j). OF SERPENTS. loi ther, and no lefs than 50000 fome years. The Priefls thought it difhonourable to facrihce lefs than 40 or 50 Captives at a time to one Idol, At a certain Feftival, they ript up the Breaft of a manumitted Slave, pull'd out his Heart, v^^hich they offer'd to the Sun, and then eat up his Body. Their Priefls were bloody Men, a Brood of Vipers, and had fuch an Afcendant over their Princes, tha?t they made them believe their Gods were angry, and not to be appeafed without 4000 or 5000 Men to facrifice in a day ; fo that, right or wrong, they muil make War on their Neighbours, to procure thofe Vi(ltims to keep their Priefts in humour. The next, is an inftance of Spanijh Cruelty, in this Country, that could have no Original but Hell, the Seat of the old Serpent. It runs thus, njiz. Barthol. de las Cafas Bifliop of Chiapa, in a Letter to the Emperor Charles V. gives this account of the Bar- barity of the Spaniards towards the poor Inhabitants, Natives of the Land. . ... "Their Kings and Princes, fays the Bifliop, the Spa^ ' niards fcorch'd to death, or tore in pieces with Dogs : The ' poor People they burnt in their Houfes, and dafh'd out the * Brains of their Children : Thofe that were fpared, they forced ' to carry greater Burdens than they were able to bear, by which ' thoufands of them were deflroy'd : Others who efcap'd, died of ' Famine in the Woods, after they had kill'd their own Wives ' and Children, and eat them for hunger. In this one Province * they murder'd above two Millions of Men, not fparing thofe of ' Quality, who had civilly entertain'd them. They tortured the ' Natives with the mofl hellifh Inventions, to make them difcover * their Gold. Diego de Falefco^ in particular, fpared none that * fell into his hands, fo that in a Month's time he murder'd ten ' thoufand: He hang'd thirteen Noblemen. ** Some they ffcarved to death, by thrufting their Heads betwixt ' pieces of cloven Timber : Others they buried alive, leaving ' their Heads above ground, at which they bowl'd with large ' Iron- Bullets : They alio forced them to eat one another.- * Befides other hellilli Cruelties too dreadful to be related *." N. B. This Earth, de las Cafas had been a Friar y and afterwards made * Acofia, G^^?— -The Civil and Moral Biftory of tbe S^anip V/^pdndiis^ \tx /it I as Geo^r. Am^rua. 102 A NATURAL HISTORY made Bifliop of Chlafa^ was a Man of more Piety and Jufllce than is commonly found among Friars. It was he, who procui'd the Indians their Liberty from being Slaves to the Spaniards^ which they enjoy to this day, fo that they are paid for what they do, about half a Crown a Week. XXXIII. The Ibitobnca is a Serpent of Chiapa^ near four Foot long, and of a crimfon Colour, adorn'd with a pleafing Diverfity of black and white Specks ; wearing its Bones as a Necklace, or the Ruff in Queen Elizabeth' % Reign, who deftroy'd the Invincible Armada, and made good old England a Terror to Spaniards, XXXIV. The Iquanna is the Birth of Mexico^ a Serpent like the Pope's Anathema, of a terrible Front, but harmlefs ; a glittering Comb on the Head, with a Bag under the Chin 5 a long Tail, and fliarp Bones on its Back, ftanding up in the form of a Saw. This Iquannatick Serpent is of the amphibious kind, equally fitted to live by Land or Water \ a Privilege which no Son of Adam can boaft of. It is of the oviparous Tribe, and a great Breeder, laying about fifty Eggs at the Seafon as big as Acorns, which are of a very good Tall:e, and good Food when boiled, and fo is the Serpent itfelf 5 but the L^nd-Iquanna is a more plea- fan t Food, and preferable to Spafiijh Kd,go\is^, XXXV. The Ibiboboca is a Serpent beautiful to the Eye, but of a venemous Nature ; 'tis about three Foot long. The Icon of it in Grejham College is above three Yards -f*, white as Snow, de- corated with Particles of various Colours, efpecially black and red. The Wound it gives operates gradually, and if negle 'vViiii.iin 'reinpic'.y Memotrs^ and Air. Locke i EJfaj/j Book U. chap. 27. cc cc OF SERPENTS, .105 ** in all he told me, having ever paft for a very honefl: and pious *' Man. I leave it to Naturalifts to realbn. aiid to other Men to " believe as they pleafe upon it ; however, it is not perhaps ami:^ *' to relieve or enliven a bufy Scene fometimes with luch Digref- " ilons,whether to thepurpofe or no." So far Sir William temple. Wonder not then, if you meet in this Hiilory with fome romantick Sentiments entertained by learned Men concerning Ser- pents, when two fuch illuftrious Pillars of the Commonwealth of Letters, give way to a Relation that has fo much of the Marvel- lous in it* XLT. These Hiflorians inform us of many more Serpents^ and fome of great bulk, that infeft i\\o{Q America?! Regions 3 whofe Looks are ruddy, of blood-red Colour, that fliine ia the Night, like- fo many gUttering Stars. A MODERN Author writes, that in America are fome Snakes that were eight Foot long, and as red as Blood, which in the Night look'd like Fire *. \ The former black, and thefe fhining Serpents, remind me. of the Obfidia?i^ionts^ that are very black and tranfparent; they have their Names from one Ohfuiiiis^ who iirft found them in /Ethiopia, There is a fort of natural Ohfuiian Glafs, which is rather to be ranked among Stones than Metals; 'tis as pafTive as the former,, enduring the Graving-Tool, is diaphanous and pellucid, receiving Images, and, like artificial Glafs^, tranfmitting all Forms and Shapes. T H I s is found in JEthiopia^ where the Sepulchres of the No- bles are ufually made of it, and after this manner ; 'uiz. They take a large Stone, and make it hollow, and in the Cavity include the Corps, where it is not only preferved, but, as if entomb'd in Glafs, is apparently vifible to Sped:ators, and fends forth no un- grateful Scent. O u T of thefe Ohfidian Stones, Looking-Glafles are wont to be made, and are alfo found on the Coafls of Arabia. Thefe finning Stones were inferted into Rings, and in one of them was cut the entire Image of Augujliis^ who being much, taken with P ^ thefe ^ '^ Anton, H?rr era's Hi ftory of America.^ Vol. IL in bis Account of P^ri^z?? ;p> 72, . a o5 A N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y thefe Stones of Glafs, caufed four Elephants to be made of them. See the Commentary upon PancirolluSj B. i. of 'Jetj and Pliny, B. xxxvi. c. 260 XLII. BOIGUACTJ, another venemous Produdtion of Bra- zil, thick in the middle, and declining towards the Extremities of the Body -, 'tis covered with large Scales on the Back, and leiTer ones on the Belly, which is common in all Serpents. The v/hole is adorned with elegant Variegations The Back and Sides fet off with black Spots, inclining to the round 5 about three Inches diflant from each other, and in the Centre a round white Spot. Thefe beautiful Appearances, fays yo^jjloms, have a Grandeur in them more than rivals Imperial Majefty. He faw feveral Serpents of this kind: In Auguji 7th, 1638, one that was eight Foot long. Another, Aiigujl 13th, 1638, above five Foot long, its Flefb fat, and very white ; the Heart being taken out, lived about 15 Minutes, OSlober 6th, 1638, he fav/ another, that was near nine Foot long, and he was a Wit- nefs to its fwallowing a She- Goat whole *. By the Defcription, this Serpent muft be t\iQ Lyboi a, fo famous for the Knack of De- glutition of Animals. XLIII. The BrafiVian Serpetify called the Ibiracoan^ makes its Appearance in a Habit of various Colours, trimmed with red, black and white Spots. Under this fine Drefs, is a poifonous Spring J the Wound it gives, infallibly kills without immediate Affiftance. Before the Poifon reaches the Heart, the common Pradlice is, to fecure that Serpent, and boil the Flefli of it with certain Roots, and give it the Patient in Wine, or any other proper Liquid, and it will anfwer the Intention, XLIV. The Tarcihya^ and Kakaboya^ are two Serpents much of the fame Nature, and therefore I put them together : They are occafional Inhabitants ui the Water and Land ; in Colour black, and about fix Hands in Length. If they hurt any Creature, it is only in Defence of themfelves, and the Wound is eafily cured by Remedies OF SERPEN TS. Remedies well known in thofe Countries. They are great De- vourers of Birds,. Here the Learned Ray, from P//;?, mentions ten other Ser- pents, whofe particular Charadlers he coniiders in his Defcription of Filhes 3 then refers his Reader to thole defcribed by Joan, de XLV. The Eibera Is a venemous Lizard of Brazil. If you . afk, What are thefe 5r^//i2/i Z/ZsTtzr^^ .^ I anfwer. They are creep- ing Serpents, of various Colours, and different Sizes: Some are the length of a Finger, others many Feet j have fparkling Eyes,. There is only one fort of them that is venemous, among which is this i?/^^;'<^ ; they are like the others, but leffer, and are mod mifchievouSi They are of an afh Colour, inclining to the white; the Body and Limbs feem thick, but the Tail is fhort and broad. The Wounds given by thefe Serpents, are full of a thin {link- ing Matter, attended with blue Swellings, and Pain in the Heart and Bowels. A^. B, Great Things have been frequently done by, little Things,. XLVI. The j^mhiia, fo the Natives of Brazil call the Mille- pedes and the Centipedes Serpents. Thofe Reptiles of thoufand. Legs bend as they craul along, and are reckoned very poifonous, . Thofe Lizards of hundred Legs are commonly found in the Woods, where they deflroy the Fruit, and alfodo mifchief both to Men and Cattle, I N thefe MultipedeSj the Mechanifm of the Body is very ca- rious ; in their going, it is obfervable, that on each fide of their- Bodies, every Leg has its Motion, one regularly after another ^ fo that their Legs, being numerous, form a kind of Undulation, and thereby communicate to the Body a fwifter Progreffion than one could imagine, where fo many fliort Feet are to take fo many fliort Steps, that follow one anothc*, rolling on^ Hke the Waves off the Sea. The Palmer-lVorm is slfo cdiWed Millepes, becaufe of its many - Feet, which are as Briftles under its Body : It is about fix Inches- long, and moves with incredible Swiftnefs. The upper part oB the Body is cover'd with hard fwarthy Scales, and it has a fort o£t P 2 Claws > * Baii Sjnc^fis Avimal. p. 325?. L3;/«V?// 1695. ra;- ic8 A NATURAL HISTORY Claws both in its Head and Tail, of rank Poifon, as the Hiflo- rian fays. XL VII. The Jebeya is another Brazilian.^ and a Serpent very ravenous and deftru6tive : It has four Legs, and a long Tail like a Crocodile-, it lies flat and clofe on the Ground, artfully conceal- ing itfelf, 'till the Prey comes within reach, and then darts out a couple of fharp Fins from its Fore-quarters, and kills what- ever it fir ikes, XL VIII. The Gtrmipiagara is an American Serpent, fo call'd, becaufe of its being a great Devourer of Eggs. 'Tis of a Negro- Colour, but a yellow Bre^ft, and of great Length and Agility, It glides (as if fwimming) on the tops of Trees, fafter than any Man can run upon the Ground *. It lives upon Birds, whofe Nefts it conftantly plunders. 'Tis obfervable, that tlie Ciickow feeds very much upon Egg^^ which accounts for the vulgar Notion, that it always has one or more little Birds, as Menials to attend it, thefe being fome of thofe, whofe Houfes it plundered. There is another Charge preferred again ft the Cuckow, i;/^;. The Contempt it puts upon our Ve- getables, by fpitting upon them ; whereas in thofe Dobs of frothy Dew, we lind little Green Infedts, that are Gra£hoppers in the Embryo. XLIX. The Caminaiia is another Brazilian Berpent^ of a great length. The Body is all over green, and very beautiful in profped:. This alfo runs up the Trees, not fo much becaufe of the green Leaves, as in purfuit of Birds of all Colours ; and hav- ing devoured the Contents of the Neft, feizes the Dam, and drinks her Blood. The pleailng Appearance made by this Serpent in Green^ puts me in mind of the Turks, who have fo great a Superjlition for the green Colour (becaufe it was confecrated to Mahomet^ that they forbid Chriftians to wear it on pain of Death ; but the Ferfians (who are Maho^netans as well as the Turks) allow it to every body, and laugh at this Superftition ; fo that when Sultan Amurath fent an Ambaffador to S ha- Abbas of Perjla, to complain that he fuffer'd * t^ieuhofin Atlas ^ America. OF SERPENTS. ftiffer'd that voierable Colour to be prophaned by Chriftians, he fcoffingly faid, that he would forbid the green Colour to be pro- phaned by Chriftians, as foon as Amurath could hinder the green Meado-ws to be prophaned by his Turkifi Cattle *. The Eafiern Turks abhor the blue Colour, becaufe the yews, they fay, threw Indigo into Jordan to hinder the Baptifm of Chrift, but the An- gels brought Water from 'Jordan to baptize him, before it was polluted Atlas^ L. BO TTIJPUAy is a Serpent fo called by iht Brazilians for its long Snout, though I don't find it exceeds others in fmel- ling, by the extenfion of its Nofe j it is of a long ilender Body, and feeds upon Frogs, amphibious Animals and Infe DeSerpente magna India Orientalis Urobubalum deglutientt ]>iarrat. Raii Sjmp/is Animalium^ p. 333, 334. 4: Turn viridis fquamis, parvo faxatilis ore> Ovid. OF SERPENTS. 115 feroin Serpeiif, whofe Wounds are as an Opiate y or Medicines that induce fleep, in which they die. ^. Why may not we fuppofe this narcotick Poifon to be the fame with that, which Cleopatra ufed in executing the Sentence that Heroine pafl upon herfelf ? LXIX. The Wepelon Serpent : Nothing is faid of it, but that it refembles an Indian Reed or Cane in form. LXX. SERPE NS Fluviatilis, fcems to be the Water-Snake. LXXI. SERPENS ,S/^^/V^/^j, a Serpent of light red Colour. LXXII. Then follows the Ceylonic Hotamboeia^ Dr. Robin- fin^ Account of this Serpent, he had from the Learned Herman- mis' '$, Library. N,B. Some of thefe Eaftern Serpents may coincide and agree in Charader with thofe of America^ and other Regions. Where there is fuch an infinite Variety of them, and dehneated by fo many different hands, 'tis difficult to give an exadl Defcription of every individual Serpent. Other parts oi iht Eaft-I?idies (Continent and Iflands) are infefled with Serpents of various kinds and fizes, and he muft be more than a Conjurer in Hiftory, that can charm them to make their Appearance in one Place, and all in their proper Habiliments, LXXIIL The hooded or Monk Serpent, found in an Ifland near Batavia (a Dutch Settlement in the Eaji-Indies) which differs from other Serpents in the uncouth Shape qf^ its Head, that looks as if it were cover'd with a large long Hood, like a Monk's Cowl, or the Widow's Veil, therefore called the hooded Serpent, which is a very dangerous Animal. Upon a view of its Prey it imme- diately advances towards it, with terrible Rage and Hiffing. When the Sieur de la Caje was hunting one day in the Woods adjacent to Batavia, he faw one of thefe Serpents defcending from a Tree, making a fearful Noife : It was about the thicknefs of a Man's Arm, and in length about eight Foot. This venemous Creature was no fooner on the Ground, but it made towards him with the greateft Fury -, but having a Gun ready charged, he very happily fhot it dead, and made off ha (lily for fear of a fecond Attack *. 0^2 LEGUAr * Fr. Leguais Voyages^ in jitl for J^Jia.. ii6 A NATURAL HISTORY LEGUAT^ who gives this Account, and was In Bafavia^ A> D. i6gyj liiys, he faw a Serpent in that Country about fifty Foot long. N. B. The Skin of one that was 20 Foot long, is lliewn in Batavia, that fwallow'd an Infant, ibid. LXXIV. The Musk-Serpent, fo termed from its muflcy or fweet Scent. Thefe fweet-fcented Animals are Inhabitants of the Eaji, between Calicutj the fecond Kingdom of Malabar, and Ca?idahor. In Cevhn are Mufk-Rat?, where the Inhabitants eat all Rats, but this kind. These Mufk-Rats are in all things iliaped like our Water- Rats, only fomething larger; and in other refpecfts differ only in that mufky Scent. A Gentleman, who kept one of them in a wooden Cheft, obferved that two days before it died, 'twas mofl odoriferous, and fcented the Room above what was common *". In Mtijcovy is a Water-Rat, which fmells like MulTv 3 and alfo a great number of Musk-Cats, which look like young Bucks with- out Horns, and therefore call'd Musk-Harts by the Chinefe, be- caufe they refemble thofe Creatures. The Mufk is contain'd in a little Excrefcence near the Navel -f*. I N America alfo, are found Woods abounding with Mufk- Rats, that are as big as Rabbits, and have Burrows in the Ground. Their Skins are black. Bellies white, and fmell exceeding ftrong of Mulk. J. The vegetable World alfo, entertains us with Muffc- Pears, Mufk-Rofes, fmgle and double, and the Ever-green, ^c, N, B. Mufk-Rats frequent frefli Streams, and no other. The word Musk comes from the Arabic, Mofcha, a Perfume of flrong Scent, only agreeable when moderated by the Mixture of fome other Perfume, by which it becomes an agreeable artifi- cial Odour Mufk is found in a little Swelling, like a pras- ternatural Tumor, or Bag growing (about the Bignefs of a Hen's Egg) under the Belly of a wild Beafl, of the fame Name ; and appears to be nothing elfe, but a kind of bilious Blood there congeal'd. This Musk- Animal is common in the Eaji-Lidies, as in the Kingdoms of Boiiian, Cochin-China, but the mofl efleem'd are thole * l.oivthorp's Abridg. vol. iii. p- 594.. t This Animal is defcribed by Fbilip Marthnis in his Chlnefe Atlas. X liifiory of the Antilles. O F S E R P E N T S. 117 thofe of Tibet. When the Bladder under the Belly is taken out, they feparate the congcal'd Blood, and dry it in the Sun. Sir Job?! Chardin * fays, Musk is aifo produced in Perfia from an Impoftume in the Body of a Beaft, that refembles a Goat^ and grows near the Navel, and is better than that of China, The Scent of it, adds he, is fo ftrong, that it many times kills thofe who hunt the Bead, when they firft open the Bag, except they flop their Mouths and Nofes with Linnen : *Tis eafily counter- feited, and the befl way to try it, is by drawing a Thready dipt in the Juice of Garlick, thro' the Bag v/ith a Needle j and if the Garhck lofes its Scent, the Muik is good. Atl. 397. LXXV. The Boitiapo (that fliould have been mention'd be- fore with its Brazilian Relatives) is a large Serpent, about i^s^vs. Foot long, not quite fo thick as a Man's Arm, of an olive Colour, yellow Belly, in Body round, cloath'd with Scales that make an elegant Appearance in a fort of triangular form. 'Tis very vene- mous, and its Wounds not curable without timely and proper Applications. The Lacertan Snakes or Lizards come next under Confidera- tion, and in the fame order as laid down by the Learned Mr. Pay -f*. Previous to that, I beg leave to obferve, that Mofes places two forts oi Lizards among unclean Creatures, the Stellio and La^ certa. Thefe Lizards differ vaftly in Bulk j fome a Finger's length ; in Arabia^ fome of a Cubit long ; in the Indies, twenty- four Feet in length. Several forts of Lizards are mention'd in Scripture, Lev. xi. 30. the two former are tranflated Stellio and Lacerta -, the third is tranflated a Mole^ but Bochart maintains, it is a Cameleon ', the fourth is defcrib'd Prov.xxx. 28. and there. Spider is render'd Stellio, a Lizard. Mr. Ray begins with LXXVL The Crocodile, the largeft of the Lacertan Race, a Name which is fijppofed to come from a word J that iignifies afraid of Saffron, becaufe this Creature abhors the Smell of Saffron, as a learned Author obferves ||. It is an amphibious Beafl, noi- fome and voracious, and one of the Wonders of Nature ; for, from an Egg no bigger than that of a Goofe, proceeds an Animal which increafes to eight or ten Yards in length. His * His Travels. f Synopps Animal, de Lacertis. J KpoxoSe/Aos luxoi. Gfibcis tmidus. [[ Calmet. i8 A NATURAL HISTORY Hrs Mouth is very wide, and is extended to the Ears; his Snout and Eyes Uke thole of Swine ; the Teeth, which are in- grail'd, are white, acute, ftrong and numerous ; the Feet arm'd with {harp Claws ; the Skin of the Belly is tender and may be eafily penetrated, but the other parts of the Body are not pene- trable by Swords and Arrows : It defies even the Wheels of a loaded Cart, as well as Darts and Spears : It is of a yellow Co- lour, fay fome ; but Worinius in Mr. Raf's, Synopjis fays, that thofe he had kcn^ were inclin'd to the grey or afh Colour. The Tail is near as long as the Body, upon which are Fins of a Fifh, whereby he is capacitated to fwim. When he ftrikes with his Claws, he tears with his Teeth, and grinds the very Bones of what he kills into Powder. In Winter he lives much without Food, but in Summer, his Suflenance is of the animal kind, but is moft fond of human Flefh ; and as he is an amphi- bious Creature, plunders both Elements *. The Crocodile, when preft with Hunger, fwallows Stones, which have been found worn round about, and the wafted parts reduced to fuch minute Particles, as were fit to circulate with the Mafs of Blood f . I N Egypt the Crocodile is made the Object of religious Adora- tion, but not by all the Nation ; for the Inhabitants of Tentyra (an Ifland formed by the River Nilus) were fo far from worfliip- ping that hateful Monfter, that they defpifed it, and often brought them to the Roman Shews for Diver fion.— This Averfion to Crocodiles caufed a War between the Tentyriam and the other Egyptians, who worfhip'd thofe Creatures ; of which People Job feems to fpeak in the following Words ; Let thefn curfe it that ciirje the day, who are ready to raife up their Mourning, Job iii. 8. Some read it, to raife up the Leviathan, or to awake the Crocodile j of which yob gives an admirable Defcription, under the Name of Leviathan, Job xli, i, 2, 3, 4. ... So the Pfalmift, Thou breakeji the Heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gavejl him to be Meat to the People inhabitifig the Wildernejs, When I think of the fuperilitious Egyptians warring againfl the People of Tentyra, I can't but obferve how the fame kind of Spirit (the more the pity) too often reigns among Chriftians : Thole who have ridicul'd Superflition, and endeavour'd to pro- pagate * JonJio7iuSj 141. i Niere?nbergius. OF SERPEN TS. 119 pagate Truth, have always had Vengeance and Wrath breath'd out againft them, and have been expofed to the fame Fate as the Tentyrians. T H E Habitations of Crocodiles are generally in great Rivers, as the Ganges in Afiay one of the greateft Rivers in the World, and which is accounted facred : Its Water is clear and fweet, weighs an Ounce in a Pint lighter than any other Water in the Country : The Great Moguls Court drink none elfe with their Wine. Thefe monftrous Animals are alfo found in the Nile and Niger y two of the greateft Rivers in Africa ; and alfo in the great Rivers oi America y efpecially thofe of the Amazons^ which abound with Crocodiles of vail Bignefs, that very much annoy the In- habitants. GEMELLl in the Atlas, fays the Crocodile is hatch'd of an Egg no bigger than that of a Turky, but grows to thirty Foot long, the Back arm'd with impenetrable Scales, the Mouth wide enough to fwallow an Heifer, and only moves the upper Jaw ; it fees better by Water than Land, is cowardly, and generally flies from thofe that attack it, but daring enough otherwife ; for which reafon the Egyptians made it the Hieroglyphick of Impu- dence.— They have no Tongue, and eat nothing in all the autum- nal Quarter *. This x^nimal has a great Dexterity in catching Wild -fowl, which always abound in thofe great Rivers, and along Sea-lhores, as Ducks, Teals, and other Water-fowls : When in want of Food, he goes into the Sea, where he lies in fuch a manner, that the upper- part of his Back appears above the Water, and looks like a piece of Timber floating ; the Wild-fowls miftrufl:ing no- thing, come fo near it, that he immediately devours them : They lurk among Reeds and Buflies, on the Banks of Rivers and great Pools, from whence they fuddenly leap out, and eat up their Prey, which fometimes happens to be People that come to drink or fetch Water. The Inhabitants of Madagafcar, an African Ifland, look upon Crocodiles as Devils, and fwear by them : When Diiferences happen among them, they go to a River, where he that is to fwear throws himfelf into the Water, and conjures the Crocodiles to be Arbitrators betwixt him and his Adverfary, and to let him live * For Africa, p. 47.. I20 A NATURAL HISTORY live if he fpeaks Truth, bat if otherwife, to deftroy him *. Among the Rarities in Qj-ef jam-College^ London ^ is a Crocodile about two Yards and a half long. Crocodiles are little known in Europe, but common in the Lidies. The Land Crocodile, call'd Seincus, is varioufly defcrlbed. In the Molucca lilands they are accounted the fierceft of Monfters, contrary to thofe of the Nile, according to fome Writers -f-. Har- ris fays J, that they are very harmlefs, and in fome places fo tame, that Children play with them. Le Comte fays, what are C2i[\td fmall Crocodiles, are huge Lizards, found all over the Woods in Siam, as alfo in Houfes and Fields ||. This Land Crocodile is indeed an amphibious Animal, lives partly in the Water and partly upon dry Ground : It has four llender Legs like a Lizard j its Snout is fliarp, and its Tail fhorr, cover'd with fmall Scales of a filver Colour. 'Tis hatch'd in Egypt, near the Red- Sea, \i\ Libya, and the /W/Vj. In Leviticus there's mention made of a kind of Crocodile, in the Hebrew called Choled, which the Septuagint tranflates y.^oKo^nx<^ X,^p(rat(^, a land Crocodile, which is a kind of Lizard, that feeds upon the fweeteft Flowers it can find ; this makes its Intrails to be very much valued for their agreeable Smell. Bel- lonius fays, it has four Feet, and a round knotty Tail, and is as big as the Salamander. Th E R e's fcarce any way to manage him by Land, unlefs it be by a Wile, as they do on the Banks of Nilus, where little Huts ' are ere Winy, Parr. i. Sed quis non paveat pherecydos fata tragoedi : Qui nimio fudorc fluens, animalia terra, Eduxu turpi miferum qua morte culerunr. Sylla quoque infelix tali languore perefus Corruu, & foedo fcvidu ab agmine vinci. ^k te[latur Serenus msduusl 1^5 ANATURAL HISTORY like Silver. The Back and Sides iiiuflrated with white Streaks, alternately painted vv'ith Yellow and Azure : the Tongue is of a black Colour, fmall, long, and cloven, and moft nimble in its Vibrations*. CXVI. DE Angue-Laqueo^ the Enfnaring- Serpent. In the Province di Vera-Vas^ well: of the Honduras -j they are much in- iedcd with feveral Infecfts, as Mujkettoes^ Fire-Flies^ and Serpent:. Among the laft is one Serpent of great Balk, and excels in Craf- tineis, being very fubtle and Oiarpin laying hold of its Prey. The Method is furprifing ; for it wraps up icfelf in the Form of a