"I need not tell you that the announcement was received with joyful
acclamations; and that one and all satisfied themselves by tasting of
the salt. It had crystallised into small cubes, as salt always does;
and it was as white as snow, which proved its great purity. We had put
into the kettle--which was a large camp-kettle--about four gallons of
water, and when it was fully evaporated, we obtained not less than ten
pints of salt, showing that the water of our spring was much more saline
than the sea itself.
"When our first kettle-full was disposed of, we re-filled it with water,
and again hung it over the fire. We also hung another vessel beside the
kettle; and that was our frying-pan, in which several fine steaks of
venison, seasoned with the new salt, were cooked for our dinner. We
were not unmindful of the thanks which we owed to God for giving us this
munificent supply of an article so much needed by us; and as soon as
dinner was over, my wife took occasion to bring this subject pointedly
forward and we sat for some time conversing upon it.
"All at once we were interrupted by a series of curious incidents, which
took place within sight of our fire. Our attention was first drawn to
them by hearing loud screams at a short distance from us, which we all
recognised as the voice of the blue-jay. There is nothing unusual in
hearing this bird screaming half the day--for it is, perhaps, more
easily excited than any other feathered creature. But, if you have ever
noticed, it utters a very peculiar cry when there's something unusual
`in the wind.' When some much-dreaded enemy is at hand, its note
becomes extremely shrill and disagreeable. So it was then; and for that
reason it drew my attention, as well as that of my companions.
"We looked towards the spot whence the cry came. We could see the
branches of a low tree in motion, and the beautiful sky-blue wings of
the bird closing and spreading again as it fluttered through them. We
could see nothing else upon the tree--that is, no enemy of the bird--nor
on any of the trees near it. On lowering our eyes to the ground,
however, we perceived at once what had set the jay to scolding. Slowly
drawing itself along the earth, gliding through the grass and over the
dry leaves--without causing even the driest of them to rustle--went a
hideous reptile--a snake. Its yellowish body, dappled with black
blotches, glittered as the sun glanced from its lubricated scales; while
it rose and fell in wavy undulations as it moved. It moved slowly--by
vertical sinuosities, almost in a direct line, with its head slightly
raised from the grass. At intervals, it stopped--elevated its neck--
lowered its flat coffin-shaped head, like a feeding swan--gently
oscillated it in a horizontal direction--touched the crisp leaves with
its red tongue, as though it was _feeling for a trail_--and then moved
on again. In its frequent pauses, as it lay stretched along the ground
it appeared cylindrical, as long as the tallest man, and as thick as a
man's fore-arm. Its tail ended in a horny appendage about a foot in
length, and resembling a string of large yellowish ill-shaped beads, or
a portion of its own vertebrae stripped of the flesh, this peculiarity
told us its species. We saw before us the dreaded rattlesnake--the
_crotalus horridus_.
"My companions were eager to rush forward and at once attack the
monster. I restrained them, dogs and all. I had heard--who has not?--
of the power of fascination which these reptiles possess. I knew not
whether to believe or disbelieve it. Here was an opportunity to test
its truth. Would it charm the bird? We should see. One and all of us
remained motionless and silent. The snake crawled on.
"The bird followed over-head, pitching itself from branch to branch,
from tree to tree, screaming with open throat. Neither of them noticed
us, as we were partially concealed where we sat.
"On reaching the foot of a tall magnolia, the rattlesnake--after going
once round the tree, and apparently smelling the bark--slowly and
carefully wound itself into a spiral coil, close in to the trunk. Its
body now presented the appearance of a speckled and glittering cable, as
they are usually coiled on the deck of a ship. The tail with its horny
appendage protruded beneath, and the flat head peeped over above,
resting upon the uppermost ring of the body. The nictitating membrane
was drawn over its eyes. It appeared to sleep. This I thought strange,
as I had heard that the fascinating power of these creatures lay in the
eyes. It soon became evident, how ever, that the bird was not its
object; for the latter, on seeing that the snake lay still, ceased its
chattering and flew off into the woods.
"Believing that the interest of the scene was now over, I was about
raising my rifle to take aim at the snake, when a motion on its part
convinced me that it was not asleep, but watching. Watching for what?
A squirrel, perhaps, for this is the creature's favourite prey. I
looked up into the tree. It had all the appearance of being what is
termed a `squirrel-tree'--that is, a tree in which squirrels have their
nest. Ha! just as I expected--there was a hole in the trunk, high up;
and around its orifice the bark was slightly discoloured, evidently by
the paws of the squirrels passing in and out. Moreover, on looking to
the ground again, I perceived that a little beaten path, like a
rat-track, led off through the grass. A ridge-like protuberance that
projected from the foot of the tree--marking the direction of one of its
great roots--ran right into this path; and, from the discoloration of
the bark above it, it was evident that the squirrels usually climbed up
or descended along this ridge. The rattlesnake was coiled beside it--so
close that no animal could pass in that way without coming within his
reach! I felt certain, then, that he was waiting for the descent of the
squirrel; and desirous to see what should happen, I muttered some words
of caution to my companions, who remained silent as before.
"We sat watching the hole, in expectation to see the squirrel come
forth. At length, a little rat-shaped head peeped cautiously out; but
in this position the animal remained, and did not seem inclined to trust
itself beyond the mouth of its den. It was evidently observing us--
which it could easily do from its elevated position--and had no
intention of coming down.
"We were about giving up all hopes of witnessing a `scene,' when our
attention was drawn to a rustling among the dead leaves in the woods
beyond. We looked in that direction. Another squirrel was running
toward the tree. It was running at full speed,--now along the fallen
logs, now through the grass and dry leaves--apparently pursued. It
_was_ pursued; for almost at the same instant its pursuer came in
sight--an animal with a long, slender body, twice the length of the
squirrel itself, and of a bright yellow colour. It was the
_pine-weasel_.
"There were not twenty feet between them as they ran; and both were
doing their best.
"I cast a glance at the rattlesnake. He knew what was coming. His jaws
were extended--the lower one drawn back until it touched his throat,--
his poisoned fangs were naked and visible; his tongue was protruded
forward; his eyes glanced like diamonds; and his whole body rose and
fell as with a quick respiration. He seemed to have dilated himself to
twice his natural size!
"The squirrel, looking only behind, ran for the tree, and, like a streak
of light, passed along the ridge and upward. We saw the snake launch
out his head as the other passed him; but so quick had been the action,
that it did not seem that he had even touched it.
"`Good!' thought we, as we saw the little squirrel sweep up the trunk,
and fancied that it was safe. Before it had reached the first fork,
however, we observed that it climbed more slowly--then faltered--then
stopped altogether. Its hind feet slipped from the bark; its body
oscillated a moment, hanging by the fore-claws, and then dropped heavily
back into the very jaws of the serpent!
"The weasel, on seeing the snake, had suddenly stopped a few feet from
it; and now ran around, doubling its long worm-like body, and
occasionally standing erect,--all the while spitting and snarling like
an angry cat. It was evidently furious at being robbed of its prey; and
we thought for awhile it was going to give battle to the snake, which
had re-coiled himself on seeing this enemy, and lay with open jaws
awaiting the attack. The body of the squirrel--now quite dead--was
close up to his coil, so that the other could not snatch it without
coming within reach of his dangerous fangs.
"On seeing this, and evidently afraid to encounter such a terrible
antagonist, the weasel, after a while, ceased its hostile
demonstrations; and, turning to one side, bounded off into the woods.
"The reptile now leisurely uncoiled the upper half of his body; and,
stretching out his neck toward the squirrel, prepared to swallow it. He
drew the animal out to its full length along the ground, so that its
head lay towards him. He evidently purposed swallowing the head first--
in order to take it `with the grain'--and he commenced lubricating it
with the saliva that ran from his forked tongue.
"While we sat watching this curious operation, our attention was
attracted to a movement in the leaves over the spot where the snake lay.
Directly above him, at a height of twenty or more feet, a huge _liana_,
of the trumpet species, stretched across from tree to tree. It was full
as thick as a man's arm, and covered with green leaves and large crimson
cuneiform blossoms, such as belonged to itself. There were other
blossoms mingling with these, for still other parasites--smaller ones--
were twined around it; and we could distinguish the beautiful star-like
flowers of the cypress vine. Among these an object was in motion--a
living object--a body--the body of a great snake, nearly as thick as the
liana itself.
"Another rattlesnake! No; the rattlesnake is _not a tree-climber_,--it
could not be that. Besides, the colour of the one upon the vine was
entirely different. It was of a uniform black all over--smooth and
glittering. It was the _black_ snake then--the `constrictor' of the
north.
"When we first noticed it, it was wound upon the liana in spiral rings,
like the worm of a gigantic screw. We saw that it was slowly gliding
downward--for the vine tended diagonally from tree to tree, and its
lowest end impinged upon the trunk of the magnolia, about twenty feet
from the ground.
"On reaching this point, the snake gradually drew its rings closer
together--until they appeared to touch each other, lapping the liana.
It then commenced unwinding itself, by the head, which was slowly
circled backward around the vine--still, however, creasing closely along
it. After a sufficient number of evolutions, the rings had completely
disappeared--with the exception of one or two near the tail--and the
reptile lay doubled along the liana. These manoeuvres were executed
silently and with great caution; and it now seemed to pause, and survey
what was going on below.
"During all this while, the rattlesnake had been busily engaged with the
squirrel, and thought of nothing else. After licking the latter to his
satisfaction, he extended his purple jaws, drew in the head of his
victim, and, stretching his long body to its full extent, proceeded to
swallow it, tail and all. In a few seconds, the head and shoulders of
the squirrel had disappeared.
"But the glutton was suddenly interrupted in his meal; for, at this
moment, we observed the black snake gradually lower himself from the
liana, until nothing remained upon the tree but a single loop of his
prehensile tail; and his long body stretching downward, hung directly
over the other.
"`Surely,' thought we, `he is not going to encounter the rattlesnake--
the most terrible of all reptiles.' But the constrictor understood
_one_ chapter of herpetology better than we--for the next moment we saw
him drop to the ground; and, almost as quick as thought, appear lapped
in sable folds around the speckled body of the `crotalus!'
"It was a singular sight to see those two creatures writhing and
wriggling over the grass; and it was some time before we could tell how
they battled with each other. There was no great difference between
them, in point of size. The black snake was longer--by a foot or so--
but much more slender in the body, than his antagonist. He possessed,
however, an advantage that soon made itself apparent--his activity,
which was ten times that of the rattlesnake. We saw that he could
easily evolve or wind himself at pleasure around the body of the
latter--each time compressing him with those muscular powers which have
entitled him to his name `constrictor.' At each fresh embrace, the body
of the `crotalus' appeared to writhe and contract under the crushing
influence of his sable adversary.
"The rattlesnake had but one weapon, which he could have employed with
effect--his fangs. These were already locked in the body of the
squirrel, and he could not use them upon his adversary. He could not
get rid of that hairy morsel, that, like a barbed arrow, was now
sticking in his throat. We could see that the squirrel still remained
there; for, as the two reptiles struggled over the grass, its bushy tail
was seen waving in the midst of their tortuous contest.
"At length, the battle began to flag. The motions of both combatants
waxed slower and slower. We could now see _how_ they fought. We could
see--strange it appeared to us--that, instead of battling head to head--
face to face--the fangs of the `constrictor' were buried in the rattles
of the `crotalus!' Stranger still, the tail of the former rose and fell
with a muscular and powerful impetus, whipping the latter to death!
"The contest was soon ended. The rattlesnake lay stretched at full
length--evidently dead; while the black constrictor still continued to
hug the speckled body, as though it was an object to be loved. This
lasted for a moment or so; and then slowly unwinding himself, the
conqueror turned round, crawled head to head with his victim, and
proceeded to appropriate the prey. The `scene' was over, and we all
leaped to our feet to enact the _finale_. I should have spared the
constrictor, after the good service he had done in destroying the
rattlesnake; but Cudjo, who hated all sorts of creeping things, was
ahead of me; and, before I could come up, I beheld the victor suspended
upon his spear!"