Some people in England are startled at the very name of the rattle snake, and fancy every corner of that province so much pestered with them, that a man goes in constant danger of his life, that walks abroad in the woods. But this is as gross a mistake, as most of the other ill reports of that country. For in the first place this snake is very rarely seen; and when that happens, it never does the least mischief, unless you offer to disturb it, and thereby provoke it to bite in its own defence. But it never fails to give you fair warning, by making a noise with its rattle, which may be heard at a convenient distance. For my own part I have traveled the country as much as any man in it of my age, by night and by day, above the inhabitants, well as among them; and yet before the first impression of this book I had never seen a rattle snake alive, and at liberty, in all my life. I had seen them indeed after they had been killed, or pent up in boxes to be sent to England. The bite of this viper without some immediate application is certainly death; but remedies are so well known, that none of their servants are ignorant of them. I never knew any killed by these, or any other of their snakes, although I had a general knowledge all over the country, and had been in every part of it. They have several other snakes which are seen more frequently, and have very little or no hurt in them, viz: such as they call black snakes, water snakes, and corn snakes. The black viper snake, and the copper-bellied snake, are said to be as venomous as the rattle snake, but they are as seldom seen; these three poisonous snakes bring forth their young alive, whereas the other three sorts lay eggs, which are hatched afterwards; and that is the distinction they make, esteeming only those to be venomous, which are viviparous. They have likewise the horn snake, so called from a sharp horn it carries in its tail, with which it assaults anything that offends it, with that force, that as it is said it will strike its tail into the butt end of a musket, from which it is not able to disengage itself.
All sorts of snakes will charm both birds and squirrels, and the Indians pretend to charm them. Several persons have seen squirrels run down a tree directly into a snake's mouth; they have likewise seen birds fluttering up and down, and chattering at these snakes, till at last they have dropped down just before them.