I never could find any that knew an instance of any person’s losing their life from the bite of them, only by hearsay. Yet I am convinced it is highly prudent for every person to be on their guard against them. They appear to be of the viper tribe, from their swelling of their body and flattening their neck when provoked, and from their large poisonous fangs: their head, mouth and eyes are remarkably large.
There is another snake in Carolina and Florida called the moccasin, very different from this, which is a very beautiful creature, and I believe not of a destructive or vindictive nature. These when grown to their greatest size are about five feet in length, and near as thick as a man’s arm; their skin scaly but smooth and shining, of a pale grey and sky colour ground, uniformly marked with transverse undulatory ringlets or blotches of a deep nut brown, edged with red or bright Spanish brown. They appear innocent, very active and swift, endeavouring to escape from one; they have no poisonous fangs. These are seen in high forest lands, about rotten logs or decayed fallen limbs of trees, and they harbour about old log buildings. They seem to be a species, if not the very same snake which in Pennsylvania and Virginia is called the wampom snake; but here in warmer Southern climes they grow to a much larger size, and from the same accident their colour may be more variable and deeper. They are by the inhabitants asserted to be dangerously venemous, their bite incurable, &c. But as I could never learn an instance of their bite being mortal, or attended with any dangerous consequence, and have had frequent opportunities of observing their nature and disposition, I am inclined to pronounce them an innocent creature, with respect to mankind.
The bastard rattle snake, by some called ground rattle snake, is a dangerous little creature: their bite is certainly mortal if present medical relief is not administered: they seem to be much of the nature of the asp or adder of the old world.
This little viper is in form and colour much like the rattle snake, but not so bright and uniformly marked: their head is broader and shorter in proportion to the other parts of their body: their nose prominent and turned upwards: their tail becomes suddenly small from the vent to the extremity, which terminates with three minute articulations, resembling rattles: when irritated they turn up their tail, which vibrates so quick as to appear like a mist or vapour, but causes little or no sound or noise; yet it is the common report of the inhabitants, that they cause that remarkable vehement noise, so frequently observed in forests in the heat of summer and autumn, very terrifying to strangers, which is, probably, caused by a very sable small insect of the genus cicadae, or which are called locusts in America; yet it is possible I may be mistaken in this conjecture. This dangerous viper is from eight to ten inches in length, and of proportionable thickness. They are spiteful, snappish creatures; throwing themselves into a little coil, they swell and flatten themselves, continually darting out their head, and they seem capable of springing beyond their length. They seem destitute of the pacific disposition and magnanimity of the rattle snake, and are unworthy of an alliance with him. No man ever saves their lives, yet they remain too numerous, even in the oldest settled parts of the country.
The green snake is a beautiful innocent creature: they are from two to three feet in length, but not so thick as a person’s little finger; of the finest green colour. They are very abundant, commonly seen on the limbs of trees and shrubs: they prey upon insects and reptiles, particularly the little green chameleon; and the forked tailed hawk or kite feeds on both of them, snatching them off the boughs of the trees.
The ribband snake is another very beautiful innocent serpent: they are eighteen inches in length, and about the thickness of a man’s little finger; the head is very small; the ground colour of a full, clear vermilion, variegated with transverse bars or zones of a dark brown, which people fancy represents a ribband wound round the creature’s body: they are altogether inoffensive to man, and are in a manner domestic, frequenting old wooden buildings, open grounds and plantations.
The chicken snake is a large, strong and swift serpent, six or seven feet in length, but scarcely so thick as a man’s wrist; they are of a cinereous, earthy colour, and striped longitudinally with broad lines or lists, of a dusky or blackish colour. They are a domestic snake, haunting about houses and plantations; and would be useful to man if tamed and properly tutored, being great devourers of rats, but they are apt to disturb hen-roosts and prey upon chickens. They are as innocent as a worm with respect to venom, are easily tamed and soon become very familiar.
The pine or bull snake is very large and inoffensive with respect to mankind, but devours squirrels, birds, rabbits, and every other creature they can take as food. They are the largest snake yet known in North America, except the rattle snake, and perhaps exceed him in length: they are pied black and white: they utter a terrible loud hissing noise, sounding very hollow and like distant thunder, when irritated, or at the time of incubation, when the males contend with each other for the desired female. These serpents are also called horn snakes, from their tail terminating with a hard, horny spur, which they vibrate very quick when disturbed, but they never attempt to strike with it; they have dens in the earth, whither they retreat precipitately when apprehensive of danger.
There are many other species of snakes in the regions of Florida and Carolina; as the water snake, black snake, garter snake, copper belly, ring neck and two or three varieties of vipers, besides those already noticed in my journal. Since I have begun to mention the animals of these regions, this may be a proper place to enumerate the other tribes which I observed during my peregrinations. I shall begin with the frogs (RANAE.)
(1) The largest frog known in Florida and on the sea coast of Carolina, is about eight or nine inches in length from the nose to the extremity of the toes: they are of a dusky brown or black colour on the upper side, and their belly or under side white, spotted and clouded with dusky spots of various size and figure; their legs and thighs also are variegated with transverse ringlets, of dark brown or black; and they are yellow and green about their mouth and lips. They live in wet swamps and marshes, on the shores of large rivers and lakes; their voice is loud and hideous, greatly resembling the grunting of a swine; but not near as loud as the voice of the bull frog of Virginia and Pennsylvania: neither do they arrive to half their size, the bull frog being frequently eighteen inches in length, and their roaring as loud as that of a bull.