LXXX. The Tejuguacu is a Brazilian Lizard, of black Colour, beautified with elegant white Spots, which renders it pleasing to the Eye: Its Tongue is long and cloven, smooth and red. ’Tis a little Creature, and moves its little Body with great Celerity; is patient in Want, and will for six or seven Moons, live without any kind of Sustenance, but Air, the Fluid in which we all breathe.

LXXXI. The Taraguira is another Brazilian, of about a Foot long, whose Body is smooth, and naturally guarded by an Armour of a strong squamatick Skin, and the Scales situated in a kind of triangular form: It affects to reside in Underwoods, and Places inclosed, and near to Houses.

LXXXII. The Americina Serpent, which is not much different from the former, except it be in its forked Tail, which terminates in two different Points; and in this Article seems to differ from all other sanguineous Animals, among whom, says the learned Ray, I have never heard of any else furnish’d with two Tails: This looks like something anomalous in Nature, and contrary to its common Rules, if the Description be true.

LXXXIII. The Taraquico Aycuraba is another venemous Offspring of Brazil, a Species of the former, but differs from it in the Tail, which is single. This Animal is covered with little rough triangulated Scales, the Extremity of which is decked with brown Spots, and the Back with various dusky Specks, ranged in the form of Waves.

LXXXIV. The Americina is a little venemous Creeper, whose Body inclines to the square, about three Fingers long, in Crassitude as the Quill of a Swan; bright to the Eye, and smooth to the Hand: The Back is made strong by whitish Scales; the Head, Shanks, and Sides with brown ones: The Tail is of a fine azure Colour; its Claws are setigerous, resembling the Bristles of a Hog.

LXXXV. CARAPOBEBA is another minim Serpent of America, and veneniferous, four or five Fingers long: The Body, that in Colour resembles a Liver, is adorn’d with white Marks, (and the Tail with white Lines) and is illuminated with glaring Eyes, like Globes of Glass.

LXXXVI. TEJUNHANA is a little Serpent, whose Head is sharp-pointed: The Tail is about six Fingers long, smooth and round, and ends like a Needle; the Head is cover’d with rough Scales, like Milford Oysters; the Back and Sides are cloath’d with a Skin, that is finely painted with green and brown Colours, and when touched, feels soft like Velvet.

LXXXVII. To these Americans I add the Stellio, which Mr. Ray calls the swift, or spotted Lizard, whose Body makes a glorious Appearance, by glittering Spots, that when it makes its Parade, looks like a little moveable Firmament of Stars: This Serpent is pretty common in Thrace, Sicily, and Syria^[257].

’Tis said of this Animal, that it casts its Skin and eats it again; and if so, ’tis a proper Emblem of desultory Creatures, who leave their Vices for a time, and return to them afterwards^[258].

Among Serpents is such Variety of charming Colours, and Figures, that if it were not for the natural Antipathy that we have for them, perhaps there is not one thing that the Eye could take greater Delight in.

Besides the above Lacertick Serpents of Brazil, Rochefort^[259], a French Author, mentions other Serpents different from these, which come next under Consideration.

LXXXVIII. The Les Anoles, a Serpent in bigness like the Gallick Lizards, but of a longer Head; of a yellow Skin, like a Sun-burnt Roussilonite, or the Savage Man in the Isle of Borneo; Russet Back, channel’d with green; of an ashy or cineraceous Colour; a boisterous noisy Animal. It’s generally in motion by Day, and by Night, lodges in hollow places, where it joins with the Brotherhood, in disturbing the Neighbours with hideous Croakings: by the loudness of its Noise, it should seem that it had but an empty Noddle.

LXXXIX. LES ROQUET, a Serpent of a ruddy Colour, intermix’d with black and yellow Points: of sparkling Eyes, and majestick Mien, walking in a stately manner with Head erect; and skipping about like a Bird, or a French Beau, who was said to make a Solecism with his Hand, when he made a false Gesture on the Stage.

XC. The Maboujas, a word that signifies a Devil in the Indian Language, and given to this Serpent, because in its Nature it is most malignant and mischievous: It lives in fenny Ground, and shaded Valleys, dreadful in Appearance, and more so in its Executions.

This cruel Serpent is an Emblem of the old Serpent, that great fiery Dragon, that in a few Hours reduced Job, a wealthy Prince, into the lowest Ebb of Poverty, converted his Palace into a Dunghill, and his Body into an Hospital of Diseases; and if permitted, he would immediately turn the Earth into a Scene of Blood and Destruction; therefore he is called απολλυωνορ, the Destroyer, Rev. ix. 11. the Murderer, and Shedder of Blood. N. B. The tutelar Deity of the Cæsars was Apollo, that is, the—Destroyer. The like kind of bloody Deity has presided in the Temples of Tyranny ever since.

XCI. The Gobe Moujes, so denominated by the French, from its gobbling all kinds of Flies, which it constantly hunts, and swallows in a voracious manner. It commonly frequents Houses where it suffers no little Insects to live, no not upon Garments: It is of the stellionick form, and the least of all the Quadrupeds in those Antilles, which our English call, the Leeward-Islands.

May not this Animal serve to represent those gobbling Sots, who brush off the Flies of Melancholy, and drown them in the inchanted Cup? Thus likewise the Sons of Mammon hunt for golden Flies, as Entertainments most delicious.

XCII. BROCHET DE TORRE, or the Land-Pike, is a Serpent of about fifteen Inches long, so termed from its Likeness in Figure and Skin to that Fish. Instead of Fins, it has four Feet, too weak to support the Body, therefore crawls on its Belly, after an odd unusual manner, winding its Body about like a Pike newly taken out of the Water; which kind of Motion being strange, strikes Terror into Spectators. Tetre denies it to have the perfect Shape, Head and Skin of the common Pike, and treats Sieur Rochefort with some Roughness, according to Mr. Ray.

In the Night, these Serpents are found under the Rocks, where they make a frightful Noise, more hideous than the croaking of Frogs and Toads. In Antigua is a Fish called Cane, like our Pike in figure, seven or eight Foot long, and big in proportion: It preys like the Shark, and especially on human Flesh; and the least Bite of its Teeth proves mortal Poison, without immediate Application of some sovereign Antidote^[260].

XCIII. The last he mentions, is a little Serpent, about seven Fingers in length, and terrible to the Eye. The Skin is embroider’d with black Scales, that look smooth and sleek as if it were a Surface of Oil: It is furnish’d with very sharp Teeth, small Eyes, but so weak that they can’t long face the Light, no more than a Frenchman can look Truth in the face, or a Spaniard the Field of Battle.

When this little venemous Animal apprehends any Danger, it immediately digs into the Earth, with its five crooked and strong Claws, that soon penetrate the Ground: ’tis guilty not only of Evils among Beasts, but of great Devastations in Orchards and Gardens^[261].

I have wondered, says a learned Author, to see with what great Quickness, Art, and Strength, many Vespæ, Ichneumons, wild Bees and Beetles,—perforate the Earth, yea, even Wood itself; but the most remarkable in this way, is the Mole-Cricket^[262]. Swine, who dig in the Earth for their Food, have all parts of their Head adapted for that Service, but rather more remarkable in the Mole, whose Neck, Eyes, Nose and Ears are all fitted in the nicest manner, to its subterraneous way of Life.

XCIV. The Ground Rattle-Snake, so called, only because it resembles the real Rattle-Snake in Colour, but is somewhat darker: It never grows above twelve or sixteen Inches long; ’tis reckon’d among the worst of Snakes, and of a hardy Nature, because it keeps out of its Winter-Quarters the longest of any. N. B. This Serpent and some of the following are taken out of the natural History of Carolina^[263], a part of America belonging to England. The Natives of that Country were of a larger Size than Europeans, and accounted so faithful in their Promises, and so just in their Dealings, that they had no Words to express Dishonesty, Fraud, or Cheating,—What contributed chiefly to their honest Simplicity, and plain Method of living, was their Contempt of Riches; were content with plain Food and Raiment, without being anxiously sollicitous for to-morrow.

XCV. The Horn-Snake, very venemous, hisses exactly like a Goose, upon any body’s Approach. Serpents of this Class strike at the Enemy with their Tail, which is arm’d at the end with a horny Substance, like a Cock-Spur, that kills whatever is wounded with it. ’Tis said, that in Virginia, they only shoot their Tongues, and shake them at the Enemy^[264].

XCVI. The Hydrus, Natrix, or Water-Snake, of these are various sorts, and all in some degree amphibious. When the Coluber Aquaticus wounds any, ’tis attended with a most disagreeable Odour, and so strong, that it forbids a near Approach to the unhappy Sufferer, who immediately falls into a Tremor and Distraction, and soon expires (the third day, says Ælian) without timely Relief^[265].

Its common Residence is in shallow Waters, and when they are dried up, it goes upon dry Ground, where its Wound is more dangerous than in Water: But more of this elsewhere.

XCVII. In that Country they have what they call Swamp-Snakes; three sorts of which are near a-kin to the Water-Snakes, and may be rank’d among them. The Belly of the first is of the carnation Colour, the Back is dark: the next, which is of a brown Colour, always abides in the Marshes: the third is of a motley Colour, and very poisonous.

They dwell on the sides of Swamps, i. e. Bogs, Marshes, and Ponds, have a prodigious large Mouth, and they arrive to the thickness of the Calf of a Man’s Leg. Among these I place the black Truncheon-Snakes, that live on the Banks of Rivers, which, when disturbed, shoot into the Water, like an Arrow out of a Bow. I fancy the Name is borrow’d from a certain Weapon call’d Truncheon, which we call Battoon, or Tipstaff, of a cylindrical form, used by principal Officers of State, Generals, and sometimes by Constables, when they go upon secret Expeditions.

XCVIII. The Red-belly-Snake, this is so called from its ruddy Colour, which inclines to an Orange-red. Of these are two sorts; one, like Abel the Innocent; the other, like Cain the Cruel: An Emblem of the World, humane, angelic Animal, and Vegetable, in which is a Mixture of Good and Evil.

XCIX. The Red-back-Snake, so named from that Colour; a long, slender Snake, but not very common. A certain Surveyor of Lands in Carolina happen’d to step over one of these, which he did not see till his Servant spy’d it: The Surveyor inquired of the Indian that was along with him, Whether it was a very venemous Serpent? Who answer’d, That if he had been wounded by it, even the Indians themselves, tho’ expert in the Art of curing serpentine Wounds, could not have saved his Life^[266].

Red, which is one of the primary Colours, proceeding from the least refrangible Rays of Light, is a lively Emblem of Fire, or the fiery Venom in this Serpent, whose principal Quality is to draw Blood.

C. The Scorpion-Lizard; ’tis commonly called so, but is no more like it than a Hedge-Hog: It is indeed of the Lizard Colour, but much larger: Its Back of a dark copper Colour; the Belly, in Orange; quick in its Motion on the Ground, and very nimble in running up Trees; has several Rows of Teeth, and is reckoned to be of a very poisonous Nature.

CI. The Long Black-Snake, is a land Animal, and very common. I have, says my Author, kill’d several of them, full six Foot in length. Its Bite, tho’ painful in its Consequences, is not deem’d commonly mortal: the wounded Part swells, and turns to a running Ulcer. No living Creature more nimble in Motion, or a greater Enemy to Mice, for it leaves not one of that Vermin alive, wherever it comes. This Serpent kills the Rattle-Snake, by twisting its Head about the Neck of that Snake, and whipping her to death with its Tail.

This Serpent very much haunts Dairy-houses in those Countries, and makes very free with unguarded Milk-Pans, and Cream-Pots: It delights to be among Hens, whose Eggs it does not suck, but swallows them whole, as all Snakes do their Sustenance. It will often swallow the Egg under a sitting Hen, and then lie in the Nest in the form of a Ring.

Allow here a few Remarks upon the Nature of Milk and Eggs.

In all kinds of Vegetables is an oily Substance, which is a Fluid that Animals take in with their Food, and no vegetable Food is nutrimental, without some Proportion of this Oil; even Grass, especially in its Seed, abounds therewith, which being thoroughly mixt with the Saliva, it turns milky in the Stomach: Which differs from the Chyle, only as having been more concocted, and containing a large degree of Salt, which renders it convertible into Curd.

MILK therefore is an oily vegetable Matter, circulated first in Plants, then in Animals, and capable of being reduced into a caseous and watry Substance, (or Cheese and Whey, if you please.) If Milk finds no opportunity of passing off in its own natural form, it turns to Fat, or goes away by Urine and Sweat, which commonly is the case in Men, for they generate Milk as well as Women, &c.

An Egg is from a certain animal Liquid, which by repeated Circulations in the Body, arrives at a perfect animal State; this Fluid comes from the oviparous Class, which is the White wherein the Yolk appears to swim. The White and Yolk of Eggs are neither alkaline nor acid.

The White dissolves by a gentle Heat, till it totally liquifies, (thus the Hen’s Heat gradually dissolves the White of a prolific Egg into Nourishment for the Chicken) but if you expose the White to the Heat of boiling Water, it will immediately harden, into a viscous, dry Mass.

The White of an Egg is a surprizing Menstruum, for if it be first boiled hard in the Shell, and afterwards suspended in the Air by a Thread, it will resolve and drop down into an insipid Liquor; which is that heterogeneous Menstruum so much used by Paracelsus, and will make a thorough Solution of Myrrh, which is more than Water, Oils, or Fire itself can effect^[267]. N. B. The White of an Egg, by a strong Distillation, will afford an alkaline Spirit, and will putrify by Digestion; and a single Grain of this putrify’d Substance taken, will, like Poison, presently cause a Nausea, Vomit, Diarrhœa, Fever ... as Bellini tells us he has tried. And the learned Boerhaave himself, had seen those terrible Effects of it, which however are immediately stopt by drinking any acid Liquor, as Vinegar, Juice of Lemons. From Milk I proceed to give an account of an odd Custom about Cheese in Antiquity, viz. Among the Romans, one of their Tabernæ was called Casearia, a Caseo i. e. from Cheese; not because Cheese was made or sold in it, but because it was wont to be smoaked there: It being a Custom among the old Romans and other Italians, to make a great Smoke with Reeds and green Wood, on purpose to dry and colour their Cheese; hence the Poet Martial.

i. e. That Cheese only is pleasant and grateful, which does not suck in every Fume, but which is smoak’d only, velabro, in Tents or Booths.

CII. The King’s Snake, is the longest of all others; but not common. It is said to be terrible to other Serpents, though not very venemous and gross: the Indians, Men and Women, in Carolina, make Girdles and Sashes of their Skins, as Signs of Conquest, and wear them as Trophies of Honour.

This puts me in mind of Hippocrates, the Prince of Physicians, who tells us that in the Eastern Parts of Europe, there is a Scythian People, called Sauromatæ, bordering on the Palus Mæotis, where the Women ride on Horse-back, draw the Bow, throw the Javelin as they ride, and fight in their Battles, so long as they remain Virgins; and were not allow’d to marry, till they had killed three Enemies in the Wars^[268]. Of my Author ’tis said, He neither knew how to deceive, nor be deceived^[269].

N. B. These were the Women called Amazons, descended from the Scythians, whose Women were as warlike as the Men, and joined with them in their Wars.

CIII. The Corn-Snake, is most like the Rattle-Snake of all others in Colour, but the Chequers are not so regular; neither has it any Rattles. They are frequently found in Corn-fields, from whence, I presume, they have their Appellation. In their Qualities they resemble the Green-Snakes, that are innocent by Nature, and in form admirably pretty, if I may be allow’d by the Ladies, to call a Serpent so.

CIV. The Blowing-Serpent, which is a Species of the Viper, but larger than the European, is so called, because it seems to blow, to spread its Head, and swell very much, before it bites; which Bite is very poisonous, and seems to receive some additional Malignity from the Enlargement of its Head beyond the common Proportion.

CV. The Brimstone-Snake, so denominated from the Similitude of Colour: They might as well call it, the Glass-Snake, for if any Credit be given to the Historian, ’tis as brittle as a Glass-Tube, or a Tobacco-Pipe, so that upon the touch of a Twig, it immediately breaks into several Pieces, which some say, and nobody believes, are capable of Re-union.

Its component Parts may be weak and frail, but it is questionable, whether so brittle as represented: ’Tis true indeed there are hard Bodies, that would not be affected with a Twig, yet are very brittle. Thus Iron, which is one of the hardest Metals and yet most brittle, and by fusing, it becomes harder and more brittle. Now this great Brittleness of Iron, arises from the great quantity of Sulphur-Brimstone intermixed with it. The abundance of Sulphur in Iron, is apparent from the Sparks it emits from under the Smith’s Hammer; those fiery Sparks being only the Sulphur of the heated Iron, nothing of which is seen in any other Metal^[270]. N. B. Roll-Brimstone sold in the Shops comes from the native Sulphur, which Helmont always preferred to that purified.

CVI. The Yellow-Snake is in length about seven or eight Foot; the Neck is small, rather less than its Body, which grows bigger, till it be as big as one’s Wrist, and continues so large to the Anus; from whence it diminishes by degrees to the Tail. Its Head (which is not very large) is of a dark Colour, and so are the Scales all over the Body, with some yellow Streaks here and there. The Belly is all yellow, like Marygold, whose Flowers are cordial.

These Serpents are for the most part to be found in the woody Mountains of America, coil’d up in the Paths, as Ropes in a Ship: they are not hurtful, unless irritated; they feed on Birds, Rats, &c. which they swallow whole, and therefore Nature has given them such a folded, rugous, inward Tunicle of the Stomach, that it may extend, and receive things of large Dimensions. Many of them have been killed with thirteen or fourteen Rats in their Bellies^[271].

It has been observed, that the Heart of this Serpent was beating an Hour after the Head was cut off, and that it would turn and twist its Body strangely in its Dissection, for a long time after the Bowels were out: The Lungs were very membranaceous, being nothing but Blood-Vessels and Air-Bladders. So a very learned Author. ibid.

CVII. The Chicken-Snake, so called because of its Executions in the Poultry-yard, where it devours all Eggs, and lesser Birds that come in its way. These Serpents are of a sooty Colour, and will very readily roll themselves round a smooth-bark’d Pine-tree, eighteen or twenty Foot high, where there is no manner of hold, and there sun themselves, and sleep all the pleasurable part of the Day, reserving the hours of Darkness for rambling^[272]. There is no great matter of Poison in them. Here the Historian mentions the Eel-Snake, improperly so called, I think, because it is nothing but a Leach, that only sucks, and can’t sting nor bite, so as to do any Damage.

CVIII. The Vectis, whose Head, strictly speaking, is neither round, flat, nor pointed, but looks like a Swelling on both sides, one stretching transversly, like a Bar that guards a Door, or, if you please, a Bettee, an Engine to break open Doors. Though this Sense be not intended here, yet ’tis true, that Serpents do make forcible Entries, but it is always with Teeth and Tail, by which they often throw down the whole Fabrick, and drive out the Inhabitant.

CIX. The Agnasen Serpent, called the Mother of Ants, because it lodges in their Apartments, and other warm Situations. We read of Ants in the East-Indies that build their Houses above Ground, and with the finest Clay, of which the People make their Idols; their little Houses are like strong Butts, hollow within, where they dwell, and breed in Nests like Honey-combs.

The Butts present to my view the Bow and Arrows in the Hands of the Parthians, who were esteemed the best Archers in the world, and very deservedly, having the Art of shooting backwards, and making their Retreat more terrible than their Charge: Whence that of Seneca^[273], The Parthians Flight does most affright. The manner of their Fight is describ’d by the Poet, who says, They were better Soldiers when they run away, and fought best when furthest off, trusting most to the Bow^[274].

M. CRASSUS, in his Expedition against them, being told by an Astrologer it would be unprosperous, because of some ill Aspect in Scorpio: Hush Man, quoth he, I fear not Scorpio, but Sagittarius.—But to return to the Motherly Serpent, which is about a Foot and a half long, the Body slender, adorn’d with red and white Streaks. Another Author says, ’tis of a red Colour, distinguish’d by black Lines, intermix’d with white Spots: The Indians play with this Serpent (as Ladies with their Lap-dogs) and for Diversion, wear this little innocent and pretty Animal (as a Necklace of Pearls) about their Necks^[275].

CX. The Macacoatl, or Anguis Cervinus, so called from its horned Head, which resembles that of a Deer, as thick as a Man’s Thigh, in length about twenty Foot, sprinkled with dusky Spots inclining to the black and yellow.—This seems to be a Member of the gigantick Family, already described. Ibid. 273. Therefore I dismiss it, and proceed to the

CXI. AQUASEN Serpent, which seems to be the Birth of the Philippines, and very venemous: Its Wound proves fatal in a few Minutes, which is preceded by the Putrefaction of the Flesh, next to the affected part. It is about two Spans long, of a brown Colour, and a large Head^[276].

CXII. The Serpent Otus is one of the Plagues of America, and very poisonous, there being but few hours distance between the Wound it gives and Death. It is about an Inch thick, and three Foot long, a little Head and whitish Belly, and may be farther distinguish’d from others, by white and black Spots, and three red Lines running across; slow in Motion, and fond of Shade; found in Cuba, a famous Island, where the antient Inhabitants went naked, tho’ they might have been cloath’d in Gold. The Historian speaking of Spanish Cruelty, observes, that a certain Indian Prince having fled to Cuba for Shelter, was taken by the Spaniards, and condemned by them to be burnt alive. When they were tying him to the Stake, a Priest told him if he would embrace the Spanish Religion, he should go to Heaven; but if not, he must burn for ever in Hell. Upon this, the poor distressed Prince ask’d him, if there were any Spaniards in Heaven, and the Priest answering, Yes; Hathuey the Prince replied, viz.

THAT if it be so, I’ll rather go to the Devils in Hell, than go with the Spaniards to Heaven; for their Cruelty is such, that none can be more miserable than where they are. N. B. This account is given by one of their own Bishops^[277].

CXIII. The Dopon is reckoned to be a most dangerous Serpent; ’tis about an Inch round, and four or five Foot long. The vulgar Opinion is, that the whole Body is all over tinged with Poison, the Tail excepted. Its Head is very large, and of an octangular form, so far as the Eyes, from which it grows less and less to the Mouth, which is oblong and flat, arm’d with six Teeth in the upper Jaws, and six in the lower, besides lesser ones: The Tongue is slender, and of a black Colour.

Its Wounds are terrible, allowing the Patient only about twenty-four hours to live. No sooner is the Wound given, but all parts of the Body begin to swell, and soon extend beyond their due Proportion; that they are soon disabled from performing their Operations^[278].

Thus Pride, the malignant Tumour of the Mind, was the fatal Wound, by which the Angelic Serpent, the first in Dignity among created Beings, was transformed into a Devil. Sin, a Poison so strong, that by the first taste of it, the whole human Nature was infected. Adam and Eve tasted the forbidden Fruit, and lo! we must all die for it, at the distance of so many thousand Years.

CXIV. The Attaligatus is a small slender Serpent, not exceeding the Quill of a Goose in proportion; not poisonous in its Nature, yet very mischievous; for these little Creatures are an united Body, and live in community, and never separate: they are a Society without Schism, which is more than can be affirmed of all human Societies, civil or ecclesiastick.

When these small harmonious Reptiles go abroad, they travel in Company, a hundred strong or more, and where they find any asleep, they immediately seize the Body, and with a Force united and irresistable, they devour it^[279]. Behold! a Conquest by an Army of Worms!

Thus Herod the Great, the Proud, the Cruel, when upon the Throne, was attack’d by an Army of Worms, that quickly devoured him. His Body became worm-eaten like a piece of rotten Wood^[280]. Of the Executions done by Worms, we have divers Instances in the human World. No part of Man’s Body, whether inward or outward, but is subject to Worms, and have been tormented with them.

Man’s Body, if rightly understood, would appear to be a Granary for Worms, of divers Colours and Sizes: In the inward Parts, as Stomach, Guts, Liver, Blood, Gall, Bladder, have been found swarms of Vermin, sapping the Foundation of the animal Structure. We have Instances of Worms bred in the human Brains, and were discovered in the Brain of the Paris-Girl when opened—probably laid, by some Insect, in the Laminæ of the Nostrils, from whence it gnawed its way into the Brain^[281]. So in the outer parts.

GALEN in Jonstonus says, that in Ethiopia, India, and the mountainous part of Egypt, the Inhabitants were tormented with Worms, that bred in their Legs and Arms, called Dracunculi, whose Motion in the Flesh was conspicuous to the Eye.

LUCIUS CORNELIUS SYLLA, Consul and Dictator of Rome, (the Glories of whose Valour were obscured by barbarous Cruelties) died of a φθιριασις a wormy or lousy Disease: Thus Aliman^[282], a renowned Greek Poet, and Pherecydes the Philosopher, and Master to Pythagoras, died of the same loathsome Distemper.

In Persia there are very long slender Worms bred in the Legs and other Parts of Men’s Bodies, six or seven Yards long. Those who live upon the Red-Sea, and feed upon Locusts, are, in the last Stage of Life, subject to a sort of Flying-Worms, like what is called a Tyke, spread over all the Body, arising at first from a Scab, by scratching of which they tear their Flesh. Nieremberg. Some relate divers Examples of Worms taken out of the Tongue, Gums, Nose, and other Parts by a Woman at Leicester, which they were Eye-witnesses of. N. B. Mr. Dent and Mr. Lewis, in the Philosoph. Trans. in Lowthorp’s Abridg. where these and divers others may be seen. If it did not extend the Digression too far, I might add here, That there are no Animals, as Sheep, Wolves, Goats, Deers, Cows, Horses, Swine; yea, no Vegetables, as Trees, Herbs, Plants, Flowers, but abound with Worms; and all these have Worms peculiar to themselves. By the help of microscopical Glasses, we may discover Legions of Worms in Vinegar, human Blood, and other Liquids.

CXV. The Ecatotl, Anguis-Venti, Serpent-of-the-Wind, and very innocent, and perhaps the Name may be borrowed from a gentle salutary Gale; it is about six Spans long, and two Inches in Crassitude; the Eyes are black, Teeth small, the Belly bright, like Silver. The Back and Sides illustrated with white Streaks, alternately painted with Yellow and Azure: the Tongue is of a black Colour, small, long, and cloven, and most nimble in its Vibrations^[283].

CXVI. DE Angue-Laqueo, the Ensnaring-Serpent. In the Province of Vera-Pas, west of the Honduras; they are much infected with several Insects, as Muskettoes, Fire-Flies, and Serpents. Among the last is one Serpent of great Bulk, and excels in Craftiness, being very subtle and sharp in laying hold of its Prey. The Method is surprizing; for it wraps up itself in the Form of a Ginn, and so decoys the Game into the Snare: It bites like a Dog, and is very mischievous, tho’ not of the venemous Order. Ibid.

CXVII. The stupid Serpent, which they call Canaucoatl, in Character is contradictious; for, as represented in History, ’tis dull and in a manner destitute of Sensation, and yet a Creature full of Vitality and Spirit; and indeed is only remarkable for its Mettle. It is of the Tribe of Innocents, and very strong, and fears no Assault. In Dimension, monstrous; for Thickness, equal to a Man’s Body, and twice the Length. ’Tis said, some have sat upon it, apprehending it to be only the Trunk of an old Tree. Some other fabulous Things are reported of it.

It lives in the Shadow of Woods, often concealing itself under Branches and Leaves of Trees, where it surprizes the Prey, which, to speak with the Vulgar, it draws to him, by the Force of its Breath, as a Loadstone does Iron. The Authors of the Atlas mention a Serpent of this attractive Power in the Philippine Islands; Birds and other Animals are drawn into the Trap by the Charms of the Breath; yea, Partridges, Weasels——are made to run into its devouring Jaws. Ibid.

If this Serpent be endued with this magnetic Property, it is a living Loadstone, and more extensive in its Attractions than the real one; for this draws all animal Bodies to it, whereas the real Loadstone only attracts Iron. Attraction in the gross, is so complex a thing, that it may solve a thousand different things alike. This Creature is called Ibitin in America; and probably the same with the following, though distinctly considered by the Historian.

CXVIII. The Serpent Bitin, an Inhabitant of the Mountains and Woods in the Island of Cuba, &c. of great Bulk, and Length about four Ells; and in Shape terrible to the Eye. The Head, which resembles that of a Calf, grows large to the Eyes, which sparkle with the bright and black, and are incircled with Rays of Green; it has wide Jaws, armed with many sharp Teeth, among which are four of the canine sort.

CANINI Dentes, that is Dog’s-Teeth, are two Teeth in each Jaw, so called, because they end like those of a Dog in a sharp Point, whose particular Office is to pierce the Aliments, therefore are buried in their Sockets, by which they are more able to resist all lateral Pressures, than the Molares, or the common Grinders.

This Bitinian Serpent hangs by the Tail on Trees, devouring Men and Beasts that pass by, and come within its Reach, by the dint of halituous Attraction, as the stupid, and some of the Philippine Serpents are said to do; but if it be so, the Philosophy of it is not yet accounted for.

CXIX. The Monoxillo, or Mucronated-Serpent, so called because its Termination is sharp-pointed. It has something of the Fierce and Terrible in its Appearance, but is more dreadful in Aspect than Nature; for its Wounds, though painful, are not mortal. ’Tis of the Lacertan Kind and Colour; the Tail long, and Legs of small length; the Body about two Spans long, the Tongue large and forked and of red Colour. ’Tis tedious in Motion; the whole Compound is crustaceous, like Shell-Fishes, adorned with white and yellow Spots, resembling little Pearls, or Seed of Grummel or Gray-Mile.

N. B. The Seed of Vegetables consists of an Embryo, in which is contained the whole Plant in Miniature. A compleat Oak is visible in an Acorn by a Microscope.

CXX. The Tapayaxin, a little wonderful Serpent; some say of the Lacertan Kind, others say of an orbicular Form, not above four Inches Long. The Body is cartilaginous, or gristly, smooth and solid. This kind of Coverture is harder than a Ligament, and softer than a Bone, but is not covered over with any Membrane to make it capable of Sensation.

It moves slowly, and recommends itself by Diversity of Colours: when touched, the Body appears to be cold. Now, Bodies are said to be cold or hot, as their Particles are in a greater or lesser Motion, than those of the sensitory Organs. All Changes in the created Globe, are the Effects of Motion, without which all Bodies would become unactive Masses^[284].