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Handfome. The article determining the right of private perfons to Salic lands, was declared equally to

concern the fucceffion to the crown, and became a fundamental law of the state.

Account of the furprising Effects

Captain Hall, a judicious and accurate obferver, being in South Carolina, procured a fine healthful rattle-fnake, about four feet long, and with one Mr. Kidwell, a furgeon, and three or four other gentlemen, made several experiments to try the effects of its poifon. They got three cur-dogs, the largest not bigger than a common harrier; and the fnake being tied and pinned down to a grafs-plot, they took the largest of the dogs, and having tied a cord round his neck fo as not to ftrangle him, the captain held one end and another perfon the other. Immediately on bringing the dog over the fnake, he railed himself near two feet and bit the dog as he was jumping. The dog yelped, by which the captain perceived he was bitten, and pulling the dog to him as faft as he could, he found his eyes fixed, his tongue be tween his teeth, which were clofe, his lips drawn up fo as to leave his teeth and gums bare; and, in fhort, he was quite dead in a quarter of a minute. They could not fee where the bite was, nor obferve any blood; upon which ordering fome hot water to fcald the hair off, they difcovered only one puncture, with a blueish green colour appearing a little round it. This was juft between his fore-legs and his breaft, where the hair was thinner than in fome other places.

Half an hour after this they took a fecond dog, which was fomewhat

of the RATTLE-SNAKE's Poison.

fmaller, and brought him in like

manner over the fnake, which bit his ear, fo that all the company faw it. The dog yelped much, fhewed figns of being very fick, reeled and ftaggered about for fome time, then fell down and struggled as if convulfed, and two or three times got up again, each time wagging his tail, though flowly, and endeavouring to follow a negro boy, who used to make much of him. They put him in a clofet, and ordered the boy to look after him, who brought word in two hours that the dog was dead.

About an hour after the fecond dog was bitten, they took the third in like manner, which the snake bit on the right fide of the belly, fo that he drew blood. The dog for about a minute did not feem to be hurt, fo they let him go and faw no more of him; but the next day a woman, who owned him, came to the captain, complaining of his cruelty for killing her dog.

Four days afterwards they got two dogs, as big as common bull-dogs; and the firft, which the fnake bit on the infide of his left thigh, died exactly in half a minute, according to the watches of two gentlemen prefent. There were two very fmall punctures in his thigh, which looked livid, though no blood was drawn. The fecond dog was bit an hour after the first, on the outfide of his thigh, where they perceived blood at two places; he foon fickened, and

died in four minutes. As they thought the fake's poifon was not fpent, they got a cat, which he bit an hour after; he was very fick, and they put her in a closet; but by fome means or other he got out, and the next morning was found dead in the garden.

A month after thefe experiments were made, the captain procured a common black fnake not of the viper kind, about two feet and a half long, and juft taken; and putting this and the rattle-inake together, he irritated them so that they bit each other. He perceived that the black nake had drawn blood of the rattle-fnake, before he took them asunder; the black snake died in less than eight minutes, but the rattle-fnake did not feem fick, or at all the worfe for his wound.

The laft experiment the captain made with this fnake, was to try whether its poifon would not prove mortal to itself. In order to this he hanged it in fuch a manner that it was not above half its length on the ground, and then fo irritated it, by pricking and fcratching it with two needles fattened to the end of a ftick, that it foon bit itfelf, after

having feveral times attempted to bite the flick. He then let it down, and it was quite dead in eight or ten minutes. The fnake was then cut into five pieces, and given to a hog, the head-part first, in the fight of feveral people. The hog eat up all the fnake, and ten or twelve days afterwards the captain faw the hog alive and healthful.

To the inftances already given of the strength and virulence of this poifon on animals, let us add another on a vegetable body, which is mentioned by colonel Beverly, who fays, he was informed by colonel Taylor, that being in company with others in the woods, they found a rattle-fnake and cut off his head; then with a green stick which he had in his hand, about eighteen inches long, the bark of which was newly peeled off, he urged and provoked the head till it bit the ftick with fury feveral times; whereupon the colonel obferving fmall green streaks rise up along the stick towards his hand, he threw it on the ground, and in a quarter of an hour it split into feveral pieces, and fell afunder from end to end.

The ADVANTAGES of HUSBANDRY: a FABLE.

IN N the age of American adventures, about the year 1550, when all Europe proposed to grow rich in a moment, a Spanish gentleman, one Don Gregorio de Brice, being acquainted with fome of Orellana's companions, lately returned from the river of the Ainazons, procured intelligence of a fmall island, called by the natives Rhadamilla.

This

little fpot of land was reprefented to be the true Herperides of the anti

ents; for it abounded with woods, rivulets, pafturage, and gold-mines. Nay, the very ftones were reported to have a mixture of gold in them.

Animated with this relation, Don Gregorio turned his whole eftate into money, and fitted out a fhip, perfuading his younger brother, Dən Eftevan, to join with him in the adventure. The latter was a man of a cool head, and totally devoid of ambition and avarice, but com

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plied from mere affection to his brother, whom he loved paffionately, having no other relation.

In the voyage Don Gregorio touched upon the coaft of Barbary, and purchased slaves to work in his mines Eftevan bought only a couple of fcore of sheep and a dozen of goats, with two males of each kind. Being asked the reafon, his anfwer was, You, my brother, are a fecond Cain, a man of a bold enterprizing genius: I will imitate the humble Abel, and turn paftor; for meat and cloathing must be thought of, as well as the acquifition of precious metal. It fhall be my bufinefs to at the part of proveditor general for you and your labourers, who may poffibly find gold to be neither eatable nor drinkable. I will therefore fupply the company with food, and you shall pay me for it out of your vaft treasures.

Upon this Don Gregorio laughed; but a flight air of contempt was intermixed with his laughter.

Ah,

brother, faid he, you have no fpirit, no elevation of fentiment; that mind of yours runs too much upon vulgar matters. The man that has a mine of gold, commands every thing that this fublunary world can afford.-No, no-replied an old mariner from the bay of Biscay, fhaking his head; there is a dash of good fenfe in Don Eftevan's propofal.It is fometimes neceffary to eat, as well as grow rich.

At length the fhip reached the defired ifland. A gold mine was found according to expectation, and the produce thereof made it worthy to be called a Potofi in miniature. Mean while Don Gregorio gave himfelf little concern about bodily fuftenance, living in a great measure by imagination, and feeding upon

the hopes of future abundance: but his affociates had not fublimity of fancy enough to relish fuch fictitious aliment; for, after having worked all day, they were juft able to fupport life with a few finall fishes hard to be taken, and fome ordinary fruits and vegetables, fuch as could be found in the neighbouring woods and vallies. During this interim, the fhrewd fenfible Biscayner, already mentioned, miffed little of occafioning a mutiny without intending it; for, having found no fupper in the fields, not even a fallad of trefoil-leaves and thiftle-roots, he fet his foot on a lump of gold which lay in the hut, and broke out into the following exclamation: fatal de ceiver of mankind! faid he, what art thou in thyfelf ?-Gladly would I exchange twenty fuch lumps of metal for as many pounds of the worft mutton fed upon Eftremadura turnips! The rest of the crew conceived the fame indignation that the Biscayner did; but Don Eftevan compofed the diforder by affuring them, that to-morrow he intended to kill a lamb and a kid three parts grown, in order to give a bountiful repaft to the whole fociety.

This he continued thrice a week; and from that time matters went on very comfortably for Don Eftevan fed the men well, and cloathed them with the wool of his fheep and skins of his goats. His brother gave an equivalent in gold for all that was purchafed; and that with a certain juftice and nobleness of foul, quite peculiar to an old Caftilian.

After three years thus fpent, the men petitioned to return to old Spain, alledging, amongft other things, that their fhip (though a new one, when they fet out) would never be able to fail home, in cafe

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