I can well recollect it was large and
moved off rather slow. As I had never seen anything of the kind
before, it made a great impression on my mind, and after the lapse of
so long a time, the incident appears as vivid to me as though it had
occurred yesterday."
It is not probable that the snake had its mouth open; its darting
tongue may have given that impression.
The other incident comes to me from Vermont. "While returning from
church in 1876," says the writer, "as I was crossing a bridge...
I noticed a striped snake in the act of charming a song-sparrow.
They were both upon the sand beneath the bridge. The snake kept his
head swaying slowly from side to side, and darted his tongue out
continually. The bird, not over a foot away, was facing the snake,
hopping from one foot to the other, and uttering a dissatisfied little
chirp. I watched them till the snake seized the bird, having gradually
drawn nearer. As he seized it, I leaped over the side of the bridge;
the snake glided away and I took up the bird, which he had dropped.
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