most venomous when he is most enraged.  I took up a flat stone, about six inches square, and lobbed it on his coil.  He suddenly darted out towards me; but, as I had anticipated, he was encumbered with the stone.  I now advanced, and struck him on the head with my stick.  I repeated the blow until he seemed to be deprived of sensation, when I drew my hunting knife and decapitated him.  For a full hour afterwards the body retained all the vigour and sensitiveness which it possessed previous to decapitation, and on touching any part of it, would twist round in the same manner as when the animal was perfect.  Sensation gradually disappeared, departing first from the extremities—­more towards the wounded extremity than towards the other, but gradually from both, until it was entirely gone.  The length of this reptile was about four feet, and the skin was extremely beautiful.  Nothing could exceed the beauty of his eye.  A clear black lustre characterizes the eye of this animal, and is said to produce so powerful an effect on birds and smaller animals, as to deprive them of the power of escaping.  This snake had eight rattles, so that he must have been at least eleven years old.  I understood afterwards that there was a rattle-snakes’ den in the neighbourhood.  They appear to live in society, and the large quantities that are frequently found congregated together are astonishing.  The Jacksonville (Illinois) Gazette of the 22d April, 1830, says, “Last week, a den of rattle-snakes was discovered near Apple Creek, by a person while engaged in digging for rock in that part of our country.  He made known the circumstance to the neighbours, who visited the place, where they killed 193 rattle-snakes, the largest of which (as our informant, who was on the spot, told us) measured nearly four feet in length.  Besides these, there were sixteen black snakes destroyed, together with one copper-head.  Counting the young ones, there were upwards of 1000 killed.”  There are two species of rattle-snake, which are in constant hostility with each other.  The common black snake, whose bite is perfectly innoxious, and the copper-head, have also a deadly enmity towards the rattle-snake, which, when they meet it, they never fail to attack.

The next ridge of mountains is called the “laurel hills,” which are covered with an immense growth of different species of laurel.  Between these and the Alleghany ridge are situated “the glades”—­beautiful fertile plains in a high state of cultivation.  This district is most healthy, and fevers and agues are unknown to the inhabitants.  Here the “Delawares of the hills” once roamed the sole lords of this fine country; and perhaps from the very eminence from whence I contemplated the beauty of the scene, some warrior, returning from the “war path” or the chase, may have gazed with pleasure on the hills of his fathers, the possessions of a long line of Sylvan heros, and in the pride of manhood said—­’The Delawares are men—­they are strong in battle,