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.
It was too frightened to try to fly and I carried it nearly a mile
before it flew from my open hand."

If these observers are quite sure of what they saw, then undoubtedly
snakes have the power to draw birds within their grasp. I remember
that my mother told me that while gathering wild strawberries she
had on one occasion come upon a bird fluttering about the head of a
snake as if held there by a spell. On her appearance, the snake
lowered its head and made off, and the panting bird flew away.
A neighbor of mine killed a black snake which had swallowed a
full-grown red squirrel, probably captured by the same power of
fascination.




THE TRAGEDIES OF THE NESTS