Septen_. chap. 33.
Dr. Hammond has expressed the opinion that the North American Indians
enjoy the same immunity from the virus of the rattlesnake, that certain
African tribes do from some vegetable poisons (_Hygiene_, p. 73). But his
observation must be at fault, for many travellers mention the dread these
serpents inspired, and the frequency of death from their bites, e. g.
_Rel. Nouv. France_. 1667, p. 22.
[109-2] _Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner_, p.
356.
[110-1] See Gallatin's vocabularies in the second volume of the _Trans.
Am. Antiq. Soc._ under the word _Snake_. In Arabic _dzann_ is serpent;
_dzanan_ a spirit, a soul, or the heart. So in Hebrew _nachas_, serpent,
has many derivatives signifying to hold intercourse with demons, to
conjure, a magician, etc. See Noldeke in the _Zeitschrift fuer
Voelkerpsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft_, i. p. 413.
[111-1] Alexander Henry, _Travels_, p. 117.
[111-2] _Bost. Med. and Surg. Journal_, vol. 76, p.
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