alligators of the
river. The water-moccasin is about two feet in length, and has a
circumference of five or six inches. The tail possesses a horny point
about half an inch in length, which is harmless, though the Crackers and
negroes stoutly affirm that when it strikes a tree the tree withers and
dies, and when it enters the flesh of a man he is poisoned unto death.
The color of the reptile is a dirty brown. Never found far from water,
it is common in the swamps, and is the terror of the rice-field negroes.
The bite of the water-moccasin is exceedingly venomous, and it is
considered more poisonous than that of the rattlesnake, which warns man
of his approach by sounding his rattle.

The moccasin does not, like the rattlesnake, wait to be attacked, but
assumes the offensive whenever opportunity offers, striking with its
fangs at every animated object in its vicinity. All other species of
snakes flee from its presence. It is found as far north as the Peedee
River of South Carolina, and is abundant in all low districts of the
southern states. As the Suwanee had overflowed its banks below Old Town
Hammock, the snakes had taken to the low limbs of the trees and to the
tops of bushes, where they seemed to be sleeping in the warmth of the
bright sunlight; but as I glided along the shore a few feet from their
aerial beds, they discovered my presence, and dropped sluggishly into
the water. It would not be an exaggeration to say that we passed
thousands of these dangerous reptiles while descending the Suwanee.
Raftsmen told me that when traversing lagoons in their log canoes, if a
moccasin is met some distance from land he will frequently enter the
canoe for refuge or for rest, and instances have been known where the
occupant has been so alarmed as to jump overboard and swim ashore in
order to escape from this malignant reptile.

The only place worthy of notice between Old Town Hammock and the gulf
marshes is Clay Landing, on the left bank of the river, where Mrs.
Tresper formerly lived in a very comfortable house. Clay Landing was
used during the Confederate war as a place of deposit for blockade
goods. Archer, a railroad station, is but twenty miles distant, and to
it over rough roads the contraband imports were hauled by mule teams,
after having been landed from the fleet blockade-runner.

As the sun was sinking to rest, and the tree-shadows grew long on the
wide river's bosom, we tasted the saltness in the air as the briny