What they say in New England; a book of signs, sayings, and superstitions (1896)
Johnson, Clifton, 1865-1940, comp · Boston, Lee and Shepard · leaf 107
er. They aint afraidof a man no moren nothin, and theycan run fastern any horse goin. The 100 Snakes way the snake does is to pick its tailup in its mouth, arid then whirl overand over like a hoop. His tail is sharp-pointed and hard like a spike. Whenhe catches up with you, he just takeshis tail… … pose that means he is paralyzed, turnsblack, shrivels up, and like enoughblows away. When one of these hoop-snakes strikes its tail into anythingwooden, — a hoe-handle, for instance, —it shivers the wood into splinters, justas if it had been struck by lightning. Another snake you want to beware…
Folklore · Omens · Superstition
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