"Did it kill him?" Mary Van crawled further on the apron and sat beside the little boy.
"Hit wud er kilt him ef he hadn't er run'd an' got dem rattlesnake yerbs mouty quick,--an' dat's howcum Miss Eveses' chilluns know how ter kyore rattlesnake bite."
"'Caze Miss Eve watch de yerbs Mist'r Rattlesnake eat ter swage his pis'n, den she tell her chilluns ter eat de same kine ef he ev'r bite dem."[2]
[2] The old Cherokee Indian cure for rattlesnake poison is "Robin Plantain, Sweet Fern, Pine Snake root, Salve Weed, Devil's Shoe String, Wild Rosemary, and Red Joint." It was said that by infuriating the reptile until a wound was self-inflicted and then observing his selection of herbs as a remedy, the Indians found the antidote for rattlesnake bite. Reptiles that were bitten and kept in confinement died, while those allowed freedom to select and bite the herbs, recovered.
"Did Mist'r Rattlesnake bite Miss Eve's children?" asked Willis.
"He bite 'em ev'y time he git er chanct."
"But it don't kill them, because they know how to get cured, don't they, Mammy Phyllis?" Mary Van disliked tragedy.
"Miss Eve's Injun chillun kyores derse'f, but de res' er de fambly dies."
"No, Mist'r Rattlesnake shan't bite Miss Eve's children," said Mary Van, shaking her curls.
"You late in de day gittin' in yo' sayso, 'caze Mist'r Rattlesnake bite you ef you fools wid 'im; he ain' nuv'r git in er good hum'r wid nobody sense de Lawd make him wurk fur his livin'. He bin crawlin' crookid, an' doin' fokes crookid ev'r sense."
"How does he work?" Willis pulled her face to him.
"He wurk makin' uth'r fokes do his wurk fur 'im, dat's how he wurk. His ole 'ooman an' de chillun keep de sto', an' Unk Toad Frog try ter wurk de farm fur 'im, but Mist'r Rattlesnake done eat up so miny er de Toad Frog fambly dat Unk Toad ain' got nuf han's lef' ter make er crap. He tell Mist'r Rattlesnake ef he doan git sumbody ter hope him, he ain' gwine have no corn, so Mist'r Rattlesnake take out down de big road huntin' fur farm han's, he do. He come ter er passel er Hop'r Grasses settin' down on de side de road doin' nuthin', an' he tell 'em ef dey come an' hope him raise er crap er corn, he'll give 'em ha'f de crap. Well, suh, dem Hop'r Grasses plow an' hoe, an' weed, an' pick bugs off an'--"