[A politician from southwestern Georgia relates the following.]
"I was in New York the other day and went out one night with a party of
friends. We got to discussing snakes, and I mentioned the existence of our
glass snake -- 'jinted snake,' as our negroes call them. They all laughed
at me, and to save my life I couldn't make them believe there was such a
thing, which was strange, for the average New Yorker is the most credulous
creature on earth, and especially will he believe any sort of tale about the
south. Why, I myself have persuaded them that banana trees furnish most of
the shade for Atlanta, and that alligators infest the sewers. It doesn't
take the average southerner long to find this out when he lands in Gotham,
and the result is he takes pleasure in [retelling?] the most remarkable
series about this section."