A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
A wealthy, childless couple living near the St John’s River consults an older healer after other attempts have failed. The treatment seems to succeed, but the expectant mother is ashamed of the poor woman’s appearance and drives her away. The healer retaliates. The mother later gives birth to two large serpents instead of the child anticipated by the finely decorated cradle.
Both serpents have a white ring around the neck and red side stripes. They go directly into the nearby lake, where the telling says they have occasionally been seen since. Leland’s text calls their mother Mohawk while labelling the telling Passamaquoddy: a character’s stated identity is distinct from the story’s transmission label. The chapter adds a separate fish-related revenge conception, but does not establish that it concerns this same couple or these two serpents.
Origins & earliest records
Leland’s 1884 chapter is labelled Passamaquoddy and notes that it was narrated in Indian-English, his period term. No individual teller or exact collection date is identified in the selected chapter. The lake is near the St John’s River but is not named.
Records & interpretation
Complete selected narrative and attached source notes were inspected. Leland’s editorial comparisons and theories remain separate from the narrated actions.
In the literature
“They had each a white ring round the neck and red stripes down the sides.”
The Mother of Serpents · Leland English collector/reteller; individual teller qualification in attestation
An insulted older helper retaliates against the wealthy expectant woman; two large snakes are born, with white neck rings and red side stripes, and immediately enter the nearby lake. They are said to remain occasionally visible. A separately appended sorcerer/fish anecdote ends only in the daughter becoming a mother and does not explicitly describe a second pair of striped snake children. Practical fertility/ritual preparations excluded.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
The Algonquin Legends of New England
The Mother of Serpents; complete relevant narrative and contributor notes.
- 02
The Algonquin Legends of New England — Ring-necked lake serpents (St John’s narrative) selected lake narratives
Leland original work1884; selected Gutenberg6803 plain transcription lacks inspected printed-imprint/page data, exact print impression and page numbers unidentified. Full author Preface and Authorities read.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
The Algonquin Legends of New England
Leland original work1884; selected Gutenberg6803 plain transcription lacks inspected printed-imprint/page data, exact print impression and page numbers unidentified. Full author Preface and Authorities read.
- An insulted older helper retaliates against the wealthy expectant woman; two large snakes are born, with white neck rings and red side stripes, and immediately enter the nearby lake. They are said to remain occasionally visible. A separately appended sorcerer/fish anecdote ends only in the daughter becoming a mother and does not explicitly describe a second pair of striped snake children. Practical fertility/ritual preparations excluded.
The Mother of Serpents; complete bounded selected prose narrative and described appended note
No whole collection/introduction, independent oral recording or separate comparative work inspected; diffusion/antiquity/scientific interpretations not independently demonstrated. Lyrics, formulas and practical ritual/treatment instructions excluded.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textLeland 1884: The Mother of SerpentsResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.