Tegmen

The Rattle-Snakes are found on all the Main of America, that I ever had any Account of; being so call'd from the Rattle at the end of their Tails, which is a Connexion of jointed Coverings, of an excrementitious Matter, betwixt the Substance of a Nail, and a Horn, though each Tegmen is very thin.

A New Voyage to Carolina; Containing the Exact Description and Natural History of That Country: Together with the Present State Thereof. And A Journal of a Thousand Miles, Travel'd Thro' Several Nations of Indians. Giving a Particular Account of Their Customs, Manners, &c. 1709