C. T. Suddeth

Joint Snake—Cherokee ᏗᏔᏟᏍᎩ ditatlisg(i). Early southern settlers also believed in a mythical joint snake that could be cut up and each piece would regenerate into a snake. Benjamin Franklin’s 1754 political cartoon, Join, or Die, featured a joint snake.

Likely based on legless lizards AKA glass lizards who can regenerate missing tails. Their dried skin when sloughed off is brittle and glass-like. (Legless lizards look like snakes but have several differences)