188 A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO. 



ing that if he put his head down to graze he 

 might make a discovery. Then a horrid thought 

 came to me. The people said the rattlers some- 

 times lost their rattles. In a general way, rat- 

 tlers and gopher snakes look alike ; what if this 

 were a rattlesnake, and at my bidding my little 

 horse should be struck ! But no. There was 

 no mistaking the long tapering body of the go- 

 pher, and it lacked the wide flat head of the 

 rattler. But I might have spared myself my 

 fears. Billy would not even put his head down, 

 and when I tried to force him upon the snake he 

 quietly turned aside. To make the snake move, 

 I threw a stick at it, but it was as obstinate as 

 Billy himself. Then I slipped to the ground, and 

 picking up a long pole gave it a gingerly little 

 poke. Still motionless ! I tried another plan, 

 taking Billy away a few yards. Then at last 

 the snake slowly pulled itself along. But the 

 moment we came back it turned into a stick 

 again, and Billy relapsed into indifference. It 

 was no use. I could do nothing with either of 

 them. I would see the snake go off, anyway, I 

 thought, so withdrew and waited till it felt re- 

 assured, when it started. Its silken skin shone 

 as it wormed silently through the grass and dis- 

 appeared down a hole without a sound, and I 

 reflected that it might also come up without a 

 sound, very likely beside me as I sat on the dead 

 leaves ! 



