16 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



rattlesnakes and the number grows as the tale is 

 peddled from mouth to mouth of imaginative 

 story-tellers. There is always the rattlesnake 

 who was caught asleep and surrounded by a 

 circlet of cholla cactus joints by a clever road- 

 runner. The rattlesnake wakes up and, realiz- 

 ing that he cannot escape, bites himself and 

 dies. Many frills and variations are put in to 

 make the story appear real. When you ask the 

 narrator if he witnessed the incident himself, he 

 always says he knows it is true, but "somebody 

 else told me." 



"This," says Major Bendire, "is a very plau- 

 sible story, and while I am only too well aware 

 of the spines of the cholla cactus, I know that 

 such a hedge proves no barrier to these snakes 

 and that they do not mind such obstructions 

 in the least, passing over without touching 

 them. I consider the story on a par with the 

 generally accepted belief of hunters and fron- 

 tiersmen in the West, that rattlesnakes will not 

 cross over horsehair ropes when laid around 

 one's bed when camping out. I was a firm be- 

 liever in the statement, and made use of this 

 snake protector for a number of years; but at 



