MECCA TO FIGTREE JOHN 183 



lord of Conejo Prieto. There is a legend, the truth 

 of which I may some day put to the proof, that the 

 rattlesnake will not cross a rope of this sort. Many 

 cowboys and others are convinced that this is a 

 fact, and John also affirmed it stoutly. I have some- 

 times, in specially snake-infested districts, laid the 

 rope round the place where I spread my blankets, 

 and can assert that I have never been bitten. This 

 may not be thought convincing, but I doubt if any 

 cowboy has better evidence to offer. ^ There is, how- 

 ever, a reasonable theoretical basis for the belief. 

 Any one who has handled a hair rope knows that it 

 is about as uncomfortable an article to the touch 

 as a thistle. The arrangement of the belly scales of 

 the rattlesnake is such that in the act of crawling, 

 the prickly hairs would certainly prove annoying — 

 perhaps enough so to cause the snake to change his 

 course. 



When I suggested a picture it was made plain to 

 me that the great do not receive but confer a favor 

 in being photographed. John demanded a round 

 sum, which in this case seemed not to be modified 

 on the score of friendship. When that was arranged 

 he took the position and expression of one who 

 bears intense pain with determination. Then the 

 great girl would be taken with her pet goat. No need 

 for any formula of "Look pleasant, please," with 

 smiling Juana. When I asked how I should address 



1 I have recently made the experiment with a sidewinder, which is 

 a small species of the rattlesnake. It passed over my hair rope three 

 times without any token of discomfort. Each time, however, the 

 snake was moving backwards. It is possible that in forward motion 

 the effect might be different. 



