CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
27 
and Old Leo has tender zebra for lunch this time. That’s psy¬ 
chology of a high order. 
So we see that nature has given to all her creatures some 
definite advantage over all others, in order that they might be 
guaranteed a sufficient supply of food. Why, then, deny the 
rattler that skill which is his just due? For obvious reasons he 
declines to enter into speed contests with the hare. He cannot 
climb trees in pursuit of squirrels, neither fly as do birds of the 
air, yet all of these make dainty meals for him regularly. 
What, then, is the secret? 
If we should reduce to print here all that we have on the 
subject—testimony offered by the most reputable witnesses 
and observers, it would only serve to bore the reader. Hence 
we shall resort to a limited number. Uncle Dave came upon 
a rabbit at the mouth of a gopher hole, apparently dead, yet 
warm and limp. Nearby was sign where a large rattler had 
coiled—the sign was fresh. A careful inspection failed to 
reveal any fang wounds whatever. A puzzle to many, per¬ 
haps, but he could ferret out the mystery readily. It was quite 
evident to him that the rattler had the rabbit completely within 
his power as he came upon the scene; not only powerless insofar 
as locomotion was concerned, but completely hypnotized— 
reduced to a condition of complete unconsciousness, or maybe 
suspended animation. When he heard the sound of human 
footsteps he slid quickly and quietly into the underbrush which 
proved to be conveniently near, abandoning his prey for the 
moment. 
It seemed ordained from the beginning that the Nettles and 
the rattlers should never live as neighbors in harmony. Fate 
seemed to have decreed that there was never to exist an 
amicable relationship between them. Uncle Dave’s mother, a 
pioneer woman, recalled very clearly atrocities committed by 
the Seminole Indians. Each night she would aid in driving 
their herd of sheep into the corral near their little log house 
as a safeguard against the depredations of the wolves. Not 
infrequently did the Red Men disturb their slumber, raiding 
their fowl house. True enough, they were not always bent 
upon murder, but the peace of mind of the household to which 
