CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
41 
eternal warfare run about fifty-fifty. In the dense undergrowth 
which abounds in these spring places one finds pig trails lead¬ 
ing into the pools of cool and refreshing water. Rabbits, squir¬ 
rels, rats and mice also utilize these paths for the above-stated 
purpose. Knowing all this, the reptile coils in the narrow path, 
or either lies outside it with his head and neck inside the trail. 
There is less resistance for the dog if he follow these paths, 
since there is often a network of briars and bamboo where no 
trail has been opened. Now any man or animal daring to 
molest the rattler’s food supply incurs his undying hatred. 
Knowing full well what the dog is up to, the latter cannot 
count upon any generosity should he stumble upon one un¬ 
aware. In all such cases the decision goes to the diamond-back. 
One by one nature is yielding up her secrets to men of in¬ 
quiring minds. All men do not possess a common interest, but 
rather cover the whole of the created universe, ever increasing, 
and enriching man’s accumulation of knowledge pertaining to 
that with which he is surrounded. It was not until recent years 
that the spawning ground of the eel was located, though it had 
been sought by men for centuries. All the rivers, and their trib¬ 
utaries in the United States, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean, 
are infested with them. There they feed and grow until they 
feel that urge of nature warning them that spawning time is 
at hand. When they must take their leave of the environment 
in which they have waxed fat, nothing short of force can stop 
them. Finding themselves blocked by a newly-constructed dam, 
they bore through, if possible. Failing in this, they would not 
hesitate to attempt passage over desert land, re-entering the 
water below the obstruction, then continuing their journey to 
the sea. Once they have gained the high seas, they head 
straight for the Sargossa. They are not without their reasons 
for selecting this quarter of the globe as their spawning ground. 
The ocean floor at this point is far below the normal level of 
the sea’s bottom, thus giving great depth of water in which to 
take her last and fatal plunge into the realm of Old Neptune. 
Once near the ocean’s floor she encounters such terrific pres¬ 
sure, due to the weight of the sea above her, that her eggs are 
yielded up by sheer force. When they ascend to the surface 
