46 
CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
ing each other with the points of their noses. They appeared 
to take no notice whatever of his presence, which afforded him 
an opportunity to discover the cause of the disagreement. 
Conveniently near he found a female rattler, coiled and 
patiently awaiting the result of the contest. She would serve 
the winner faithfully, be he her mate of last year, or his chal¬ 
lenger. She owed a duty to posterity and took that duty rather 
seriously. Her progeny w T ould always have their enemies, con¬ 
sequently it was imperative that they remain strong. As free 
from sentiment as nature may prove herself, nonetheless her 
laws are effective, since by eliminating the weaker ones in such 
manner, the strong always father the coming generation. 
Such process of eliminating the unfit is by no means limited 
to reptiles. By a somewhat different process, certain migratory 
water fowl resort to the most cruel method of eliminating the 
unfit of their kind, before the flock ever becomes burdened 
with their presence and care. The process is different, to be 
sure, but the objective to be attained is the same. They build 
their nests near the lakes and some height from the ground. 
When the young have attained such physical development as 
will enable them, in their mother’s opinion, to swim, she tum¬ 
bles them out of the nest with her beak. If the fall kills them, 
then well and good. Those who survive the fall will be taken 
down to the lake for swimming lessons, as well as to be taught 
something of the art of fishing. Consequently, when the time 
comes to make the long flight South the flock is not impeded 
by reason of weaklings. 
While the story was entirely new, we could readily see that 
the many points involved were entirely reasonable. That they 
do use their heads as weapons every one knows who has culti¬ 
vated much of an acquaintance with them. Dig a hole in the 
ground and drop one into it. It will be observed presently that 
he commences pounding the sides of the hole, presumably in 
the hope of finding a soft entrance leading into a side cavity, 
whereby he may make his escape. 
We have encountered many who were wholly unacquainted 
with the ways of the serpent who learned this one secret by 
losing a rattler they felt confident they had marked for their 
