4 
CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
locate their place of hibernation, he would thereby acquire the 
advantage he sought, and needed so badly. 
By noting the direction from whence they came in the spring 
of the year when they were coming out of their winter quar¬ 
ters, and also observing the direction they traveled in the fall, 
he finally found what he had long sought. On the great sand 
deposits and oak thickets found along the eastern sides of 
rivers and small streams they made their winter quarters. 
The hard-shell gopher (as he is called in this section of the 
country), or to be more specific, the burrowing land tortoise, 
had preceded him and had built convenient dugouts which the 
rattlers freely appropriated to their own needs. Ordinarily 
the rattler chooses a dugout which has been abandoned by its 
former owner, but he does not obligate himself to do so. 
When he finds a hole to his liking which already has a tenant 
(in the person of Mr. Gopher) he walks boldly in and shares 
the comforts thereof without so much as saying, “By your 
leave, sir.” No particular discomfort is occasioned either of 
them by such trespassing. The gopher is one of the most 
peaceably disposed animals to be found anywhere—he has no 
desire to harm the trespasser—the trespasser could not harm 
him if he so desired. There being no inconvenience or special 
discomfort occasioned either of them due to such dual occu¬ 
pancy, then it would be so ordained. 
Thoughtful persons have long observed that these sand 
deposits are always found on the same side of streams in this 
section of the State. Such sand deposits, if I may be permitted 
to digress slightly, present a geological mystery. Presuming 
upon the reader’s kind indulgence we shall touch upon this 
mystery very briefly, even though it is related only indirectly 
to the main subject being treated. It is not recalled that at 
any time during the past we have ever read an attempted ex¬ 
planation by any reputable geologist. These deposits are in¬ 
variably found on the east side of all streams running south 
along the coastal plains, evidently the result of some invisible 
and hitherto inexplicable force of nature. If a single exception 
should ever be found the reader should not jump too quickly 
at conclusions. It is not impossible that while the mists of 
