CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
101 
tage of this fact. 
The chaparral cock (or commonly termed road-runner) of 
the West has also proved himself an uncompromising enemy 
to the black rattler infesting most of the Western United 
States. His slender body, long legs, neck and beak equip him 
admirably for the manner of fight he forces upon his adversary. 
When the enemy is spotted he advances boldly toward the coil 
and makes a thrust at him with his long wing, exercising care 
to see that only his wing feathers are exposed to the fangs of 
his adversary. When the rattler strikes, throwing himself out 
of his coil, he is somewhat helpless for a split second. During 
this brief interval of time the road-runner advances quickly, 
pecks him upon the head with his long beak, then retires for 
the purpose of provoking another thrust. He continues such 
tactics until the rattler has been destroyed. 
As for man, eternal warfare between the two is taken for 
granted. Every time he goes forth in the cool of the day, fol¬ 
lowed by his faithful dog to round up his cattle, goes hunting 
or fishing in the river swamp, he can never carry the assurance 
with him that his dog will return safely from the chase. 
Usually, when least expected, that dreadful whir-r-r-r assaults 
his ears, his dog yelps because of the pain inflicted, then comes 
running to lie down at his master’s feet, trembling, and to die. 
This starts the whole war all over again. Seizing some con¬ 
venient weapon, he beats the villain into a pulp. There, side 
by side, lie the rattler and the dog, with the remainder of the 
world little the better for it all. But then this is the way of 
outdoor life in heavily infested territory. 
In our long study of this fellow, and in our conversations 
with men who have spent long years endeavoring to exter¬ 
minate him, we not infrequently learn of incidents which con¬ 
vince us that these criminals of the animal underworld actually 
prefer to abandon their age-old war with man and establish a 
more amicable relationship. We even fancy that they are often 
possessed with a genuine desire to join man in invoking that 
day promised by Isaiah, the prophet, when he wrote— 
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard 
shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion 
