CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
115 
entertains the most profound respect, hold that man’s antip¬ 
athy toward reptiles is somewhat obscured by the mists of 
antiquity. They wdll tell you, unblushingly, that in man’s prim¬ 
itive state he was compelled to resort to tree life, even sleeping 
in a bed of twigs and leaves, far above the ferocious beasts of 
the jungle. But, strange as it might seem, it was not the roar¬ 
ing lion which instilled fear in the rugged heart of our primi¬ 
tive ancestors as they sought repose upon their bed of twigs 
at the close of the day, but another more crafty, more dan¬ 
gerous, and more stealthy—the serpent. In the darkness of 
the night he would climb the tree, as noiselessly as a slippered 
monk on a velvet carpet. If, while in the act of robbing his 
treetop cradle, the serpent should arouse the father and 
mother, then a fierce battle for possession of the babe would 
ensue, and with the odds all against our primitive parents. All 
too often they would awaken in the morning to view an empty 
cradle. 
As intimated in the beginning of the above paragraph, such 
represents merely the theorizing of learned men. We neither 
endorse their theories nor condemn them. If, however, the 
primitive existence of man has been correctly portrayed, then 
it does not require a genius to understand man’s aversion to 
reptiles—the law of heredity being as pronounced as the law 
of self-preservation. 
But is it not time we were turning our attention again to 
Uncle Dave? He cannot be left alone for long before we find 
him in another fight with a rattler. On this occasion, however, 
we find him merely observing a duel between a diamond-back 
and a king snake—simply occupying a ringside seat while the 
fight went on to a decision. Now, the king snake seems to be 
a close cousin to the python and tropical boa, non-venomous, 
but killing his enemies and prey by constriction. He had taken 
notice of a small king snake trailing something. While they 
had met face to face, the little fellow was so absorbed with his 
business that he did not so much as respond to the old gentle¬ 
man’s “Howdy do?” Here’s my chance to learn something, 
thought he. So he strolled along, bringing up the rear, so to 
speak, until the little fellow’s queer behavior might be better 
