CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
141 
the attention of the nearest observatory to the spot, and with 
the aid of their superior equipment they may wrest some hid¬ 
den secret from the heavens which may well prove of enduring 
wealth or benefit to their science. Such comet or planetoid is 
very obliging under such circumstances. It will remain sus¬ 
pended in infinite space until all who have the curiosity to do 
so may train their telescopes upon her and have a good look. 
Such cannot be said for the rattler. When observed in the act 
of hypnotizing a squirrel, rabbit, or bird, he will not obligingly 
await the arrival of the newsreel man, summoned from the city 
by telegraph or telephone. On the contrary, when they arrive 
upon the scene the show is all over and he has departed for 
the jungle with the challenge, “Find me if you can.” 
It was with no prejudice whatever that we turned from 
so-called experts on reptiles and tied our fortunes in with lay¬ 
men, who really knew the rattler in the wild state, but rather 
that we might acquire the knowledge about him for which we 
had so long and so patiently sought. Needless to say that our 
patience was almost instantly rewarded. The Caterpillar Club 
boasts of one of the most exclusive memberships in the world. 
We believe that such honor rightfully belongs to the “Dia¬ 
mond-Back Charmers” of the Deep South. By such designa¬ 
tion we mean the small band of men who go out deliberately 
to hunt down and take alive the largest, most ferocious, most 
poisonous and most dreaded reptile on the North American 
Continent. He is doubtless the most dangerous snake in the 
whole world. 
We once knew a gentleman who had been employed by a 
large naval stores operator to exterminate rattlers along a 
river swamp in order that his employees working in the wood¬ 
lands might be more secure against such menace. It was a haz¬ 
ardous occupation, as the one accepting such employment well 
knew, yet the work required little physical exertion, and the 
compensation was attractive. For several years he plied his 
trade and all went well. Some days he would bag one, other 
days none, and when fortune smiled upon him he might take 
a dozen or two. A price of two dollars was placed upon their 
heads. It was a big day for him when he chanced to locate a 
