CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
151 
upon his abdomen and sides behaves in very much the same 
manner as that of the dying dog. 
The scales upon the rattler’s abdomen differ greatly from 
the remainder of his covering. They have the appearance of 
knife blades, extending all the way from one side to the other, 
and are designed to give traction. The skin is geared to his 
internal power plant much the same as the metal track of a 
caterpillar tractor is geared to the motor and transmission sys¬ 
tem. The track of the tractor goes all the way over, but such 
principle not being possible with the rattler, a rather ingenious 
principle serves the same purpose. The skin, while he is in 
motion, moves forward and backward, many sectors alternat¬ 
ing as he advances. Some hold to the theory that the skin of 
their underside is attached to the ends of their ribs, and that 
their ribs, when in motion, perform in very much the same 
manner as the oars of a boat’s crew. 
It is worthy of mention in passing that wise old King Solo¬ 
mon lamented the fact that the way of a serpent upon a rock 
puzzled him exceedingly. The best scholars of his day and 
time did not have as adequate facilities for acquiring such 
knowledge as students and observers of the present day. Had 
the X-ray and moving picture cameras and projectors been in 
common use during the era in which he lived, then such mys¬ 
tery would have vanished quickly. 
But the curtains had already been drawn on the first act of 
this little drama—the little doggie was dead—dead as a door 
nail. Now Uncle Dave has his turn with his trusty old shot¬ 
gun—he would go on the warpath himself for a brief season. 
Following the tracks of Pee Wee as he fled from the scene of 
the assault, he was led quickly to the spot. While some dis¬ 
tance still from the locality he had already suspicioned as being 
the scene of the tragedy, he paused briefly to survey his sur¬ 
roundings. Observing a mound of yellow sand in the wire- 
grass, he reflected over the season of the year as well as the 
nature of these creatures—he stood convinced that it was an 
old female guarding her young about this gopher hole. Such 
being their usual place of abode while caring for their young. 
They should have been hatched in May, and would not be 
