CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
159 
they would not strike out of their coil, neither strike higher 
than the knee, and would not under any circumstances abandon 
their coil and charge a human being. While such reports, gen¬ 
erally speaking, are true, it might at any time lead one into 
the most grievous error should they trust too much to these 
general observations. Much depends on the size, age, the in¬ 
dividual rattler’s temperament and the degree to which he 
has been provoked. Among rattlers, as among men, there is 
a varying degree of decency. Some are so even tempered and 
slow to anger that they could be picked up with ungloved 
hands, while others would not make fit companions for assas¬ 
sins. The above incident occurred during the mating season, 
which is decidedly the most dangerous time of the year in 
which to expose oneself in infested territory. 
The horseman who encountered the savage resistance at the 
hands of the giant rattler related that on his return home he 
suffered from nausea and general nervousness and could not 
sleep during any portion of the night following the incident. 
Such condition was attributed by him to the objectionable odor 
exuded by the rattler while so enraged. Some hold to the 
opinion, and they are not wholly without evidence to sustain 
them, that the musky odor of the rattler possesses the peculiar 
quality of stupefying their prey, thus precluding the possibility 
of too much resistance to their attempt at fascination. Such 
musk will sicken human beings, producing a very painful head¬ 
ache, and otherwise generally upset those exposed to it, but 
the writer has never learned of a human being rendered un¬ 
conscious by reason of it. 
Those capable of instantly distinguishing the odor of the 
rattler often take notice of it in swamp regions and in other 
quiet localities where the chances of him having been disturbed 
is rather remote. This would appear to lend credence to the 
contention that they frequently utilize their musk for the pur¬ 
pose of stupefying their prey, thereby taking much of the fight 
out of him. Regardless, men who have hunted these creatures 
for any length of time will tell anyone that whatever trick is 
required, the rattler usually has it. In short, he is master of 
many arts. Like the elephant, they appear never to forget any- 
