CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
177 
as he related having once seen two coachwhips make common 
cause against a large bulldog. The man and his dog came upon 
the female as she was faithfully guarding her brood. The 
snake pulled all her tricks out of the bag, but without results. 
The coachwhip can make the most menacing gestures of any 
wild creature that ever went into battle to be absolutely harm¬ 
less. Seeing that she was fighting a losing battle, she com¬ 
menced whistling for her mate, and presto, he was upon the 
scene of conflict. The dog diverted his attention to the male 
and soon took him apart, but the female succeeded in conceal¬ 
ing her brood and found herself a place of safe concealment 
that she might continue to attend her little ones. Thus do 
nature’s creatures fight their daily battles in the wild. Neither 
of the two seemed to think of themselves, but both their minds 
were directed instantly and instinctively to their little ones lest 
the future of their clan be imperiled. The male could best be 
sacrificed. 
In the light of the above it is perfectly reasonable to pre¬ 
sume that the boa-constrictor employed the same method of 
luring the rubber worker from his boat in the Amazon River. 
If the secret of luring prey by reptiles employing a call was 
known to Mr. Slater and the natives of Brazil, then such point 
was not made clear. 
