CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
251 
Anyone familiar with the diamond-back knows that he will 
run for the underbrush no sooner than one turns their back 
upon him to search for a stick or pole. It has been reported 
on good authority that if one’s hat or coat is thrown down 
by the side of his coil he will remain upon the ground for a 
reasonable length of time. If true, the same constitutes an¬ 
other weakness in his armor, and is worth keeping in mind. 
It is almost universally believed that hogs possess a natural 
immunity to the venom of the rattler, but the idea is a mistaken 
one. It all depends upon where the hog is bitten, and the 
amount of fat he carries at the time of the attack. If the 
venom be embedded in pure fat where there is little if any blood 
circulation, then the creature suffers no harm, but if, for any 
reason, it enters the circulation, it kills the hog as quickly and 
as surely as it would any other wild animal. 
A farmer, well known to me, once related an interesting in¬ 
cident which serves to prove the point in question. He had a 
number of large hogs on a peanut field. Seeing them behaving 
in a peculiar manner, he went to investigate. There was evi¬ 
dence of a struggle of no little intensity, yet he could see noth¬ 
ing to provoke it. He clearly saw a large rattler fang ten of 
his hogs before he could intervene. Three of them died, while 
seven recovered from the attack. They were all bitten about 
the face or one the nose, where there is a minimum of fat. It 
is evident that the first three bitten were the ones receiving a 
fatal injection. The other seven received little if any venom, 
due to the fact that the rattler’s venom sacs were empty. 
This altercation led to another observation of considerable 
value. A very small pig was noticed loitering about the scene 
of the fracas, acting very much as though he had been doped— 
taking no interest whatever in the fight, later suffering from 
lost appetite and nausea. He was put up where he could be 
accorded special attention. The most appetizing food was pre¬ 
pared for him, and in about a week he had completely recov¬ 
ered from whatever it might have been that ailed him. He 
had not been fanged. That much was certain. All this left this 
observer very much in a quandary. 
He turned the little pig back into his field with a feeling 
