Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-05-28
Among Rattiesnakes.
THE TERRIBLE ADVENTURE OF. A

THE TERRIBLE ADVENTURE OF. A
SCHOOL GIRL.
A young lady in this city has received
the following letter from her friend who
is at boarding school, giving a thrilling
account of her adventure with large
rattlesnake:
Dear lldggie.-Three weeks ago yes
terday afternoon three young ladies be-
sides myself, who had gone out in a
walking party with one of the teachers
at the school in this place, strolled off
from the rest of the party, and, losing
our way, were unable for some time to
tell where we were, as the wood and un-
| derWood were so thick that the further
we penetrated into it the more difficult
our passage. We wandered to and fro
for long time until almost overcome
with fatigue, when we sat dowa on
a huge boulder to recover our lost
strength. Looking at our watches we
| found that we had been on the mountain
nearly six hours, and felt hungry dis
tressed and tired,
1t was about 5 O'Clock in the afternoon
and twilight was fast approaching. "Oh,
but for something to eat, ;" my compan-
ion said, land then we could struggle
on and try to find the school again. .U-
She appeared to be the picture of despair.
We were sitting some feet above the
ground alongside of huge oak tree and,
presently felt something moving on
my neck. placed my hand to my neck
to remove it, when, horrible to relate, 1
grasped something round and soft which
Missed like an adder.
| tried to pull it from my neck, but it
wriggled and squirmed, and my COM
pan1on, seeing the monster on my body
shrieked and screamed and almost faint.
ed. just at that moment the head made
3 dart at my breast, with mouth oper
and tongue enolgated, and kissing 6
death like and horrible sound. My ief
hand was about six inches from its head
aud, IN order to prevent being bitten,
grasped it with my right hand.
Holding it in this way for several SEQ
onds, my companion shrieked to me tt
throw the snake from me. L tried to dc
so, but was powerless, being, as it seem
ed to me, t2ansfixed or charmed to the
spot by the horrid eyes of the monster
l tried to talk, but my jaws would MOI
open, and my tongue appeared stiff. /
felt the cold aWeat trickling down my
back, and large drops of perspiration
stood on my forehead. My face was as
white as the driven snow, and I could
neither move nor talk, but seemed to bs
as sti f as q post. 1t makes me shudder
as write, to think of the stare of the
reptile.
Annie, my companion, seeing my
dangerous situation, screamed for help
She seemed to have been bereft of rea.
son, for instead of coming to my assis.
tance she started to run away. Trying
to turn my head to see whittier she had
gone, the eyes of the snake were als(
directed in the direction in which Annie
was shriehing. From that moment the
snakes spell on me was broken, ant
with all my might I hurled it from me
No sooner had the snake landed on thu
ground than I ran with the fieetness 0
the deer, fearing that it would overtak'
me.
Judge of my feelings, when, aimos
out of breath and ready to sink down t.
earth from sheer exhaustion, l turned
around and found snake with thre,
others, several PAGES from me, in no
. pursuit. 1 remembered that snake
were afraid of anything red. Fortunate
: ly, having on a red skirt, Immediately
exposed it to the reptiles view, and they
at once stopped the pursuit. l advanced
toward them, shaking my red skirt ant
they retreated. gathered up stones an,
threw at them and killed the largest on
and the others escaped through tn
rocks. Just at this moment a deputa
} ton from the school who had been il
search of us came up. The large snak
that had coiled itself around my necl
: was found by the escort, and it measur
: ed nine feet and four inches.-Rcadin.
Eagle.
AN IRATE ELEPHANT t
John Robinson's circus, that yisite
Frostburg Monday, is vicious elephant
| weighing 5000 pounds, that has alread,
! killed two colored men, his keepers
Going through the tollgate west of Frost
burg, Tuesday morning, the elephan
was slightly refractory, and was prodde,
, by his keeper, stalwart colored mai
r from South Carolina. AT watering
! trough, some distance further on, b
again became troublesome, and his keer
+ er. who was walking beside, him agail
, punched him with the goad. whereupo
t the elephant turned, and, with an angr
3 snort, with his trunk lifted the keepe
: and dashed him length-wise, and wit
: the greatest precision, into the watering
q trough. The man was only ducked an
t slightly bruised. Cumberland (Md,
: Nesos.