The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1888-02-04
An Adventure With a "Dia-
mond-Back. .

had gone out for sail. But it
was in one Of those delightfully."-
primitive "home-made" boats which
abound on this river, and which sail
equally well whether bow foremost
or stern foremost. Equally well, !
say, but their best is bad. This
boat would not beat to winward at
all, and | was too lazy to row.
was waiting in the hope that an
alligator or big turtle would per
haps obligingly tow me to the shore,
when from the direction of the
house there came a succession of
sharp, ringing shots, evidently
the reports of a rifle And with
these came the screams of children
the barking of a dog, and other
evidences of an unusual commotion.
This was, remembered, on the third
day after our arrival in the Land of
Flowers. There were no Indians
about, and it did not seem possible
that the house could be beseiged by
bears; though. failing some such eX-
planation as the presence of large
game, | could not surmise what this
rifle fusillade meant. | attempted
to pole to the shore, but it soon be-
came evident that Harrys boat was
no more true to the pole than to her
course in beating to windward; so,
to solve the difficulty, | stepped
overheard and waded ashore. The
fun was all over by the time | came
on the field; but there, in the path
that led from house to river, lay a
vertible diamond-back, dead; one
bullet through his neck, his spine
broken by another, and his tail lac
Grated by a third. 1t turned out
that while the children, with "Fan-
ME" Ga favorite Gordon setter-dog),
were running down to the water,
the dog-ahead, as usual-"pointed' .
at something in the grass, just out of
the path. Fastening up, in the ex-
pectation of flushing a quail, or per-
haps a rabbit, Dotty (my daughter,
aged eigh) found this big diamond
back on the alert and ready for
business. AS an armed pirate lights
its battle-lanterns, clears its decks.
and beats to quarters, so this terri
bic cruiser of the land had kindled
his eyes into flame, disposed his
body in a coil, and sprung his por-
tentous rattle. Luckily, our "Dot,"
who had visited museums in st.
Augustine, well knew what all this
meant, and prepared to beat re-
treat, calling on "Fan" to follow
But that innocent creature, all un-
familiar with diamond-backs, had
the curiosity of her sex, and invited
nearer approach to see if the thing
were dangerous or not. So, as the
snake was but q few feet of, and
time was precious, and the story of
Eve and Eden and the tempter too
long to tell, dot" caught the dog
by the tail, and dragged her uphill
and out of danger. Meanwhile, the
alarm had been given at the house,
and a gentleman, who happened to
be at home, re-enforcing the party
with a rife, the reptile was soon dis
patched. In measurement it fell
short Of seven feet by only one inch.
And we all thought it a rather large
snake to find within hundred feet
Of our dwelling-house, and almost
in the path that we daily travelled
in going to and from the river.
The Herr Doctor thought so, too:
but, in his seventeen years on the
place, he had seen but three dia-
mond-backs, and these were miles
from the house. And you may be
sure that during that night, and for
several nights thereafter, held my
little girl very closely in my arms
before we put her to bed, and that
limits were promptly set to the
children's explorations of field and
groves st. Nicholas for Februar1t