Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-03-08
piAMoND-sAcK SNAKES

0iAMOND-6ACk SNAKES
= A' . rio..s. 81 NJ H.s9e s'-'
hid gone out for asSail HIT it wa,
in one of those delightfully."- primitive
homemade boats which abound
ON this river, and which sail equally
we'll whether bow foremost or stern
foremost Equally well, I say. but
their best is bad. This boat would not
beat to windward at all, and ! was
too lazy to row.
Twas waiting in the hope that IN
alligator or big turtle would perhaps
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 rife.
And with these came the screams OF
children. the barking of . dog and
other evidences of an unusual commo-
ton. This was, remember. 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 besieged by
bears; though, failing some such ex-
PLANTATION as the presence of large
game, 1 could not surmise what this
rife-fusillade meant attempted to
pole to the shore. but it soon became
evident that Harry's boat was no more
true to the pole than to her course in
beating to windward; so. to solve the
difficulty, l 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 veritable dianond-ba back.
dead; one bullet through his neck, his
spine broken by another and his tail
lacerated by . third. It turned out
that while the children, with "Fan-
ME" "a favorite Gordon settcr-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 . rabbit, Dotty. (my daughter.
aged eighty found this big diamond
back on the alert and ready for bust
ness, As an armed pirate lights its
battle-lanterns. clears its decks. and
beats to quarters, SO this terrible
cruiser of land had kindled his eyes
into flame. disposed his body in u
coil, and sprung his portentous rattle.
Luckily our dot" who had visited
museums in St. Augustine, we'll knew
what all this meant. and prepared to
beat a retreat. calling on Fan" to
follow. But that innocent creature,
all unfamiliar with diamond-backs,
had the curiosity of her sex. and in
vited nearer approach to see if the
thing were dangerous or not. So, as
the snake was but few feet of. and
time was precious. and the story of
Eve and Eden and the tcmpter 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 q
gentleman. who happened to be at
home. reinforcing the party with a
rife. the reptile was soon dispatched.
In measurement it fell short of seven |
feet only by one inch. And we all |
thought it 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 30
too; but in his seventeen years on the |
place, he had seen but three diamond
backs, and these were miles from the !
house. And you may be sure that dur
ing 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
vet to the children's explorations of |
fields and groves.-Charles Henry
Webb, in st. Nicholas.