ON BOTH COASTS 119 



back rattlesnake. When one of the visitors would 

 go up the island after deer he preferred to mount 

 a pony and undertake to shoot from its back rather 

 than to trudge through the dense undergrowth 

 when any step might bring him within striking 

 distance of this dreaded reptile. When a gentle- 

 man from Boston related an experience which he 

 had two years before at the very point where the 

 hotel had since been built, the reluctance on the 

 part of the visitors to come into close quarters 

 with Florida rattlers sensibly increased. He was 

 one of a party of four who were cruising along 

 the gulf coast in a sharpie. They landed at the 

 foot of Pine Island, and two of the party started 

 up the island after deer. They walked about a 

 hundred yards apart, and had not gone far when 

 one heard his companion's gun go off and called 

 out asking what he had shot. Getting no reply, 

 he hastened to his friend, whom he found on the 

 ground and by him a rattlesnake which he had 

 shot. The snake had struck him in the calf of the 

 leg, and in spite of everything that could be done, 

 the man died before night. 



The first visit of a northerner to this section is 

 certain to be filled with novel experiences. Never 

 before has he seen oysters growing on trees, but 

 here, at low tide, this phenomenon may be observed 

 at any time. The so-called " coon " oysters attach 

 themselves to the boughs which droop over and into 

 the water at high tide, and when the tide has gone 



