CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
Nations of the earth, from time to time, engage in bloody 
wars over boundaries, “living space,” trade, or to redeem their 
national honor and prestige, but David Nettles, of Nicholls, 
Georgia, who responds more readily to the name of “Uncle 
Dave,” has a little war all his own, and none who have ever 
learned at first hand of his reasons for declaration of hostili¬ 
ties are prone to criticize him for his unrelenting prosecution 
of a truceless war. 
His little war, which is very much a personal one, is against 
the formidable and deadly diamond-rattler, one of which took 
the life of one of his sons many years ago. Up until that time 
he had not taken the aggressive, but satisfied himself with 
knocking off the heads of the ones which daringly, or carelessly 
came across his path, then pursuing the even tenor of his way. 
The son who was fatally bitten was not molesting the reptile, 
and the father of the victim bore stoically the inward pain 
caused by the dreadful suffering and final death of his son, 
being powerless to assuage the suffering of his son, or to stay 
the hand of death. 
Subsequent to this dreadful tragedy suffered by the old gen¬ 
tleman he doubled his vigilance, at least to the extent of pur¬ 
suing his dread adversary when circumstances and opportunity 
happily combined. In this manner he succeeded in running 
down his most loved (?) enemy and administering to many of 
his tribe the punishment all mankind considered, since the 
episode in the Garden, to be his just and proper due. 
When a second son had been bitten while engaged in a per¬ 
fectly peaceful pursuit, and a third had dodged a strike by 
the breadth of a hair, he concluded definitely that if it was 
war they sought, between themselves and the Nettles family, 
then they could have it. He would give them the war they 
asked for, and to the very hilt. From that day on he never 
passed up an opportunity to pursue them. No task was so 
pressing but that he would lay down his tools and go sleuth¬ 
ing, whenever and wherever he had good prospects of coming 
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