Last week while John Daniel, of Warbasses
Junction, was walking along the track of the Sussex Railroad near
the swamp, he discovered a large red-leg turtle near the roadbed,
which he exhibited in Newton on Saturday. It proved quite a curiosity,
and from the inscription on the shell, evidently is an "old timer"
in that neighborhood. On the lower shell were cut the letters, D.
L. & W. R. R., 1877. The upper shell gave abundance of evidence
that its turtleship had many narrow escapes from the gunners who frequent
the big meadows between Newton and Warbasses, as the shell bore many
marks of shots, and an outer edge had been broken off, leaving half
the imprint of the shot. Mr. Daniel says the turtle was steering toward
the Susquehanna railroad and was probably on its way to see if the
old box car station was still in service. After he has inscribed the
date of his find on the shell of the turtle, Mr. Daniel will release
it again. If it escapes the prey of "Jimmy" Quackenbush's wild cat,
it may again come into the possession of some traveler in that neighborhood.
[Kevin Wright - Question: Is this a hoax?
The D. L. & W. didn't acquire the Sussex Railroad until 1881.]
[Dave Rutan - Unsure. John I. Blair had a
lot to do with the construction of the line to Franklin. Maybe he
enlisted some D. L. & W. help?]