Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1881-04-14
55 a.. MExICo, MO, THURSDAY, APRIL IL 1881
EGGS IN PIKE COUNTY. PA.

EGGS IN PIKE COUNTY. Pa.
The sheriff's Experience with Brood Of
Swapping Turtles way Back
in Fifty-Four.
From the New York Sun.
''How are eggs to-day?' inquired
the Sheriff, as he leaned on the Crisis
man House bar and watched Frank
mix the ex-Poundmaster his favorite
beverage of seltzer and lemon juice.
'The egg market is in such state
that this bar don't break another egg
in a glass for you, and let yon flavor
it with four fingers and a thumb Of
SIG brandy, unless you get over the
impression that you can pay for it
with 10-pence and get back 5 cents
in change" said Frank, as he hand
ed out 5 cent cigar to the editor,
and put il lon the slate.
s'That's business said the Coun-
ty Clerk. "Keep that up, Frank, and
after awhile you can buy new slate,
and won't have to sponge this one
off every time you fill it. -
eggs" said the Sheriff, taking a
chair by the stove, ''eggs is eggs, 1
know, but l remember a time when
eggs were so scarce that if the yolks
of all you could have found in the
whole country had been rolled into
one it wouldn't have filled the cavity
in the milk tooth of a spring chicken.
That was in "a, / THINK
''Do you mean the year that crows
eggs was fetchin' four an six doz-
en- long the Lackawack, an Charley
King opened five bushels o. the suck
ers to git eggs Cor breakfas' on the
mornin' O. Paas?" asked the old
Squire. s'That were '53, Sheriff. -
"Well, sir, in the spring of '54,"
said the Sheriff, ''we had an old hen,
and she wanted to set bad. She was
just spelling to set. She'd get up
nights and 60 spooking around to
find place with eggs in it. She got
down in the cellar and settled herself
on peck measure Of turnips and
commenced Matching them out. We
drove her away. One day found
her out in the garden huddled down
in peace. She was engaged in warm
ing up china door-knob to see what
she could get out Of it. I felt very
sorry for tpe hen and let her set. A
day or SO hfterward l found a snap.
ping turtles snest in the sand along
the river. There was twelve eggs in
it. 1 took them home and put them
nnder the old hen. 1 thought I'd
have some fun, anyhow. Well, sir
she hatched those eggs out, and ]
want toitell you that that experiment
satisfied me that whatever a her
matches is part of her or the family
she belongs to. Maybe you won
believe it, but those little turtles hat
feathers on their legs"
''How old was the hen?" asked th'
Poundmaster, as the Sheriff paused.
''They had feathers on their legs
continued the Sheriff, without motto
ing the inquiry, ''and they had littl
: spurs. The old hen was little sur
prised at first when she discovere.
what brood she had, but she go
J along with them first-rate until the,
= were 3 or 4 weeks old, and then sh
found them hard to manage. Their
} wasn't enough chicken in the turtle
to make them feel at home In th
? poultry-yard. and one by one the,
l disappeared until they were all gone
They had found their way to the riv
s er, and I never expected to see any 9
them again. The next summer wa
fishing up in the eddy, and prett
q soon saw good sized swapping turtl
swim in to shore and crawl up on th
sand. He wasn't more than ten fec
e from me, but he either didn't Sc
me or else didn't mind me. He wall
t ed around minute, and then bega
to scratch in the sand. l though
e that was funny, and couldn't under
stand it. His next move made e,
erything clear to me. He raised u
/ his hind legs, tapped his flippel
against his sides, stretched out b
= neck, aid you may fire me throug
that wall if he didn't crow! He W:
: one of the turtles that my old he
hatched out, and his chicken natul
1 had developed. I tried to catch hin
but he was just as good turtle as
y was chicken, and he got into Il
e water. never saw any more of hin
but if he has any descendants I ms
y get one of them yet, and if l do, l
bring it down and show it to YOU"
y