Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-01-04
Friskie and the HOLSTERS.

Friskie was the perfection of dog
beauty and accomplishments She
would lay back her long glossy ears and
drawing her upper lip away from the
lower one. show her white teeth in the
loveliest of smiles. She could Reg,
| waltz, walk on two feet, hide her break
fast and very innocently come for more;
she knew the butcher and baker and
grocer boy, and was always around
when they were, and her delicate nos
trils vibrated with life and the interest
she felt in everything. She had one
fault-curiosity. A few successful pill
ferings made her very daring. Her in
vestjgations led her into grave troubles
sometimes, as when she unrolled the
eggs. for instance, and scratched hole
in the paper bag holding the flour.
which got into her eyes aud al over her,
making her look Ike a dusty miller.
Her look of disgust when she put her
paw into the broken eggs and hobbled
off on three legs. with Bridget after
her, looking meanwhile at the drip
ping member, was very laughable. But
the time came at last when Friskie re-
ceived her most impressive lesson, re-
proof and punishment, all at once. A
covered basket had been brought in and
left on the kitchen floor Something
was inside, she knew. and she shifted
and paved around, poking her nose un-
der the cover, which resisted all her
gentle efforts. Finally she thrust her
paw into find it clutched and pinched
and held fast. In the struggle to get
free the cover came off and she dragged
out of the basket a most hideous-Iook-
ing thing. of blueish- black color with
two round black eyes sticking straight
out from its head. 1t did not even
wink, but stared in the most solemn
manner. while it held on and pinched
harder the more poor Frisk tried to get
away. There was no shaking the hor-
bled as much almost from fright as
from pain. Bridget. too, was afraid,
and called man, who chopped Off the
claw. thus releasing poor Frisk, who
darted off with yelp, looking very
shame-faced and sorry. 1t was only a
lobster. For while a co, cred basket
kept away from it, barking at it from a
distance-for this lesson SO dearly
learned could not soon be forgotten.
We do not wonder at Friskie' fright,
for lobster is about the ugliest- looking
curious one. In the first place. it fire.
quently changes its shell. and while the
new shell is hardening grows as fast as
ever it can, because that is its only
chance, until time for it to get another
shell. Its claws are very strong, and
the fishermen have to be exceedingly
careful to manage them right until they
can drive little wooden pegs into them
to keep them closed. Frisk can testify
that a nip from one is no slight thing.
HOLSTERS fight a great deal with each
other, and their limbs are frequently
torn off, but this makes no particular
difference to them. except for the time
being, for Immediately another begins
to grow in the place of the lost one,
only it will never be quite as large.
Then, in travelling. it moves backward
instead of forward, swims easier than it
walks, and uses it's tail as a propeller. |
1t seeks clear water to swim in, and
when it scents danger, almost springs
through it to some hiding place. 1t eats
every thing, and all the time. We call
them roracious, because they eat a
great deal, and pugnacious, because
they fight q great deal, and c1usta-
ceous, because they live in shell. Little
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