Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-02-29
ANIMAI.sTHATHoLDTo LIFE.
Experiences Of q fisherman with Crest
uren That are Glow TO Die.

Experiences " 4 Fisherman with Crest
ure1 That are Slow 70 Die.
You will hardly credit II, said q
Staten Island fisherman whom a report
or talked with the other day, but the
head of q turtle will retain very
marked interests in existence long
after its body has been served .
up in soup and steaks.
{ believe it is q well known fact, but 4
only discovered it six months ago. !
found friend engaged in Smelling q
small turtle. Now, said he, putting
the head on the dresser, that viii be
alive and active tomorrow morning p :
OF course laughed at him, but agreed
TO cal next day and test his prophecy.
Next morning my friend asked me to
step into the kitchen. The head was
still on the dresser, and though it had
been separated from the body for at
least sixteen hours, the eyes were wide
open and bright. Mo -.
t'Take care" exclaimed my friend, as
I put my finger near the mouth. His
warning came not a minute too soon.
The head of that turtle, absolutely
jumped at me- Where its motive pow
er came from I cannot explain, but it
moved two inches toward me, and
snapped at my fingers with a vicious
ness that could not have been surpassed
| by cornered rat. I think it had been
holding back it's life, as men of strong
will power, for fixed purposes, have
been known to do, until an opportunity
offered to avenge the destruction of its
body, for after it had made the effort
it's eyes grew fixed and filmy, and in an
hour it was dead. Next to the turtle
in obstinate persistence in living must
come the eel. In recognizing the extre-
ordinary length Of time through which
an eel clings to its being under the
most favorable circumstances, people, I
think, overlook the most unfavorable
condition of all-the removal Of it from
the water, state of affairs suf-
6cient in itself to produce death.
IT do not believe that cutting an cells
head off or serving his tail the same
way shortens his life much. He dies
because he is out of his element, and
had he been left unmutilated he would
have lived but little longer. OF course.
if you put him in sections on the frying
pan you place upon him greater bur-
den than he can bear, and he dies quick
ly; but the lesser injuries, affecting only
the tail, head, or skin, seem to me to
make but little impression. The fact is
an eel can live an extraordinarily long
time out of water. They habitually
leave it of their own accord and wander
in the fields that slope down to creek
not far from here. I have often met in
the early morning cells making their
way down to the creek. They had
spent the night in the meadows in
search of worms and were going back.
Whether an eel or any other fish
is capable Of feeling acute pain can
mot say. ThisI can vouch for: When,
an eel has been skinned and beheaded
and seems to be quite dead, a little salt
rubbed on the surface of the body will
be apt to restore Life quickly. A snake
dies quickly under injuries. The aver
age snake will not live three minutes
. after his head is crushed with stick,
The eye of a wild bird remains bright
for some time after you have shot it, and
is likely to cause a tender-hearted
sportsman on his first cunning expedi-
ton good deal of self-reproach.
IT do not know whether CLAIMS have
at any time very self-assertive exist
ence, but that, in captivity, the clam is
able at times to make himself excessively
disagreeable I have had occasion
to know. Not long ago ]
brought home big basket of CLANS.
placed them in dish pail, and left then
in the kitchen. In the middle of the
night my wife aroused me saying that
there were robbers in the house. With
a pistol in my hand I wandered from
room to room. I could hear q most
extraordinary noise, like a combination
of saving, fling grooming and grunting
with an occasional watery gasp, but, TO,
the life of me, T could not imagine where
it came from. At last went into the
kitchen and the mystery was solved
Each clam, with his shell wide open.
was making almost as much noise as 9
bullfrog in full vigor. filed the pan
with fresh water, which brought either
contempt Or death; that is to say, itqui'
eted them. ~ New York Sun.
How Envelopes are Made,
! Springfield has six firms engaged il
the manufacture of either envelopes o.