The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-03-07
ANIMALS THAT HOLD TO LIFE.
Experiences OF a Fisherman with Creas-
ures That are Slow to Die.

uASS
"You will hardly credit it. said a
Staten Island fisherman whom q report
sr talked with the other day, but the
head of a turtle will retain a very
marked interests in existence long
after it's body has been served
up in soup and steaks.
[ believe it is a well-known TACT, U
only discovered it six months ago. !
found a friend engaged in shelnng y
small turtle. Now said he. putnns
The head on the dresser, that Will Dc
alive and active tomorrow morning.
OF course laughed a thin, but l agreed
TO call next day and test his prophecy
Next morning my friend asked me 70
step into the kitchen. The head was
still on the dresser, and though it had
been separated from the body for Ut
least sixteen hours, the eyes were Wide
open and bright.
Take care" exclaimed my friend, as
nut nv 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, bat u
moved two inches toward me, and
snapped at my fingers with q vicious,
ness that could not have been surpassed
by a cornered rat. Ithink it had heen
holding back it's life, as men OF strong
will power, for fixed purposes, nave
been known to do, until an opportunity
offered to avenge the destruction OF Its
body, for after it had made the effort
its ewes 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 eatre-
ordinary length Of time through which
an eel clings to it's being under the
most favorable circumstances, people. l
think, overlook the most n~nfayorable
condition of all-the removal OF it from
the water, q state of affairs SUI
ficient in itself to produce death.
81 do not believe that cutting an cells
head off OF serving his tail The same
way shortens his life much. He dies
because he is ont 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 a greater bur-
den than he can bear, and he dies quick
ly; but the lesser injuries, affecting only
che tail, head, or skin, seem to me to
make but little impression. The fact is
IN eel can live an extraordinarily long
time out of water. They h%abitually
leave it of their own accord and wander
in the fields that slope down to q creek
not far from here. [ 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, q 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 q stick.
The eye of a wild bird remains bright
for some time after you have shot it, and
is likely to cause q tender-hearted
sportsman on his first cunning expedi-
ton a good deal of self-reproach.
Il do not know whether clans have
ut any time a very self-assertiye 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 a big basket OF clans. L
placed themin a dish pail, and left them
in the kitchen. IN the middle of the
night my wife aroused me saying that
there were robbers in tile house. With
a pistol in my hand | wandered from
room to room. I could hear o most
extraordinary noise, like o combination
of saving, filing grooming and granting,
with an occasional watery gasp, but, for
the life of me, 1 couldnotimagine 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 a
bullfrog in full vigor. | filled the pan
with fresh water, which brought either
contempt ordeath that is to say, itqui-
eted them. "--[New York Sun.
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