The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1885-06-28
The Terrapin.
baltimore American.

hneIlchu.l
"Thirty years ago. with the hardest kind OF abor
SAID Mr. y y. Scoggins, Baltimore dealer In gam,
ana nsh, WI succeeded In selling $1,000 worth o
iianond,nack terrapns at from IS to- $40 dozen
over 100000 worth, aud my sales would hay.
reached t5o00O0 II could have gotten the terrapin
OF the whole State, did not take to terrapIn at frat
II was ten years before they were purchased TO AM
great extent n ny grandfather leaves It on record
market Tor l2A cents EACH and hiH slaves once re.
belled because he gave them terrapin and would no,
give them porn. or course, times have greatly
.Now there 81 300 900 worth OF terrapln cauRh,
out OF the chesapeake Bay and rs tributaries every
year AZ the price averages fully $50 dozen, this
represents GO0,0OO terrapns annually. During lie
season over 900 men are engaged In catching them
pahannock 10 Spring Gardens. They are found
wherever the watercresses grow, aud, AZ you proba-
bly, know, the Chesapeake Bay Is the best body Of
wafer Tor this grass IN the world. 1t IL that which
gives them their wonderful favor"
Mr. scoggns, who knows from q long personal
observation AL that y worth knowing on this sui,-
1eet IL frm believer In the terrapin both IA food
and as n medicine lie cited TO his visitor several
remarkable stories OF its sustaining power. ION
terraplns from my stock, weighing exactly four
pounds each. WAS very precise abnut the weight,
as weighed them for specidc purpose These /
placed IN strong box, which was entirely empty.
! nailed tle box up securely aud laid 1t aside On
the ist OF April opened for the irst time since 1t
OF the seven months NJ total abstinence from bOth
food and drink"
.'Siarvatlon, of course"
"1here II where y0n are mistaken. Not only
were The diamond backs well and hearty, but their
average weight WAS four pounds and one ounce
each. They had gained an ounce on nothing.
nave Tried The same ex pertinent before, and always
terrapns, does III"
Mr.. Scoggns related an instance OF the recupera-
i've powers Of the terrapn. one night healthy rat
made szeable meal on lerrapln's hind foot and
ieft an ngly sore The lerrapin was placed IN box
ny ilsell. Nolilng was applied To the sore and In
Inc space OF twenty four hours the wound waa COM
pletey healed. There are several methods Of
catching the terapln. one ID by dredge another by
a seine, another by a net, and another BY
ree-pronged stick. With the latter the catcher
prods Ia The mud until he feels something move and
then he reaches down for the diamond back. The
element OF luck naturally enters largely lilo terrapn
catching, but experience frequly shows where they
most ahound Good caiGhers Know the reptile 4 pe-
c,iarilies, and when they Discover u luxurious
growth Of Wilderness they lie low for their prey as
that IL sure 10 prove terrapin feeding ground Tine
Indians used to have great liking for The terrapln
In 1861, when the Dig men 0f all tho Indian tribes
met at Spesua Island, at the nloulh OF the Ssauc-
hanna. TO make treaty with Governor Philip Cal
vert, the biggest chief OF them all WAS Daiadar-
hossa OF the great iorreyine- e., terrapln family