Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1888-07-12

secOnu IufIIe- smaller imam the nfSt,
which Henry dexterously scooped in as
it was being half borne by the current
and half propelled by its own dying ex-
ertions down the stream The bullet
had crushed its skull while it was
swimming, as is the fashion of many
inland turtles. with nothing but the tip
of its head above water As the ewes
and nOstrils of this creature are placed
upon the extreme end of its proboscis,
and as nothing else was visible, only
chance or the trained eye of a woods
man could have enabled the hunter to
see il and shoot it before the turtle had
scented danger and diyed.
| Now, then, for the duck-eater.
want to take him alive if | can, as
| there is not much market for dead
turtles, the dealers not caring to take
the risk of having stock spoil on their
hands when it can be kept in a tank for
six months, at almost no expense, if
| alive. The only way to get him is to
catch him in trap, or line. or to
scoop him out. As he has enough to
eat there for u week the first two plans
will hardly work, and while in such
deep water as this the scoop is danger
Gus. will try it,
Then with an oar Henry turned up
the black earth along the rivers bank,
sending it in a cloud down the current
and completely hiding the turtle under
its dark mantle.
Don't be afraid; he is not lost, as /
have his bearings. You see, when the
water was clear he could see every mo-
ton made, and had tried 20 scoop
him out then he would be off before you
could say boz but now"
Henry leaped out of the skiff and
into the cold water which washed his
thighs. With the long handle held
firmly in both hands, he raked the bar
with the teeth of the scoop. until they
touched something which his practiced
touch told him was the game. With
sudden shoot forward he lifted the OBJ
struction, and then, putting all his
strength into his arms, he cast it from
the scoops teeth, sending it in a clean
flight of a dozen feet out of the water,
high and dry, on the sandy shore. 1t
was the snapper, with its jaws tightly
closed on the wing of the dead duck.
When taken aboard and thrown on
the bottom of the boat with several of
its congeners, it made no effort to es-
cape or to finish its breakfast, but re-
manned quiet with the wing in its
mouth and its sharp little eyes staring.
The jaws of the steel traps were now
after being fastened to one end of a
ten-foot length of quarter-inch hemp
rope, the other end of which was fixed
to peg driven deeply in the river
bank, the traps were baited with min
nows and sunk in likely looking holes
among the submerged willows. The
fish hooks were baited in the same
manner, and their lines tied to the
stout willow branches, after which the
boat was secured, and, with nothing
but the scoop, Henry set off on tramp
up the creek.
There are two or three ponds higher
up here" said he, (which are quiet
and shallow and muddy. They are
always full of turtle, and | shall carry
at least two back to the boat with me,
you might go up there alone
every day in the year and never see
shell. The way get them is by wad-
ing around in the water. and whenever
l strike any thing hard with my boots
or the scoop push the fork under it
and lift it ashore, just as L did
down at the river. Sometimes the
hard thing is a fat stone, but
oftener than you might think it is
a turtle. Further down the river,
nearer its mouth. Ihave five hOgsheads
sunk in the water, with a log planted
in the shore over each hOgshead. The
turtles soon find the logs, and sit on
them summing themselves until | come
near, when every man of them drop
into the water. Instead of dropping
into the river, as they think, they drops
into the hOgshead, and all | have to do
is to reach down and scoop them out.
They bring me seven cents a pound
just as they come out of the water. and
the dealer retails them at ten cents
pound. Now and then a housekeeper
buys one for a private family's use, but
nine out of ten snappers which are sold
make soup for the Sunday morning
lunch of the corner saloon. There are
few drinking houses in this neighbor-
hood that do not set out the dish every
Sunday in spring, and the luncher who
says he does not like it is white black
bird. But all the same snapping-turtle
soup can not compare with the genuine
article made from the meat OF the |
green turtle. "-NeWpOT (Ky.) Cor. |
Chicago Herald.
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