The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-27
EE CAUGHT A KERP.
20. Had Tanned 1t and Taught 1t To
Eat Bread.
rrom the Ne,oark Call.

.,,.5 = karp for dinner yesterd'y," said
rIau,roaII when he mes the Doctor on
r-bursday morning.
p 49, "a kerpn asked the doctor. "Is it
,,,ssr or something's
ss'Tou 10 tell the truth, it amt neither,
~. Its lest q purity poor sort Of fish;
,,,,nt as good us June sucker. ketched
., down to a pond in Lyonses Farms when
..s after snappin' turkles, and I've had it
-. w three weeks in the spring down on the
~ eC,-f nit lot. When ketched 1t the fish was
UuLt obbarv big soft thing and didn't look fit
siV ,Se niqs to eat. never see one afore
tol - didnt hardly know what it was till
aut -,orrvin' 1t home and met Teller on
wa ' thet look't at it and told me had
Luz and that 1t was a German kerp. I'd
~ ibout them fish, and that they'd live
, gtI ~ water fur day or two, SO jest car
o ota1 If home and chucked it under the wash
honcb on the back stoop, thinkin' I'd scale
n and have 1t for supper. John Long came
md 10 gee if | could go to work buildin'
stone row fur him next day, and as l was
lin him why couldn't he spied the fish
aoppn' under the bench.
uVFE Ia picked 1t up and hefted It, and then
skod me where got It. He said he reck-
mod II weighed ten pounds, and that it
wasn't good to eat without put it In clear,
coId water for few days. told him that
didn't care, that I'd cook 1t fur supper,
snd III couldn't eat it I'd feed it to the
Digs l made up my mind the minute he
sn9Ee TO put the kerp in the tuft pit spring,
KIT was leetle bit leery Of John, and
admit care to have him know the fish was
On the spring. Not that John would steal
n but didn't believe in putin temptation
in anv mans way, specially If he is fisher
mau. When he went away tuck the fish
down to the spring and ohucked 1t in. 1t
was as lively as if it had been in the water
all the time, and 1t swan round and round
and looked at me as if it was thankful fur
ssvin its life.
"When COS back home l remembered
seeing an old government report about them
fish, and hunted 1t up. IL told all about
buildin' ponds fur em and what they eat.
and made up my mind to feed this Teller
on stale bread, cause 1 thought he wouldn't
git enough grass roots and vegetable matter
Ia the spring. TUX some bread down to
the spring next mornin'. and the first thing
see was my fish in the grass, and tryin' to
git down the slope to one Of the turf pits, /
knowed in mint what was the matter with
him. The water in the spring was too
blamed pure for him, but ! wasn't goin' TO
let him have his own way, and / ketched
him and put him back again in the spring
and made fence around it with barrel
slaves Then stood up by the fence and
watched TO see what he would do next 1t
wasn't more'n ten minutes when heard the
water splash and see him tryin' to git
through the pockets. He was just bound to
git out of that spring and flop around till
he'd tried every crack. He didn't seem to
mind be looking at him a bit when he found
be was fast. He just Topped back into the
spring and began to stir up the mud. Then
/ knowed that he'd give up tryin' to git
away, and had made up his mind that he'd
hev muddy water anyhow IL he'd got to stay
In the spring.
IL put in some bread and went away, and
when called around to see him lords
night the bread was all gone and the spring
was clear, but the fish had burrered under
the bank and was half hid. | knowed he
couldn't git away in that style, so didn't
disturb him. He seemed to be content 10
stay in the spring after that, and didn't
have no trouble with him for a week or
more, and he got so he'd come and stick bis
head ont of water when went down to
feed him. He'd ben out on the bank
many time, and he'd chewed off
all the grass as clean as sheep could
eat it, and blamed II it didn't look as
if he'd ben gDawin' TIE barrel slaves 10
some places. He he'd a regular burner under
the sod. and could go inter it out of sight,
but he'd allus come out when come down
hankering to git out all the time, and was
so sly didn't 'spect him ontil one mornin'
when | went down he didn't show up, and /
Jest beginnin' to believe that somebody he'd
swiped him when l heard splashin' in the
big turf pit, and see him stickin' his head
outen the water and dom his best to tract
my tention.
"He was so happy in the brown water
that let him there, KNOWN that he was
thaFp in rHsn "a
SEEM that he was so tame that he'd come TO
the top every time l went down there, |
was feelin' purity good about my tame fish,
and wouldn't have parted with him for a
heap of money last week, but when I went
down there night afore last l see a great
splashin' and commoshun in the turf pit,
and | knowed suthin' was wrong. I run
down TO the bank and there | see my fish
rastlln' with big mushrat. The mushrat
had him by the throat, and he had death
grip on the rats ear. l knowed it war all
up with the kerp as soon as | see
them long teeth OF the mushrat
through his wesZen, but l got q big
stone and killed the varmint When |
picked up the fish it looked into my eyes
Jest like pet dog would, and then il gave a
gasp and died. | reckon 1 near cried then,
and, to make the matter wuss, mushrat
skins amt wuth a derned cent this time of
the year. But | wasn't wastin' good fish,
and so TUX the kerp home and eat 1t. 1t
didn't amount to much as a table fish, not
as good p'raps as a fresh run sucker in
April and kinder cottony in the mouth, bus
1t was eating kerp, aud twas some salts
faction to eat what everybody couldn't git.
think will try to get anuther on and
tame it itI kin find place where there is
any,
" lou didn't tell how he got out OF the
spring and into the turf pit" said the doc
Tor, who was considerably amused by the
veterans recital.
That's so. plumb forgot that. It was
ny ourrerln' through the soft muck under
the SOD. cut a long pole and pushed it
ABOUT 10 foot through the hole. which must
nave been at least 90 foot through, fur it is
al OF that frnm the spring to the turf pit
ecu know the fish could see through the
spaces twixt the barrel slaves, and he'd
Iocated the turf pit and knowed purity near
what the distance was. de was smart
enough to throw me off by comm out of
.ne mole whenever I was around, and / bet
ne was latin at all the time and tninkin'
now he was foolin' me-"