The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-15
TURTLES That Hated.

old Steuben, according to the New York
| Sun, Il was crossing one of my fathers
fields on my way TO the Cohoeton for q
| days fishing-for there we're trout in
| those days. Bill Spicer was with me, and
we came upon a couple of land turtles
| that were having the ugliest kind of a
scrap. l don't know what started the
| fight between the turtles, but from what
l know now it must have been something
| serious. The turtles bit and tumbled and
| clawed each other for q spell, and then
Bill and l separated them and put them a
long distance apart. They turned
as soon as they were down
and came toward each other again
as fast as they could, which was at the
rate of about a mile an hour. but there
was fire in both their eyes, and when
| they got together they pitched in again
| as fierce as ever. We hadn't time to stay
there and watch them, and so we went
on and left them fighting. When we came
back that way, late in the afternoon,
! there were those two turtles yet, fight
ing as ugly as ever, ana neither one of
| them seemed to have the best of it. Then
we broke up the fight. / took one of the
turtles home with me, and Bill took the
other one home with him. l cut my name
on the bottom OF my turtles shell, with
| the date, and Bill cut his name and the
udbc IuS Same way Oh his GuFblS.
MY folks were getting ready about
then to move out to Illinois, and Bills
were going back somewhere in Massa-
chusetts, where they came from. When
we went away took my turtle with me,
just for the fun of the thing, and Bill
took his along to Massachusetts,. We
settled out in Sangamon county, and
Peter-that was my turtles name-didn't
seem to like it out there. Anyway he
disappeared before we had been there a
week and l couldn't find him. high nor
low. We lived in Illinois twenty years,
and then, the old folks, having died,
moved back to old Steuben, bought the
farm we moved off in 1910, and have lived
there ever since. Of course l forgot all
a bout Peter, the turtle, fifty years and
more.
Zone day last week was going over
my farm, and not more than three rods
from where Bill Splcer and l surprised
the turtles at their scrapping match fifty
four years ago last spring, came on to
two turtles having it out with one another
in exactly the same way. 1t brought
back the old days like fash, and | lay
down in the grass and watched those
turtles fight for quarter of an hour
Then got up aud took one of them by
the tail and turned him over on his back
His undershell was cut and carved like
beech tree in country sChoolhouse yard
| went to deciphering the carvings, when
the first one looked at nearly made me
drop in my tracks. And good reason.
There it was, PLAIN as day: Seth Gregg,
1902 The very turtle had caught more
than half century ago, and which had
got away from me three months later,
way out in Illinois.
''As soon as l could get over my sur
prise and wonder l began scanning the
other inscriptions on the turtle. They
dated all the way from 1S4S down to 1899,
and the names of places carved now and
then showed in chronological order that
old Peter was steadily and unswervingly
travelling fast.
"All the time was examining Peter the
other turtle stood on guard, glaring at
Peter, and evidently impatient to resume
the fight. So l put Peter down and
picked up the other one. know you will
believe me when l say that my first sight
at the under shell of this turtle actually
sent me TO grass. 1t had carvings, too,
and the very first Oae was w. Spicer.
1S40n And there were carvings on Bnps
turtle showing that he had been as I'M
swervingly headed west during the past
htty-four years as my turtle had been
pointed east. Had these turtles been gov
erned by some mysterious instinct that
drew them back to the old home Tor love
OF IL, or had they been nursing undying
anlmosity toward each other for half a
century, and Travelled back with the hope
of wreaking vengeance each on his foe ?
From the way they glared at each other
and waited for a chance TO get even, 1
made up my mind that the turtles had
lourneyed all those years toward the old
home simply with the intention of having
that fight out, and so l got up and left
them by themselves. Two days after
ward l went that way again. The tur-
ties lay in ditch. Peter had his Jaws
fast on Bills turtles throat. and Bilrs
had Peter foul in the tender spot under
the left shoulder Both were dead. /
buried them right where they lay, and it
saddened me TO know that any iy-
ing thing could carry hate so long and SO
far"