The Van Buren press., 1895-01-26
AN EEL THAT LIKED MILK.
He Was slippery, But Dry Ashes Finally
Caught Him.


Caught Him.
Abner 1Tammell Is n famous fisher.
man of Irvington, N. J.,whose fish and
snake stories occasionally get into the
local papers, to the amusement of the
reader. The last story Abner tells Is
one of the most remarkable. Con.
densed from the lengthy narrative as
it originally appeared. the story is as
follows, in the old mans own language:
dad Applegate got fine COW last
spring-one of the best c6ws ever see:
Fur time she gave fofty quarts OF
milk a day and kept fat. Long early
in the summer she kinder fell off on
the morning milkin', and kept gettin'
wuss and wuss. as the summer run
along. She seemed to be all right DUR
in the day, but didn't produce in the
night. Dad KEEP her in the little bafh
down by the crick, and fur while he
had an idee that somebody was milkin'
her durin' the night. l don't know
but he 'spicioned me, for he put lock
on his barn door and then come
over the next mornin' and asked me to
lend him my bunch of keys, sayin'
he'd lost or mislaid his. Foxy, warn't
he? You see he found the COW hadn't
done no better in the night, and he
wanted to find out whether had key
to At the lock. Things went on in the
same way for month or two, and Uhg
day suggested to him that it might
be that his COW was gittin' milked regu-
lar every night by a milk snake, and
that he orter watch her. / greed to
help him, but he said he'd do it alone,
and he went down that night an set for
hours on a half-bushel measure watch
ing the COW. Then he got tired and
went in the house and turned in. Mex
mornin' the COW didn't give down
MORN two quarts of milk. Dads got
patience, and he watched the better
part Of the mex night and the one fol-
lorin', and then he saw sight that
s'prised him, though it warn't SO
s'prisin' to me after was told about it.
''He thought the COW was actin
kinder queer, and, pulling the lantern
up out of the nail keg he had it in, he
flashed the light on her and saw what
he thought was big blacksnake
standin' on its tail an millkin' the COW.
The light scarf it an it drops off and
slips away In the dark corner. He
looked high and low for 1t, but had to
go to bed without gettin' another sight
of it. Mex night he got a shot at it
with a rifle, but missed it an it got
away. He didn't find out what it was
till the follerin' night, an then he hitit
fair with a Flobert bullet, and the bali
glanced off the slippery eel. If it he'd
been snake it would hev killed it, but
it only dazed the eel long enough fer
dad to see what it was.
1.-THE eel looked to weigh about three
an half pounds, an as dad was about
to pick it up an thinking what good
breakfast it would make, gave twist
and slid through hole in the barn
and drop't into the brook. Dad went
fishin' fer that eel mex day, and set up
all night nearly watchin' fer 1t with
an eel spear, but the eel was too cum
ming fer him, and mex mornin' the COW
gave fifteen quarts OF milk, showin'
what the eel had been in the habit of
takin'. 1t went on that way fer weeks.
If he wanted any milk in the mornin'
he'd hev to set up all night with the
COW, an if he didn't set up the eel
would come every time. He stop't
up all the holes, an the eel made
new ones. He tried pizened milk, an
the eel wouldn't touch it. Then he
knuckled under an came to me fer
advice. jest told him to put some
dry ashes under the COW an he'd get
the eel. He did it, an the next day he
found the eel layin' stiff in the barn.
1t had got the ashes all mixed up with
the slime and couldn't crawl. He cut
the cells throat and skinned it, an
never saw purifier eel. 1t was almost
pure white, where other cells meat is
ginerally blue, an he said it was the
best tastin eel he ever he'd. know'd
bout eels an ashes when was boy.
There's times when eels come out onto
pasture land to feed on crickets at
night, an an old German told me how
to catch 'em. All he did was to make
a wide strip of dry ashes twixt the pas
ture and the water and the cells couldn't
pass it.-N. Y. Sun.