Evening journal., 1897-09-22
CAUGHT THE EDUCATED CRAB.

1t Had Spoiled Cap'n Eph's Fishing.
But Was Landed by EIedford Rum.
The Educated Crab came TO grief the
other day and Cap'n Eph Browles vis-
tied the village to celebrate the event.
When last seen, bound over the hills of
Hardscrabble, lie was close hauled and
laying n course as tortuous as the wake
of a mackcrel smack beating to wind
ward against tide and a stiff moth.
raster
Cap'n Eph had been fishing for the
Educated Crab ever since he was so
afflicted with rheumatism that he had
to knock OF cruising between Bishop
and Clerks lighthouse and the Hand
kerchief ledge, and do all his fishing in
the bay or of the brealiwater. He had
always maintained that the Educated
Crab was raised in Buzzard's bay and
that it had legs around New Bedford.
it showed a vicious knowledge, accord
ing to Cap'n Eph, only to have been
gained by long experience among
whalemen.
Il s'pose that air crab hez been afoul
my line at least leyen hundred times"
remarked Cap'n Eph when he stood in
front of the post Office and displayed the
cadaver of the crab, which he had
brought from the beach carefully
wrapped in paper
"How do l know it's the same crab?
Don't yer s'pose / kin tell his fgger-
head from yourn? addressing the
neighbor on his left and pointing to the
one on his right.) Crabs hev phizes jest
| "a fCfInc fhor.o
wus crab afore that wuz sheathed all
along its keel and deck with barnacles.
I've hearn tell thet yer could tell tn age
uv a rattlesnake by tn rattles he steered
by. IF thet holds good in tn case NV
crabs this'n' must be nigh thousand
years old.
1T ud steal bait faster'n n hull school
Nv fryers. Thet's where his eddication
cum in. I've leaned over the gunwale
when wuz fishing in clear water an
watched him skirmish round morn 80
times. He'd so slSuttlin' round my hook
four or five times, jes' ter get tn bear
ings Nv tn bait, but he wouldn't make
no effort ter tech tn bait until he'd gone
up ag'in tn tide for two or three faith
oms. Then he'd come sailin' back with
the tide on his beam an heave to about
three inches from my line.
Every other crab would hev jes'
| grabbed fur tn bait an made sail. That
wuzn't tn style of tn Eddicated Crab.
howsomever he'd jes' port his helm an
swing athwart tn tide till he'd got his
starboard claw fore an aft with my line,
an then he'd grab tn hook by tn eye
an pint its biziness end away from his
belly while he picked the bait off with
his port claw. 1t didn't matter how fast
/ hauled in tn line, he'd hev tn hook
bare by tn time 1 rized him to the edge
NV tn water.
"He spilled my fshin' fur three sum
mers, but / kotched him at last. How
il cum about shows that tn smartest
crab amt no way superior TO man ef it
NEEDLES with rum. Night afore las 1
opened half a bucket ur CLAIMS an set
the bait down by the table right under
where I'd sot nigh about full bottle nv
Medford rum; what I used to rub my
leg fur rheumatic. I'd disremembered
all about that bottle when l cum hum
long about nine o'clock O night an
tried to light tn glim. Whilst l wuz
foolin' round fur a match knocked tn
bottle over an most all the hkker
swashed down on them air CLAIMS. L
cussed myself fur a lubber all night,
fur had pains in my leg an stumach
mighty bad. But amt sorry thet
spilled tn likker now, seein' that 1
kotched tn eddicated crab.
II thot ez the lil1ker would be likely
to spilc tn bait. an sure enough didn't
git a bite till tn tide wuz about ebb an
tn ole crab hove in sight. He took to
the rum soaked bait Jest ez kindly ez n
prohibitionist away from hum. He
cleaned my hook an made sail fur his
b port, but, bimeby he cum back under
full headway an seemed dreadful eager
, fur mother bite. He got it, but acted
3 so wobbly that it sot me ter thinl1in'.
! Says I ter myself, you hev sartainly got
e brains enough to git tangled up in
d. your latitude ef you hist in much more
q NV that cargo So l jist jambed tn
s hook full NV rum-soalIed clans an let
( Cap'n Crab navigate all over the bottom
D with it. Bimeby l seed thet he was toc
= wobbly ter steer within three pints ny
y lis course. He he'd to tack half a dozer
times afore he could lay himself along
[ side the hook when l baited up agin
81 and then he jest grabbed at tn bait
5 hook and all, regardless O. conse
T lecences. 1 let him git a good hold
= nfore yanked, an when did give pui
- on tn line l druv tn hook nigh hall
$ through his port quarter 1t wasnt
j time for tn wink ur a yallerleg's eye
+ afore l he'd him in tn boat; an he lay
+ thar an blinled at me ez drunk ez 1
q shanghaied foremost hand in tn fo'kas
It tie NV a Baltimore packet. Thct's how
I lIotched tn dedicated crab."-Bostol
Traveller.