The Cook County herald., 1897-12-11
CAUGHT THE EDUCATED CRAB.

l r. $ & { ~ -. . s
It Had Spoiled Cap'n Eph's Fishing,
But Was Landed by MedfOrd Rum.
The Educated Crab came to grief the
other day and Cap'n Eph Browles Wis
tied the village to celebrate the event.
When last seen, bound over the hills. of
Hardscrabble, he was close hauled and
laying course as tortuous as the wake
of mackerel smack beating to wind
ward against tide and a stiff moth
easter. , T.. s--.y III. : NV.
+ Cap'n Eph had been fishing for the
Educated Crab ever since he was so
| afflicted with rheumatism that he had
to knock off cruising between Bishop
and Clerks lighthouse and the Hand
kerchief ledge, and do all his fishing in
the bay or off the breakwater. He had
always maintained that the Educated
Crab was raised in Buzzard's bay and
that it had legs around New Bedford.
1t showed a vicious knowledge, accord
ing to Cap'n Eph, only to have been
gained by long experience among
whalemen.
II s'pose that air crab hez been afoul
my line at least 'leven 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 know it's the same crab?
Don't yer s'pose I 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
ez much >ez pussons. sides, there never
wus crab afore that wuz sheathed all
along it's keel and deck with barnacles.
I've hearn tell thet yer could tell tn age
NV rattlesnake by tn rattles he steered
by. Eff thet holds good in tn case Nv
crabs this'n' must be nigh thousand
years old.
cit I'D steal bait faster'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 skir1nish round morn so
times. He'd go skuttlin' 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~th' tide till he'dgot his
| starboard claw fore an aft with my line,
an then he'd grab tn hook; by TIL eye
an pint it's biziness end away from his
belly while he picked the bait off with
his port claw. 1t didn't matter how fast
I hauled in tn line, he'd hev tn hook
bare by tn time rized him to the edge
Nv tn water.
'He spilled my fshin' fur three sum-
mers, but kotched him at last. How
it cum about shows that tn smartest
crab amt no way superior to man eff it
NEEDLES with rum. Night afore las I
opened half bucket ur CLANS an set
the bait down by the table right under
where I'd sot Mi gh about full bottle Nv
Medford rum; what used to rub my
leg fur rheumatic. I'd disremembered
all about that bottle when I cum hum
long about nine o'clock O. night an
tried to light tn glim. Whilst I wuz
foolin' round fur match I kn ocked tn
bottle over an most all the likker
swashed down on them air CLAIMS. I
cussed myself fur a lubber ell night.
fur I had pains in my leg an stumach
mighty bad. But I amt sorry thet 7
spilled tn likker now, seein' that /
kotched tn dedicated crab.
."I thot ez the likker would be likely
to spile 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 a
| prohibitionist away from hum. He
cleaned my hook an made sail fur his
port, but bimeby he cum back under
full Roadway an seemed dreadful eager
fur mother bite. He. got it, but acted
so wobbly that it sot me ter thinllin'
I Says I ter myself, you hev sartainly got
brains enough to git tangled up in
your latitude eff you histin much more
Nv that cargo So I sjist jambed tn
hook full Nv rum-soaked CLAIMS an let
4 Cap'n Crab navigate all over the bottom