The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-25


among the lily pads in Bennett Pond,
tributary of Sehec Lake. laid his peeled
spruce hshpole down while he went back
from the shore to take an observat ion
through n bottle thai he had left ia his
coat hung to tree. Perhaps he fingered
az any rate he stayed away long enough
for an eel 20 grab The baited hook. Whi'n
ne mad left IN the water, and swim away
with IT, taking lire and pole along in its
wake. When Badger came back he pole
was bobbiug about the lily pads forty
feet from shore, as the eel meaudered
around on the bottom. The man had no
boat, and as the pond has "a bottom Of
soft mud which fence rail is not long
enough TO sound, he could not wade out
for his property. He stood for a Will,
saying things as he watched il travel fur-
ther and further away, and then went back
to where ne had hung his coat He stay
ed there some time, and then, before stare
ing for home went back TO the shore 10
take a last look al his fishing gear, which
he reckoned was by this time out in the
middle Of the pond. To his surprise the
pole was in plain sight not far away. and
now was travelling coward The shore.
Something at the end Of the line was pull
ing it along, and when that something
came into sight at The waters marsiu'
Badger had shivers and wished that re
mad devoted less attention TO the bottle
that day. He had some bad minutes le-
fore he could identify the composite mons
ter that came up before him as an immense
turtle carrying in its jaws writhiag eel,
the same that had taken away the pole
and tackle
Badger got hold of The fishing pole and
tried to pull the eel away from the tur-
tie but the turtle hung on to it and show
ed fight when the man came too near,
so Badger gave up trying at last and cut
ting the line as close up as he could, went
away leaving the eel with the turtle. lie
described the turtle as being a foot and
a half across the shell, and long in proper
ton, and said that the reptile CARED a
threefoot eel as easily as man would
carry a bit of rope. Some of his hearers
were inclined to discount few inches on
the alleged length of the turtle, but few
doubted the substantial truth of the story.
There is one brief period in the turtles
round of existence when the eel takes an
inning. The female turtle in the season
deposits her eggs on some beach near the
water side with an inch or so of sand
scraped over them, and waits for the
warmth Of the sun to hatch them out.
The eel has a fine instinct for locating
these nests, and when a strong wind
sends the waves rolling up on the beach
or heavy rain sets it awash il comes
ashore, roots out the eggs and if undis-
turbed gulps them down one after another
until its body has the appearance of a
stuffed club and is SO unwieldly that it
scarcely can wiggle off into deep water.
The eel has TO hurry its business and get
away, for the female turtle Is never far
off, and If she comes on the scene the af-
fair is apt 10 end in her dining on eel
stuffed with turtle eggs. There is a short
period in the young turtles career when
its shell is tender and eels and bass and
pickerel hang about 70 catch it at its first
swimming lessons, but this is only for a
week or two. The young turtle grows very
fast and its shell hardens so quickly that
1t soon ceases to be a gastronomic tempta-
ton, even 20 an eel or pickerel.