The Cook County herald., 1898-02-05
CAUGHT THE DucATED CRAB.

CAUGHT THE EDUCATED CRAB.
It Had Spoiled Cap'n Enh's Fishing,
Hut Was Landed by Medford Rum. s
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
Hardscrab bible, he. was close hauled and
laying course as tortuous as the wake
Of 8 mackerel smack beating to wind
ward against tide and q stiff Moth
easter. .s=
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.
It showed a vicious knowledge, accord
Z ing to Cap'n Eph, only to have been
gained by long experience among
whalemen. .
81 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 q paper. z, .'-s
"How do T 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
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 q thousand
years old.
''It I'D steal bait EASTERN 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 so
times. He'd go skuttlin' round my hook
four or five times, jes' ter get tn bear
ings Nv th' 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 th' 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 it's 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 rized him to the edge
Nv tn water.
'He spilled my fishin' fur three sum-
mers, but I 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
opened half bucket ur clans an set
the bait down by the table right under
where I'd sot a nigh 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 a match knocked tn
bottle over an most all the likker
cussed myself fur a lubber all night,
fur I had pains in my leg an stumach
mighty bad. But amt sorry thet
spilled tn ikker now, seein' that
kotched tn eddicated crab.
II thot ez the likker would be likely
to spile tn bait, an sure enough didn't
git 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
prohibitionist away from hum. He
cleaned my hook an made sail fur his
port, but bimeby he cum back under
full headway an seemed dreadful eager
fur mother bite. He got it, but acted
so wobbly that it sot me ter thinkin'.
Says ter myself, you hev sartainly got
brains enough to git tangled up in
your latitude eff you hist in much more
Nv that cargo so L jist jambed tn
hook full Nv rum-soaked CLANS an let
Cap'n Crab navigate all over the bottom
with it. Bimeby seed thet he was too
wobbly ter steer within three pints Nv
his course. He he'd to tack half dozen
times afore he could lay himself along
side the hook when I baited up agin
and then he jest grabbed at tn bait,
hook and all, regardless O. conse-
kecences. I let him git a good hold
afore I yanked, an when did give pull
on tn line druv tn hook@nigh half
through his port quarter It wasn't
time for tn wink ura yallerleg's eye
afore he'd him in. tn boat; an he lay
thar an blinked at me ez drunk ez a
shanghaied foremast hand in tn TO- 'kas-
tie Nv a Baltimore packet. Thet's how
kotched tn eddicated crab" Boston
Traveller. & 7.:z .s. II, # .sz#