The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-02-04
NOT COMMON CLANS, THESE
sEBEC LAKE. GIANTS TRAVEL ASD
ClTCH BIRDS AND FISH.
Not Little Birds, Either. but crows nm"
Ducks-Big Herons Alone Able to fo"i
WIN IMMUNITY with Their ope"e"
Sheiis-Angler Hoodooed by a big Pe"ri.

Not Little Birds. Euher' p"t .'""' ~"
Ducks-Big Herons Alone Ap'e I'D ro".
WIN Impunity with Their Opened
SheIi.-Angler Hoodooed by a Big Pearl.
FoxCRoFT, Me. Jan 20. Sebec L"kes
migratory clans which furrow the bottom win
their path have been written OF before ous
the question as to their means Of locomotion IL not
ye, settled. The most reasonable hypo'hee'"
advanced is that they work themselves along on
their heads, either using them NJ setting poles
10 boost themselves forward, or attaining inc
same end by ejecung a stream Of water against
the bottom, which by it's reaction forces them
ahead In whatever way they gain their mosnen-
tum they are hustlers and, first and last, cover q
great deal oi ground in their meanderings. inns
is shown by the length OF the burrows 'hey ien's
in the sand and mud, some OF when iead INTO
water too deep to trace them to their end'ngs'
The places in which the clans are most abundant
are where sandy beaches shelve into the lake.
and particularly OF the mouth OF streams whch
probably bring down in solution the nliment On
which they thrive.
II is n, Granny Cross Cove on the north sidS
u the lake, near its head, that the SeHc clam
attains the iulness II his size and vlgor, ny
floating in a boat in the cove when the water 10
still one may get an idea Of t g dimensions which
are possible to a fresh water clam II you will
t1hF NV hl'i = hih W. ""'h''s 49,
believe that some Of the monsters Of the fossil
age survived in the shell fish Of this water~reach.
Leaving such tales aside, the clam Of Granny Cross
Cove is a husky mail clad fellow who, while not
aggressive, is form dable in obedience. Hn
shells, when opened wide, are u trap in which
many an unsuspecting fish and waterfowl has
been caught The wild duck diving for food,
the sand peep lettering along the shadows ana
the inquisiti,e mlnnow nosing about in search
Il something to nibble gain n painful and costly
experience when they trust foot or head between
those innocent looking shells, which, at a touch
clinch together like a steel trap, and never release
their grip, 50 long ms there is anything left 70
hold TO- The trnaCl;y and strength with which
n clam will hang TO an object on which he has
closed his shells would scarcely be- credible eNcept
for the many instances recorded with Supports
# competent testimony. Thedc Wynian,
the admiral Of the Sebcc pleasure feet. and his
brother in-law, Eugene Barry, were On a duck
shooting trip at the head # Il g lake some years
ago, and for several days they made their STAND
night ana morning al a point where they couId
fire into the fock- q ducks that few back end
forth daily between the like and the upper waters
Of the VI il'on stream In one flock was n duck
TINT Jagged behind the others, flying low and
with difficulty This was Observed for several
days Vt last Barry brought this duck down
with u long shot, and then II was found that a
clam TINT had fastened t. one # tie ducks legs
vas VIZ ANNlNf ~ Wv l'Nl = illlN WV III hNAHNr
For days the clam had kept hold through all tie
ducks light, and di,inEs, and the leg wns half
cut through by the shells
Guiie ard crows forging along the edges q
& rHnnytT u,Nt owe have Jared Us badly in meddling
with the giant CLANS. They usually have been
nippcd bN the leg, NJ could be scen by the limb
hanging down in their flight, but oreluckless crow
got caught IN a more painful way, a. was told by
a fisherman who witnessed the occurrence The
angler. in his boat, was lying becalmed of tho
mouth of the cove when a small flock of crows
came along through a gorge OF the mountains
After watching him for a little While they all flew
10 the little beach AT the head If the cove except
one crow that stayed in IN" tree rs sentinel
They Were hopping and pockIng along the waters
edge as busy as unkers on a Saturday when un.
crow began to hop up and down strangely end
flap his wings and shuttle around. lie had riskof
his bcak in the opened shells of a ella with corsc-
queuces that he plainly had not torcseen, Tie
clam, an immense one, that looked 10 the man
To be as big IN circumferenc" as his whole hand;
had gripped hlS a%ssailant by the heak and head
and WAS holding fast o. oil hr had secured. Had
the clam been Il small one IN" crow could have
hammered the shells to pieces against a rock,
swallowed the contente. and gone in search x
another, hut tbs one was too big n Proposition
b. be dealt viii in this WY, The crow has the
reputation II being q wise bird, but thisune plainly
was not equal To- the emergency In his confusion
he Mapped lnt" the water aud, with the weights
Of the clam dragging his head down, was near
drowning. lie managed to gain the shore, and
the top Il q shelving rock; from there he took
flight and rose IN the air above the trees, heading
inland. Inc other cruws, after the habit Of thess
birds nhcn one 4 lhrlr numh 7 ~ in trouble, kept
him company, wheel nr r. und obout linn and caw-
ing, hut seemingly not able to lend him any help.
Hall way up the gorge that led from the noun
tHIns down IT, the cove, III" hampered crow. who
had been having a hard struggle all the way to
keep aloft turned in the air and pitched, head
dol inward, among III" trees. He did not appear
agaln. The other crows hoVrred about the spot
for hall an hour, then flew away, by which the
fisherman Judged that their companion had sue
Cumb,d, being smuthered or killed by pressure
Of the shells, for they scarcely would have left him
had he been still alive.
Ira hirh Ul.Ilp tIa bar,p ig cop,ratapt a. daal
with CLANS II al sizes, and he makes them part Of
his diet, though he invors frogs and minnows by
easily grappl"s the biggest clam, with no posi-.
hihly Of getting nipped in return. Then taking
his prey T. the shore he smashrs the she'll to pieces
There j. y belief founded more on probabilities
than on evidence, that some Of the GTAnny Cross
Cove clans carry pearls tucked away inside their
shells, The one authentic find Of this sort re-
ported was made by n Foxcroft man named Sum-
ncr 1t was uudeniably a pearl. and a hne one,
finder, win u companion he was trolling for
lGudl"ckrd salmon in the eke and they put into
Granny ross Cove for q incoming. The clems
N"t" out that dry in fun force working their
trenches along the bottom. and, after the men
hadratrn theirluncheuu, Sumner with his landing
net scoop"d ~ a hasketfui II them When they
ran out int" the lake again he took them alorg,
compa naI ar" "sE E%H F@%lTPE +! !sm de- .o Win those. he
Of their finding en- IN fresh water clans IN cther
places nlu why not here II the size Of the CLANS
counts Ut IN business n pearl from & fanny Cross
Cove ought 10 BE- II Whopper'
lie Jet rs lruI me run out tO n proper distance
nNt'tn, Etlpped the butt II his fishing rod with his
knees with the tip over his shoulder and fen 10
opening the clans. rs he examined eaCh one.
finding nothing b" pitched IT overheard, adding
some remarks to the p%"'furmhncc as he came 10
NE. bottom II the basket still with no success. Us
mad lust opened the last clam, the biggest Of the
lot, when q salmon struck his hook bending lie
tui hail double uvpr his shoulder. The sirike
Of = Srbec salmon, felt NJ the end ~ an eight-o,ince
rod, Is an event 10 stH,tlc the nerves Of the coolest
man, but Summer before attending TO Tho al,
glanced at the clam aud tossed IL oyerhoa I'd M iha
others had gone hr'p" only in his .XcitcNrnt
the glance hnd toss were simultaneous and ths
clam hAu left his hand " hen il dawnp,i upnn hia
couSciO usn"ss that /. nestled between lis shslis
q fllnd clear pearl the SIZE Of a martovfat uas
As lac gaze! IN n sort II horror Stricken fascination
AZ ia" clam going down with It's trrn sur. into
deep w'trr, he was reused from his trance by the
sharp snap. II the fishing rod NJ his ear Tbc
salmon for lack Of handling had torn itself from
the hook, leaving r. the fisherman the broken rrd
rs . mement" II his double loss. Whe,her ths
strike Il The salmon huoduued his pearl hunting
~ the mining u the reNrl hood 0ed his nebinS
lsa problem uilsolvo1 IN Summers mind. bnt the,c
Is on" man IN f~"KCroft To- day who is thorougbiy
convinced mat the two pursuits are nCOmpatIbe
Not Ordinary T%iuckmen.