The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-05-28
SNAKE. EGGS AND A JUG.
A Moccasin's Appetite and Lack of
Sense Led to His Death.

Sense Led to His Death.
! A party of Jacksonville mechanics
were at work on the Matanzas river
raising a sunken dredgeboat They
lived on board of the big lighter on
which they worked in a small house
on the deck. One noon their bill of
fare was somewhat strengthened by
some wild turkey eggs which had been
found by some Of the party while hunt
ing on shore. After the hungry en-
gineers had destroyed a heavy dinner
they left their dining room and return
ed to work The doors and windows
were all open, and the cook did not
clear off the table for some time.
In this interval a large water moe
casin of near six feet crawled on board
the lighter and wriggled into the din
ing room through the open door. In
| his prospecting tour he climbed the
table leg, and here, with snakes
fondness for eggs, he went In for a
feast. One of the turkey eggs lay
alone by a plate, and the rest were in
dish ON the other side of the table.
In the center stood large water jug,
and right here the willy serpent slipped
up. After swallowing the lonesome
egg, he started for the main supper
and in his artless manner crawled
through the handle of the jug. 1t was
rather tight fit, and he had to stop
about half way through on account of
the egg, which enlarged him some
what. So, stretching forward, he bolt
ed another egg and thereby fastened
himself.
On each side of the jug handle was
an egg on his inside, and he could
move neither backward nor forward,
practically riveted in position. He was
soon found in this peculiar situation
by the cook, who speedily killed him.
The reporter was shown the skin of
the snake with a crease still in the
middle from the tremendous pressure,
and he was also permitted to gaze on
the jug whose handle proved so fatal.
Florida Times Union and Citizen.
Took Him at His Word.
'sMen on newspapers often have
peculiar experiences" said W. A. Fair
child of Chicago, "and such a one be-
fell a friend of mine some time ago.
The friend in question was city editor
of a great daily, and in the course of
mis- manifold duties it fell to his lot to
take to task one of his reporters. The
reporter in question was an English
man, slow of thought and action and
misery of speech. Through the trade
to which he was subjected he said
nothing, and when it finally ended he
out any comment.
But, as the result proved, he did
some tall thinking. City editors when
'riled,' as is well known, are not par
ticularly choice or economical in the
language they bestow on their unfor-
tunate reporters. and among other
things the Englishman had been told
that he was no better thanh fact,
was-a crazy man and that his proper
habitat was lunatic asylum and not
the hall bedroom of Chicago board
ing house which he occupied.
"The Englishman took this part of
the city editors remarks as his text and
acted upon them. He promptly went
to an asylum, had himself thoroughly
examined by three or four alienists
and secured from them an official GER
tificate to the fact that he was sane.
With this he appeared at the office of
his paper the next day, and, entering
the editors sanctum, he slapped it
down before his astonished and dis
mayed superior Now, you go and get
one was his only comment and for
once that city editor capitulated. =
New York Tribune.