The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-06-07

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fight so fiercely that there will hardly
be a single crab that is not fastened
griInly to another and sometimes one
crab will hold two others-one with
each claw-while still other crabs will
have hold of him.
The little crab in the tank lived UP
to the reputation of his. family. He
had not been in it more than a few
minutes before he leaped at killie
fish three inches long and fastened
himself to it's back with his beautiful
glasslike claws, tearing at it like a
tiger.
When I put my hand in to remove
the remaining fish to another tank, he
jumped at my finger and pinched it
till the blood came. He hung on like
a little bulldog even after l had pulled
my hand out of the water, and l had
to shake him off with an effort.
Then he began to race around the
| pretty tank tearing up the weeds. 1t
was plain that he did this for no rea-
son in the world except mere malicious
anger.
For several days the little crab re-
manned so angry that he would not
| even take the food that was dropped
into the tank without first jumping
at it, hurting it upward in the water
and rending and tearing it to vent
his spite on it,
Whenever anyone approached the
tank he would scurry away under the
weeds, and if a person then insisted on
inserting his finger and padding in
! the water he would make a flying leap,
slash savagely at the intruding flesh
and scurry back again with his shears
clashing as fast as he could open and
shut them, and his funny wide-fringed
|
world as if he were talking to him
self.
The little fish that had been in the
| tank before the wicked crab arrived
had become so tame that they would
| hurry to the surface as soon as I
approached They would nibble at my
finger tips and take their food from
| let me put my hand under him and
hold him, as long as the hand re-
manned in the water.
Naturally I wanted to tame the
crab, but all the fish-wise folk smiled
at the idea and said that it was a
ridiculous thing to expect. There were
only two men who thought that it
might be done. They were Spencer and
| Denyse of the Aquarium, who have had
! wonderful success themselves, having
| tanned even the shy tropical reef-dwell-
ers such as the angel fishes and the
trumpet fishes so that they will rise
to the hand.
The first thing was to accustom the
| crab to take food that was held out
| to him instead of being dropped in.
| For this purpose a long, thin glass
| tube was used for a beginning. BY
closing its upper end with the finger it
| was possible to prevent the water
from entering its lower end when it
was thrust into the tank. except to
the hight of about a quarter of an
inch. In this small quantity of water
| a bit of clam was held suspended and
| then the apparatus was lowered until
it was in front of the eagerly watching,
suspicious little fighter.
The first time this was done he
rushed at it and struck at the glass
rod so fiercely with his shears that the
sound could be heard plainly on the
outside of the tank But after clawing
and nipping at the hard. transparent
! object for a few minutes, he became
convinced that he could not get a good
hold, and retired to a corner under
the weeds to reflect. At least, he
seemed to reflect. He sat hunched in
a heap, with his shears folded like
hands in front of him. while his stalk
eyes were gazed fixedly at the glass
tube that held motionless.
1t was quite a while before the crab
| venture Oul dSdlIl. Dul DIT last the
clam, which, of course, he could see
plainly inside the tube, temp ii him
| beyond further endurance and he made
another frantic effort to bite through
the tube. This time. however, he
ceased after one attempt and began to
circle around it.
After he had examined it from all
sides he did just exactly what a HUI
man being who knew all about glass
| tnhnS Wnl1ld have IL fr;A q
work in under it, to fish that clam out
He burrowed with all his slender legs
and swimmerets until he had removed
the fine gravel from the resting place
of the tube. Then he began to feel
around under it, and as soon as he
found the opening he set to work to
get his claw into it. Although this was
quite impossible he continued to try
until my hand grew so stiff from hold
ing the tube that released the pres
sure on the upper end, which, Of
course, admitted the water from be-
low. 1t rushed in and carried the
clam uD with it.
The antics of the blue crab were lu-
dicrous then. For an instant he started
| backward in fright. Then he swan
| upward alongside of the tube with all
his legs and swimmerets working mad
ly. and grabbed again and again at the
1eeting clam.
The next day the operation was re-
peated, only after the tube had been
nearly drawn out of the water I ner-
mitted the clam to settle slowly 50
that it floated in the mouth of the
tube where the crab could get al il.
AT first he was suspicious and his
attempts to seize ii were half-hearted
He would always scuttle away before
he had quite reached IL with his ont
stretched claw. But all at once he
| mustered up courage, grabbed n rxe
lightning and half tumbled half swan,
to the bottom of the tank, where he
crawled as far below the weeds as he
could. 49,
During the next three DAYS he over.
came his fear so far that he wouId
dart half way to the surface to meet
the tube when ii was inserted. Nv the
end of the week he became fearless
enough TO swim clear TO the surface
and hang on 20 the mouth Of the tube
searching for the clam that he knew
10 be in II.
Then inserted my finger. barely
| putting II below the surface Of the
tank. As soon as touched the
water the crab came scuttiing upward
but when he saw that II was not his
friend, the tube. be fell backwards
again and looked wrafhfully az the
new and strange intruder Patienflz
I kept my finger in position. buf 60
not lure him out 81 HE Weedy nest
For -four days / Continued thia Tor