The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-05-20
CRABS HELD UP BROADWAY.
Three Fell in Car and Then Ladies
Got Out.

Special Dispatch to the Cincinnati En-
qurer.
New York-Six dozen salt water crabs
caused more trouble than indigestion in
Broadway. 1t would be perfectly truth
full to say they caused a panic
When the scene opened the crabs were
squir1ning in a large basket fastened
loosely to the tailboard of Il wagon which
trundled along lazly. while the boy
driver slouehed back In his seat and
whistled "Hiawatha."
In Eighty-second street a car ran so
close to the wagon that the basket was
toppled over and three of the crabs fell
into the car through the open windows.
The remaining sixty-nine crabs were
spilled on the pavement. The boy did not
realize that anything unusual happened
and drove on, whistling "Iawatha."
1T so happened that the only man in
the car was the conductor. The ten pas
sengers were women. They screamed. 1t
appears that the women had all seen the
crabs as they scrambled Into the car,
but the conductor did not see them. Thus
1t happened that simultaneously with the
ensemble scream four of the women seized
the conductor and Historically appealed
to him to save them. Not seeing the
crabs, the conductor questioned whether
he or the women had suddenly gone in
sane.
The six women who did not seeize the
conductor sprang onto the seats and then
tried to get out of the windows. Mean
while the crabs went sprawling about
the floor poking their saucy little claws In
most terrifying manner. One OF the wo-
men. Miss Marie Murray, Of No. 347 West
Elehty-fourth street, as she said after
ward. was ''simply scared stiff and that
made 1t all the worse for her.
When the crabs had Topped into the
o..
still and screamed with the others. She
seemed transflxed, and so she sat and
stared and shuddered one of the crabs
%obbled UP and caught the hem of her
skirt In its claws. Then Miss Murray moved
and very suddenly. In fact she sprang
SD far into the air that the conductor
declares that the plume in her hat
touched the top of the car.
Seeing the crab dangling at her skirts
the other woman made a hop, skip and
jump for the rear platform and were
about to vault over the tailboard when
they discovered that the pavement was
literally alive with crabs. Then there was
more screaming and more pitiful appeals
tC the conductor.
Then n crowd of excited men and boys
swept down ON the car. where somebody
was apparently doing foul murder When
the men saw the crabs in the street they
too, SHE'D off, most of them, and left the
poor women to their fate.
Brave souls there were in the crowd
who stepped fearlessly forward and Of
fered to put the crabs back in the basket.
Many volunteered. but few became eligi-
BILE for the Carnegie medal. They even
deserted the women and Withdrew to the
sidewalk and watched the squirming
crabs from a distance.
Within ten minutes the crowd had
grown to 1000 and traffic was interrupted.
Finally three pluclty policemen came with
shovels, and such of the crabs as had
not crawled down into the subway were
captured. A bicycle policeman was sent
after the wagon, and the ten women
passengers were taken away in carriages.