The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-16

headed youth industrously digging at a gopher hole. What are you trying to do, son?" he inquired.
 I'm gwine to get gopher"
 You can't dig out a gopher; he can dig faster than you can.'
 I've got to git him. responded the youth "Thars a Methodist preacher at our house and it's gopher or no meat"
 I don't believe that story, even though a good man told It.
 There Is another animal called gopher, but it resembles a ground squarrel some what, and to that I will introduce you at some future time.
 Terrapin stew, green turtle soup and gopher soup and gopher hash are all good for those who like them, and the family has many connections who are more or less distinguished Over in South Caro- lima 30 year ago, quite business was done in the town in which I lived by shipping the "cooters" which were plen- tiful in the ponds in the neighborhood to New York, where they were doubtless served at the swell restaurants as dia- mond back terrapin. Speaking of coolers, I am reminded of story told of the early days of the South Carolina railroad some where in the 40's. The trains were stopped almost anywhere to take on pas sengers and schedules were somewhat ir- regular, but on one occasion when the engineer was doing his best to make up some lost time, an old darky was seen energetically waving a red bandana hand kerchef. The train was brought to a standstill and the conductor jumped down exclaimng, What's the matter?' The old darky holding up by its tail dlmin- utive specimen said, Mister don't you want to buy cooter?" The conductor s reply was not recorded. but for all I know, the old darky may be running yet
 in Wall orael< RaSqe- mer, a great many soft shelled turtles whose latin name is too long to write this hot weather, but they make a fine hash; I tried one once, but nobody but the col- onel and I would eat any; the others had seen it alive-but we found it good
 At Key West green turtle steaks are much esteemed. I thought when I saw them on the bill of fare that 1 was going to get something like outlet, but found that the meat was ground up and cooked in pats or balls like Hamburger steak Some of the turtles captured off Key West and other Florida keys weigh as much as 600 pounds
 The female turtle on moonlight night crawls up on the beach and after exca- vating a hole in the sand, lays a great quantity of eggs, hundred or two, or about as many as an English sparrow will lay in a season, then she covers them up and scratches up the sand for yards around, so as to deceive the wildcats, bears and coons who are very fond of the eggs; and having done that she slides off into the gulf again.
 Down on the Choctawhatchee bay and some of the other bays indenting the coasts of Florida great many small ter rapins are caught in seins and after be- ing broken up are fed to hogs. which ap- pear to be as fond of them as they are of everything else.
 When the troops were in Tampa dur ing the Spanish-American war, I heard a story on Florida hog of the family of razorbaczs and rather poor spec irnen, at that. Two of the soldiers had been downtown and while there had inn bibed rather freely of lemonade or some thing, and as a consequence, their eye sight was not the best. When near their camp, out jumped a black shadow, all legs, bristles and snout, which bounded away uttering, "Ouf ouf, ouf," at every jump. The soldiers gazed speeches., but walked on. Directly another apparition sprang across the road at 2:40 gait Bill" said one of the soldiers, T golly, wonder goes the other half of that hog"