322 



The American Angler. 



knoweth. The first thing the riders 

 heard was a hiss and the clasp of a boot 

 heel by those vise-like jaws. A yell, 

 the stopping- of the horse, the temporary 

 loss of a boot, and two men standing by 

 the roadside and a mad snapping turtle 

 owning that particular wagon. The 

 situation was a funny one to say the 

 least. In some way the boot was 

 loosened. The turtle was once again 

 tied up, it was thought securely, and 

 the party moved on once more. But 

 the merest schemes of men "gang aft 

 aglee. " Mr. Snapper broke his throngs 

 and was loose. Two madder men never 

 lived than John Finley and his com- 



panion at that time. After discussion 

 they came to the conclusion that 

 "three " was mighty poor company. I 

 should state that this second escape 

 was made while the horse was drinking 

 water from where the stream and road 

 come together, the same stream from 

 which the snapper had been taken three 

 miles further up. A noose was slipped 

 around that ugly head. It was lifted 

 by main strength, carried to the water 

 and dropped in, noose and all. Thus 

 ends the story of that particular 

 snapping turtle, but Finley had no 

 party, and his friends none of that 

 delicacy known as snapper soup. 



