WATSON'S CROSSING. 81 



While the bloom above was crowded with busy life, 

 the ground beneath appeared to harbor no creature of 

 any kind. I looked in vain for a frog, snake, toad, or 

 turtle ; but no sooner had I passed the meadow's bound- 

 ary than I found all four of them. A w r ater-snake was 

 hurrying creekward with a toad in its jaws, and a frog 

 sat near, as though contemplating the toad's fate, and 

 perhaps wondering if its turn would come next. I re- 

 leased the toad, which hopped away gleefully and quite 

 unhurt, and the snake savagely bit at my hand for dis- 

 possessing it of its lawful prey. The bite was but a 

 pin -prick, scarcely bringing the blood, although the 

 snake was a large one. 



Every creek, I suppose, has its monsters ; usually of 

 serpentine shape, although not always. The older fish- 

 ermen about here still insist upon a wonderful water- 

 snake, sometimes captured but never killed. There is 

 one curious feature about these stories. They all refer 

 to adventures in the lives of older men, now dead. JSTo 

 one living has ever caught the Crosswicks sea-serpent ; 

 but as soon as an old man dies, it is suddenly remem- 

 bered that he did have such an experience. Comment 

 is unnecessary. Nevertheless, there are big snakes, 

 large turtles, and many overgrown fishes in the creek, 

 and an occasional l>ona fide specimen is exhibited at the 

 cross-roads tavern, and subsequently is heralded in the 

 local paper. Every ensuing year the history of the 

 monster is repeated, and a pound in weight or a foot in 

 length is added. It is really strange that many a large 

 catfish caught by our grandfathers has not grown to a 

 whale by this time. 

 4* 



