Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 200, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1913 — Basket of Lively Crabs Cause Great Commotion [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Basket of Lively Crabs Cause Great Commotion

FHIDADELPHIA.— A basket of crabs which were tied to the seat of a motorcycle caused a commotion the neighborhood of the Episcopal hospital the other day that will long be remembered. Incidentally, it wrecked the motorcycle and landed the rider in the hospital with a fractured skull. And the cause of it all was one crab’s dash for freedom and a healthy appetite, who wandered out of the basket, climbed the rider’s back and affectionately took hold of his neck. The unexpected attack from the rear caused the rider to lose control of his machine. Harold Wilson, twenty-three year, old, of 177 Westmoreland street, left for Wildwood, N. j., the other morning to go “crabbing.” After he had disported himself in the surf and later on captured a good supply of large ones, he decided to return home. He tied the basket on the back seat of the motorcycle. All went well until he reached Kensington and Lehigh avenues. There, one of the largest of the collection became restless and crawled up his back. When it reached his neck It' bit hard and held on. The pain on the back of his neck was so

sudden and unexpected that Wilson lost all control of the machine and was thrown head foremost to the curb. A crowd of a hundred persons quickly gathered and Wilson was carried to the hospital, which was but a short distance from the scene of the accident. Augmented by numerous Sunday strollers, the crowd had assumed proportions that threatened to block traffic, however, in the excitement, overlooking the basket of crabs which had escaped and were scrambling through the throng. Their presence became known when one of them fastened onto the ankle of a pretty girl. Her screams started a stampede that cleared the thoroughfare in record time.