New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1852-06-12

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cessation Of hostlities and pronissd to make III
This surrender however. was only atratagem Of var
reinforcement, which came from d. police once, and
Mrs Owen, yielding to superior numbers, was made
priscner.n
ANECDOTES OF osrR1cHEs Il
aGavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacock u
wings and feathers unto the ostrich?
Which eayeth her eggs in the earth, and varmethsl
And forgettet that the foot may crush them, or that
the wild beast may break them.
g She is hardened against her young though
Because God hath derived her Of wisdom, neither
hath he impaired to her understandings lPieidts
Bible, 1853.
The alleged stupidity Of the ostrich, and in
difference to its young, is, perhaps, the very
oldest popular error in existence, and is princi-
pally founded on the above passages in Job 1T
appears, however, that these passages are 0ben
them in the authorized versions Of the Old Tes-
lament. The word which has been translated
!" leaveth her eggs, IN the sense Of abAnslenin9
| them, signifies in the original deposits, and
| telhsaUn,en signifies actually that she heateth
them, namely, by incubation, which is indeed
the fact. In the sixteenth verse, the bird is
said to be 6 hardened against her young ones as
though they were not hers = and the some want
of affection is alluded to in the third verse Of the
fourth chapter of Lamentations-ss The dangh-
| ter of my people is become cruel, like the os-
triches in the Wilderness = but, in fact, the
! idea is altogether erroneous. Recent observa-
tions show that no bird has o greater affection
for its young than the ostrich, that the eggs are
carefully watched and tended, and when the
offspring have Clipped their shells and for some
/ days are unable to run, they are regularly sup.
| piled with grass and water by the old birds,
1 who are eager to defend them from harm Thun-
berg especially mentions thathe once rode past
a place where female was sitting on her nest,
when the bird sprang up and pursued him, evi-s
IDENTIFY with view Of preventing him noticing
i her eggs or young. Every time he turned his
horse towards her, she retreated ten or twelve
PAGES, but as soon as he rode on again, she pur-
sued him, till he had gone q considerable dis
j tance from the place where he had started her.
The idea Of tie stupidity Of the ostrich seems
to have been universally entertained, being
taken for granted without investigation. job,
as we have seen, alludes to it and Pliny, writ
| ing from common report, says: g A wonder this
4 is in their nature, that whatsoever they eat
and great devourers they be Of allthings with
out difference or choice--they concoct and di-
gest it. But the veriest fools they be Of all
others; for as high as their body is, yet if they
thrust their head and neck once into any shrub
or bush, and get it hidden, they think then they
are safe enough, and that no man seeth them.
!; Many pretty nursery tale has bcen written
from this, and many wise saw founded on it.
And yet the hiding Of the head is, after all, q
, mere myth. Sparrman, when in South Africa,
expressly inquired in those parts where ostriches
most abound, and s snever once heard mention
made Of the ostrich hiding its head when it fndI
it cannot make it's escape The truth is, the
ostrich does nothing Of the sort; He tries t
. escape as well as he can, and continues his eft
forts, till knocked on the head by the hunter
OF driven by him to o place where he may b
a. captured.
s Conflicting accounts have been published re
d specting the whole process Of breeding and in
i tcubation Of the ostrich. Eiian states that a
many as eighty eggs have been found in on
+ nest. Fifty or sixty have been certainly dis
covered, and the question has been whethe
g these are the produce of -one female or of many
y The balance of opinion inclines to the belle
i that one male ostrich attaches himself to thre
or four females, and that oil these deposit thei
J, eggs in one nest This, according to Burck
t hardt, who carefully investigated the subject
t is commonly made at the foot of some isolate
g hill, by the simple process of scratching hol
in the sand The eggs are then placed clos
: together, half buried in the sand, and o narro'
e trench is drawn round this to carry off any wa
ter. During the extreme heat of the day, th
is parent birds are instinctively aware that til
warmth Of the sun renders their attention un
8 necessary; but as soon as the shades Of evenin
u fall they each take their turn upon the nest
: and Lichtenstein says that great numbers Of th
n smaller beasts Of prey, as jackals and wild cat
s who will run any risk to procure the eggs, al
% found crushed to death around the nests; fl
/; the male bird rushes on them, and tramplt
d them with his powerful feet until life is extine
It The nests are never completely deserted, an
'e the parent birds relieve each other in keepin
i watch on the summit Of the neighboring hill
$. When the Arabs descry an ostrich thus engaged
/ they conclude that some eggs must be near; an
l. on their approach the old birds retire, althoug
it it is not uncommon, especially in South Africa
j. for them to show fight Having discovered th
nest, the Arabs dig hole in the ground nea
es it, in which they place loaded gun, having
l. long burning match fastened to the touch
ID hole. The gun is pointed towards the nest, an
le is carefully covered with sand and stones Th
birds after time return and resume their place
III on the eggs; the gun in due time explodes, an
next morning the Arab is rewarded by fndin
q one, or perhaps both, of the ostriches deaf
This is the common mode Of killing them pra,
If ticed in the deserts Of Northern Arabia.
ee 1t is said that some added eggs are general
ut found outside the nest, and that the flies br,
by their decomposition furnish the callow your
with food. Such may be the case, and if so,
he affords a striking illustration of that hapl
adaptation of means to ends visible thrcngho
he the whole economy of nature; but probably Il
IS primary reason for these being elected from Il
re nest is that more eggs are laid than can be CO
e's venently covered by the bird when sitting, al
wn that she therefore instinctively throws out t
ng surplus-tlus at once getting rid Of usele
o.: superabundance, and providing magazine
"a food for her future tender young.
er Various are the purposes to which ostrich
ss ss eggs are appled-hrst, they are in great fav
ais as culinary luxury, and are much sought aft
ny by the captains of the merchant vessels toucl
&c &C, ing at the African ports, being purchased
he them of the slave herdsmen, whose perquisit
an they generally are, for about sixpence each.
good sized egg weighs eleven ounces, is near sew
inches in depth, and holds five pints and qua
in ter consequently, it considered to afford me
which will perfectly satisfy four hungry viii
in men, or eight of the more moderate blacks. ~
ny ny yolk is very rich and luscious, and makes mc
IS enyiable omelette, but gourmands agree that 7
ct native mode Of cooking them is perfect. "
'uy Hottentots bury the eggs in hot ashes, an
M M through small hole in the upper end, the GO
ed tents are continually stirred until they acqui
.se, certain consstence which the sable cooks kn
zen by experience indicates the right moment
lad Il removing them from the ashes to the sackclo
up which covers the travellers primitive tab
US, They are then eaten with biscuit and wash
ss, sea down with copious draughts Of corn brandy
ier The eggs are frequently found to contain SIN
nen oval pebble like bodies, about the size Of mi
reh rowfat pea, Of pale yellow color, and exec