The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1872-08-20
Qbe .Gintes, New Bloom6eIo, lpa.
"A Bird Droyer.

. N
HNHE first time 1 was in New Orleans
Il strolled down the streetone day, and
as l went on observed a man before me who
threw out first one hand and then the 9TH
er, raising them both above his head some
times, and bringing them down again as if
he were going through gymnastic exer-
else, or practicing gestures out of school
speaker with pictures of boys in it, and
dotted lines to show where their hands are
to move. He was not walking straight for
ward, but went first to one side and then to
the other; so that / thought he must be
either drunk or crazy. When / came up
to him, however, found that he was per-
fectly sober, very far from crazy, and as
busy as the most industrious person could
wish. He was, in fact, bird merchant,
and he was driving three hundred canaries
before him, just as people drive hogs or
cattle, or anything else. They were not
trained birds that have been taught tricks,
like those in shows, but just ordinary ca
nary birds, hopping along the ground in
drove like flock of sheep. They SEEM
ed to know their master, and had been
practiced at this driving until they knew
the meaning of every gesture he made, SO
that he could drive them wherever he
pleased without fear of losing a single one,
and when customer wanted to see a par
ticular bird, the man had no difficulty in
picking it up out of the flock
1la ,ola 4 L. 7
to the man, and got permission to 60 to his
shop, which was a queer place certainly.
There were cages hanging all over the
ceiling, and setting every where that Gag
es could set, and every cage was full of
birds. Birds of every kind of color were
there, some eating, some chattering, some
screaming, and the place, thought, was
the noisest one ever saw. A great owl
hoped about the floor, and an eagle sat on
the table, looking like a judge half asleep.
Two birds of paradise in cage were
smoothing their gaudy feathers, like ladies
getting ready for concert Like birds of
every color were crowded together in one
cage, ready to be sent away to bird dealer
in another city. In the back yard the ca
naries, hundreds of them, were twittering,
while peacocks and turkey gobblers stood
about among their neighbors. The old
man also kept some snakes in boxes, and
one or two young alligators, together with
monkeys, and rabbits, and everything else
that anybody could possibly make pets of.
learned that the man raises all his ca
naries and many Of his other birds, and
buys the rest from sailors, who bring them
from Mexico and South America. He has
boys and girls wandering all over the city
with little cages of birds for sale, and he
drives the canaries himself, while his wife
attends to the shop. He commenced driv-
ing canaries many years ago, and had a
good deal of trouble to teach his first flock
to obey. But birds and animals seem to
learn more rapidly from each other than
from men; so whenever young canaries get
large enough to be sold, the man puts them
with his flock, and they do as the rest do.
They are like boys and girls in doing as
their comrades do, learning good things or
bad things, according to the company they
keep.