The Democratic advocate., 1875-06-05

~ no uctiOn.s Inc crows OF India, which
in number are like grasshoppers, especial.
ly in the cities, do not hesitate to enter
the houses and carry of whatever they can
lay hands or beak on. While we were in
Calcutta the crows came into our room at
the hotel, In the very centre of the city,
and seized our breakfast before our eyes,
while we were waiting TO eat IT,
1t was my lot once upon a time to be
down with fever in India. The room in
which lay was the upper fat of an anti
quated building, 10 rather lonely part Of
the suburbs Of the town It had three
windows, close to which grew large ban
yan-tree, beneath the shade of whose
branches the crew Of n line-of-battle ship
might have hung their hammocks with
comfort. The tree was inhabited by q
colony Of crows; we stood-the crows and
lin the relation Of over the~way TO each
other Now, Of all the birds that Hy. the
Indian crow must bear the palm for auda-
city. Living by his wits, he Is ever on the
best Of terms with himself, aud his impu-
dence leads him to dare anything. When
eSer, by any chance, Paudoo, my attend
ant, left the room, these black gentry paid
me a visit. Hopping in by the score, and,
regarding me no more than the bed-post,
they commenced minute inspection Of
everything in the room, trying to destroy
everything that could not be eaten or
carried away They rent the towels.
drilled holes in my uniform, stole the
buttons from my coat, and smashed nv
bottles. One used to sit on a screen close
BY my bed, every day, and scan my face
with his evil eye, saying, as plainly as
could be; "You're getting thinner and
beautifully less; in day or two, you won't
be able to lift hand; then I'll have
the pleasure of picking out your two eyes. .
Amid such doings, my servant would
generally come to my relief perhaps to
find such scene as this Two or three
pair Of hostile crows, with their feathers
standing up around their necks engaged
in deadly combat on the floor oyera silver
spoon or toothbrush half dozen
perched upon every available chair; an
unfortunate lizard, with a crow at each end
Of it, getting whirled wildly around the
room, each crow thinking he had the best
right to it; crows everywhere, hopping
about on the table, aud drinking from the
bath, crows perehed on the window.sill,
and more crows about TO come, and each
crow doing all in bis power to make the
greatest possible noise The faithful Pan
doc would take all this in at a glance;
then would ensue a helter-skelter retreat.
and the windows darkened by the black
wings Of the flying crows, then silence for
a moment, only broken by some apologetic
remark from Pandoo.
When at length happy days of GONZALES
cence came round, and l was able to get
up, and even eat my meals at the table,
! found my friends, the crows, little more
civil and respectful The thought OCCUR
red to me to make friends with them; /
consequently began regular system Of
feeding them after every meal-time. One
old crow | caught, and chained TO chair
with 6ddle-string He was funny old
fellow with one club foot He never re-
fused his food from the very day of his
captivity, and ! soon taught him few
tricks. One was to lie on his back, when
so placed, for any length Of time, till set
on his legs again. This was called turn
ing the turtle. But, one day this bird Of
freedom hoped away, fiddle-string and all,
and whole fortnight elapsed before saw
him again. was just beginning to put
faith in belief common in India--nameiy,
that crow, or any other bird that has
been for any time living with human
beings, is put to instant death the moment
he returns to the bosom Of his family;
when, one day, while engaged breakfasting
some forty crows, my club-footed pet re-
appeared, and actually picked the Bit from
my hand, and ever after, until left, he
came regularly thrice a day to be fed.
The other crows came with surprising
exactness at meal times; FIRST one would
alight on the shutter outside the window,
and peep in, as If to ascertain how nearly
done / happened to be, then fy away for
Eve or ten minutes, when he would return,
and have another peep. As soon, how
ever, as ! approached the window, aud
raised my arm, l was saluted with Choir
us Of cawing from the banyan tree then
down they swooped in dozens; and il was
no very easy task to fill so many mouths,
although the loaves were government ones
These pets had a deadly enemy in q
brown raven--the bramla kite: swifter
than IN arrow from bow he descended,
describing the arc Of great circle, and
carrying off in his fight the largest lump
of bread he could spy. He, for one, never
stopped to bless the hand Of the giver;
but the crows, | know were not ungrateful.
Ciub-foot used to perch beside me on a
chair, and pick his morsels from the ioor,
always promising that two windows at least
must be left open. As to the others their
prosecutions ended; they never appeared
except when called upon. The last act Of
their aggression was to devour very fine
specimen Of praying mantis had con-
fined in quinine bottle. The FIRST day,
the paper cover had been torn of, and
the mantis had only escaped BY keeping
close at the bottom; next day, the cover
was again broken, and the bottle itself
capsized; the poor mantis had prayed in
vain for once. Club foot, | think, must
have stopped all day in the banyan tree,
for | never went to the window to cali
him without his appearing at once with q
joyful cav; this feat / used often 10 exhibit
70 my shipmates who used to visit me dur
ing my illness. - Chamber journal
Hnrsrunr !, Hr,rn.a "A A.hl......c q. i