Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-08-24
NATURAL HISTORY STORIES.
THE WILD CANARY.

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NATURAL HISTORY STORIES.
THE WILD CANARY.
! From nearly every garden in Manila
the rich notes from the wild canary can be
heard, and in the opinion of many its songs
are preferable TO that of its more brilliant
domesticated brother; for, without the
shrillness of the latter, it has very near its
compass and fullness of tone. 1t generally
chooses the topmost branch of tree and
pours forth a little food of music, which
1t sastains even when flying from one tree
to another. Occasionally, though rarely,
it viii also sing from the tops OF houses.
| Ornamental frs and other thick foliaged
trees are its favorite building places, and
it Is not uncommon to find FIVE or six nests
in one tree. The song is continued more
or less throughout the year.
! TEE LOVES OF HORSES.
A pair of horses in an English stable,
whose box stalls adjoined each other, were
firm friends. The one who finished his
hay first invariably received from the other
enough to keep him busy until both lots
were consumed. 0ne day one of the horses
|
of which was unfasteGed, and found out
bucket of mash which was standing in the
entrance of the stable, and taking the op-
portunity while the coachman was in the
loft overhead, he was helping himself
freely to its tempting contents. The other
horse, who was fastened to his own loose
box, caught sight of his friends proceed
ings and neighed loudly, evidently demand
ing share for himself, and the servant
was asborished to see the horse which was
enjoying himself fill his mouth with the
mash and poke his nose through the bars
of the loose box for his friend TO take it
from his mouth. This was done several
times.
THE sAGAcITY OF BEARS.
The Captain OF a Greenland whaler put
piece Of meat in rope moose spread upon
the snow, and waited for bear. Bruin
saw the bait, approached and seized it in
his mouth, but at the same time got his
foot entangled in the rope. He quietly
pushed it off his paw and retired, and sat
down at distance to dine After finish
ing his meal he returned where another
bait aud the moose had been replaced. He
pushed the rope aside, seized the beef and
again retired. A third time the moose was
laid, but excited TO more caution by the
evident observation Of the bear the sailors
buried the rope beneath the snow and laid
the meat in a deep hole in the center.
| Oacs more the bear approached, and the
sailors were hopeful of their success; but
bruin, more sagacious than they expected,
after snuffing about the place for few
moments, scraped the snow away with his
paw, threw the rope aside and again es.
capped with his prize.
PANTHER BEAR FIGHT.
Peter Stewart, says the Kingston Free.
man, was once hunting in Rockland when
he saw some deer bones lying at the mouth
of crevice in some rocks. He knew that
it was panther's den, and that the bones
were the remnants of feast the occupants
had made on deer they had captured.
Stewart hid himself behind tree and
awaited developments. Imagine his sur
prise when he saw big bear come ont of
the cave carrying under his arm panther
kitten, which was squalling and kicking
with all its might. The bsar rose on its
launches, and giving the kitten box or
two on the ears with his fore paw, squeezed
it to death and threw it on the ground.
The bear then returned to the cave, and in
short time came out with another kitten
companion had been. What the future
intentions of the bear were Stewart never
found out, for the second kitten had barely
been killed when the mother panther ap.
peared on the scene. This seemed to take |
the bear by surprise. The old panther
saw her kittens lying on the ground. She |
bounded first to one and then to the other,
smelling and licking them and utteripg |
plaintive cries. Then she turned On the |
bear, which had remained in the erect po- |
sifion it had resumed when squeezing the |
second kitten to death. With yell that
almost froze the blood of the hunter, used |
as he was to the fury OF panthers, she
sprang upon the bear and fastened her
claws in its shaggy coat and her fangs in
its throat. The bear hurled its antagonist
ten feet away with its powerful paws, and
then attempted to escape second attack
by flight. But the panther was upon it
again in an instant, and terrific combat
ensued. The bear endeavored to catch the
panther in its hug, but the latter was too
agile, and with every spring upon its huge
enemy the panther inflicted terrible
wounds with its sharp claws. The blood
poured from dozen great gashes in the
bears body, and at last the panther leaped
upon the bear as it stood facing her, and
fastening her teeth in its throat, thrust
the long, sharp nails Of her hind feet into
its vitals. The bear fell to the ground
dead. As the panther IVES returning to its
dead kittens Stewart shot her through the
heart.
THE FLYING FISH AND ITS FOE.
An extract from Nature throws doubt on
the pursuit OF the flying fish by tho So
called dolphin, the coryphene. As was
once witness of such chase, accompa-
MED by a circumstance much rarer, ap.
pend an account One afternoon during a
voyage on sailing vessel bound to West
India port, while the ship was making
some four or five miles an hour, a cory
phene was observed gamboling under the
bows, going ahead little. as if to show its
superior speed, and then returning to its
frolics While the sailors were fastening
the harpoon to line the corypheDe sighted ,
a flying fish. At once it stiifened itself
its whole body quivered as if with excite.
ment; its tail was agitated from one side '
to another, and it started in pursuit, bound. t
ing over the surface of the sea with leaps
of some fifteen or twenty feet Although $
a stern chase Is held to be very long one, !,
this lasted less than q minute one OF the :
leaps brought the coryphene right under i
the terrified fying.tish, which seemed to
fall into the enemy's jaws. The latter re.
turned to its playground under the
bows and was harpooned, brought on
board, and cut up within two minutes
after its meal. The fyish-tish was taken i
out whole, uninjured. The ccryphene is t
the beautifully colored fish, noted for the v
shifting and varieties of its tint when ex- S
piring. It is commonly but enormously c
called dolphin, as in the vel. known
verse. "The dying dolphin's changing !
nues." Now, in regard to the flying fish, q q
[ have watched them on many voyages,
md | confirm the observers who describe 4
Is motion as a leap, not an act Of flying.
It springs out of the water, gradually ris- v
ng to the middle of its course, then fall
ng, describing parabola just as an arrow P
loes in its fight | have repeatedly seen :
hem change direction during The leap, :
making detection amounting to about !,
lalf angle, never more. But / cannot Ii
gree with Mr. Whitman, who estimates s.
he length OF their leap to be as much as n
100, or even 200 feet. ! opine that 800 i:
aat is q nrat4t, h., ,un,,, for ono of Abaca Il