Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1881-01-12
THE OSTRICH AND THE
MISSIONARY.

] LAuIlll Nuul 10 uO WIN l0e OblFlCu
is a problem which has caused much
uneasiness to naturahsts, fowlianciers
and political economists. As barn.
yard fowl he has proved too clumsy
and quarrelsome. By reason of his
long.leggedness and disposition to take
exercise on large scale, it has been
found that large area of land must
be occupied in order to raise him sue
cessiully. Among birds his station
corresponds in many respects to that
which the giraffe occupies among
beasts. Both giraffe and ostrich love to
hold their heads high among their fel
low.creatures and to put on airs. Both
are ornamental and hitherto neither
has been very useful Countless plans
have been seton foot tor using ostriches
as burdeu-carriers, but none of these
have been attended with practical sue
cess. The bird is altogether too lofty
to work, preierring to lounge bis time
away in Incidence and bestow bis chief
energy On the display Of his fine feath-
ers. Although difficult to catch and
troublesome to manage, the ostrich can
be made TO pay profit to the man
who is patient enough to bear with his
waywardness and bold enough to risk
his i'll temper.
A Missionary in Africa has now put
in a claim to having solved two
problems. One of these is in reference
to ostriches. The other bears on the
economic features of the missionary
work This Missionary is located at
one of those African settlements whose
name recklessly defes pronunciation
that there is no use in trying to put it
in type. The good man formerly oc-
cupied in keeping cows and sheep the
odds and ends OF his time which were
not spent in trying to convert the be.
nighted Africans, The sinful objects
OF his evangelical endeavors habitually
showed their hardness of heart by
driving of the cows and carrying
away the sheep. After having been
robbed of all he was worth the Mission.
AIRY resolved to quit keeping these ami
NAL and turn his attention to ostriches.
He found this great success. The
ostrich is a difficult bird to steal. A
colored person who has all his life
grown fat on stealing turkeys is aston.
ished when for the first time he makes
midnight raid on an ostrichroost.
A large ostrich can, with one blow
level him to the earth and cause him
to lie there, thinking about his sins.
This feature Of ostrich character makes
the bird a valuable one where the
neighbors are OF thievish disposition.
Being able to keep his ostriGhes and
train them from infancy to old age,
the Missionary finds each bird worth
about hundred and Fifty dollars
year in feathers, in eggs and in small
ostriches, which, If cared for at trifling
cost by inexpensive natives, become in
turn US valuable as the more elderly
fowls. This thrifty Missionary re.
ports that he can, during the coming
year, pay the whole expense of the
mission station by raising ostriches.
1t will thus be seen that he kills two
birds with one stone. He shows that
the ostrich is valuable aid to missions
and that the difficulties which have 80
long been in the way of raising money
Tor missionary work are now famed
away, as it were, with sweep of the
ostrich wing The friends of mission.
aries may be as poor or as close as
they please. The Missionary and bis
ostriches can laugh them to scorn and
pay the bills Of the mission out of the
sales of feathers and eggs. Men who
have stayed away from missionary
meeting because they were afraid the
collection box would be thrust under
their noses can now 90 in peace and
listen with burning enthusiasm to stor-
les OF the conquests achieved by the
African missionaries among the sinful
natives with the difficult names.
They can take comfort in knowing
that no more collections need be taken |
up for these missionaries, for the os
triohes have nobly come to the rescue
and are paying the way of the missions.
The revolution which will soon make
its way in missionary work will take
everybody by surprise. By raising
enough ostriches it will be found posi-
bic to procure garments of flannel or
other material for halfnaked natives
who knocks at the door of the missions
for aid and respectability. In climates
where ostriohes are not indigenous the |
example Of the African evangelist may
be followed in regard to some other
profitable animal or vegetable product.
How long will it take to work the
complete change which this system
will involve is not accurately known,
but it is apparent that the old methods
Of eyangeliEing the heather must in
evitably give way TO The new and in.
genious plan which comes from the in
terror of Africa - Philadelphia Times
"Oh dear r. exclaimed young lady, |
entering public hall the other even.
ing, "what dreadful odor of carburct.
cd hydrogenl" !" "Mum 7" said the jani.
tor, with puzzled countenance. "The
smell Of the carburetted hydrogen"
she explained "That no kind o. gin,
num-" replied tho jauitor, "that's
garss the pipes is leaky, num-"
--s
dAa the tyrig ia bent " tho hox- "a IL.