Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1882-09-07
BAKERS BLUE JAY YARN.

la, IN Ill uieasurc---bccauso he's got feathers
on him, and don't belong to no church,
perhaps; but otherwise no is just us much
u lumun as you DO. And IN tell you for
why. ~ jay's gifts aud Instincts und feel
ngs and interests cover the whole ground.
A jny husn', got any moro principle than a
Congressman. ~ jay will lie, "a jay will steal,
II jay will deceive, jay will gossip, q jay
will bctray; and four times out of five a jay
will go back on his soicmncst promise.
The sacrcdncss of an obligation is II thing
which you can't cram into 20 buc~iay S
heud. Nov on top of all there's another
thing: jay can out-swcur any gentleman
in the mines. You think cat can swear
We'll, cat can; but you give blue-Jay n
subject that calls for his reserve powers,
and where is your cat? Don't tulll to me-
| know too much about this thing. And
there's yet another thing: in the one little
particular of scodiug-jus good, clean,
out and-out scolding-a bluc-jay can lay
over anything, human or divine. Yes, sir,
jay is everything that man is. A jay
Gun cry, II jay can laugh, jay can feel
shumc, jay can reason and plan and dis.
cuss, jay likes gossip and scandal, n jay
has got sense Of humor, jay knows
when lie is an ass just as well as you do
maybe better. If jay amt human he
better take in his sign, that's ull. Now
I'm going to tell you perfectly true fact
about some bluc-jays.
When first begun to understand jay
language correctly, there was a little inci--
dent happened here. Seven years ogo the
last man in the region, but me, moved
H., l. is
ever since; log house, with plank roof,
just one big room and no more; no ceiling
nothing between tho rafters aud the floor.
WcIl, one Sunday morning l was sitting
out here in front of my cabin with my cat
taking tho sun, and looking at the blue
hills, and listening to the leaves rusting
so lonely in the trees, and thinking of the
homo away yondcr in tho States, that |
hadn't heard from 10 thirteen years, when
blue jay lit on that house, with an acorn
in his mouth, and says, "ilello, | reckon
I've struck something" When he spoke
the acorn dropped cut of his mouth and
rolled down tho roof, of course, hut he
didn't care; his mind was oil on tho thing
he had struck. 1t was knot holc in the
roof. lie cooked his head to one side, shut
one eye and rut the other one to the hole,
like 'possum looking down jug; then he
glanced up with his bright eyes, gave
wink or two with his wipgs-which sigui-
fies qualification, you understand, and says,
cit looks like u hole, it's located like hole
blamed if don't believe it is hole"
Then he cooked his head down and took
another look; he glances up perfectly joyful
this time, winks his wings and his tail both
and says, 80, this amt no fat thing, I
reckon! If l amt in uck-why its a per.
fectly elegant hole!" So he flow down and
got that acorn and fetched it UP and
dropped it in and was just tilting his head
back, with the heavcnlicst smile on his
face, whom all of sudden he was paruyzcd
into listening attitude and that smile
faded gradually out of his countenancc like
breath off'n razor, and the queercst look
of surprise took its place. Then he says,
"Why, l didn't hear it ful!' lie cooked
his eye at the hole again and took lopg
look, raised up and shook his head, stepped
around to the other side Of tho hole and
took look from that side; shook his head
agair. lie studied awhile, then he just
went into the dctails- walked round and
round tho hole and spied into it from every
point of the compass. No use. Now he
took thinking attitude on the comb of tho
roof and scratched the back OF his head
with his right foot a minute, and finally
says, "Well, its too many for mo, that's
certain; must be a mighty long hole, how
ever, l amt got no time to fool around
here, | got to tend to business; reckon its
all right-chance it, anyway"
So ho flew off and fetched another acorn
and dropped it in and tried to hirt his cyo
to the hole quick enough to sec what become
OF ii, bat he was too lnto. lie held his eye
IIl( T.. ma pluph NJ a ,,inntn, tl,,,, vn,l