Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1883-08-17

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he tried again; and NJ dd not leave Il
tlll be- had ully exhausted rs posslhlli-
lies ia the WAs oi motion,
Az anolheg time ho saw Bis bath-luh
a ala dish, standing upon pllelef lie
nllghlcd on The edge Il Nts 30 poised
thai Il shook and rs,lled, Tho bird
few Ia a panR 10 the top II cornlce,
bis usual place II refuge, and closely
watched the pan while Il Jared back
and forth several times. Apparonlly
seeing that il was a harmless motlom
be again liow down 10 tho sane tpoN
and the rattle and shake dld uoi drive
hlmaway I'm be had seen i theN was
sin q dOp ol water LETT fof him In The
bottom II the dish,
One day, In bis travels about the
floor, no found marble II was too
large to take up IN his mouth, 50 he
tried To stab h as he does a gralfe,
The hnt peck he gave sent Il folllng
OF, and he hastily rcltca,ei TO the cor
nice, When Il slofa'tsl he raturncd aud
tried ID again This time il sprang io-
ward HIM lie gave one great leap and
thon, ashamed Of his fright, stood and
waited for Il to be still Again and
again he tried 10 pierce the marble, till
he was satisfied that i was not pfacll-
cable, when he abandoned Il for even
There Is one mystery In tho room
not vet penetrated, though Il Is u sub
ecl Of the deepest longing Il Is my
waste-hasket; the contents are soyariei
and so attractive. lie win stand on the
edge. hop all around IL and view i
from every side; but # is so deep and
narrow that he evidently does not dare
TO venture further. Every day he goes
TO the edge, and gazes sadly and ear
Mostly. but is never satisfied.
This interest in my dolngs Is always
intense, and at every fresh movement
he win come down TO the corhor nearest
me, II in his cage, or alight ON the back
of my desk. II out, and peer at me with
closest attention, One thing that seems
TO amaze and coniound him Is my APP
pearance IN different dress. "What
sort OF n monster is this his
manner will say, (which can change its
feathers so rapidly and so often ?n
II want him to 20 into his cage or
any part of the room. need only 60
there myself and put some little thing
there, or even appear to do soi and as
soon as leave he will rush over to see
what | have done.
Next to his curiosity is his love Of
teasing. The subject furnishing oppor-
tunity for display Of this quality IA
a cardinal grosbeak, which cannot be
coaxed TO leave his cage. The latter Is
the older resident and he did not re-
ceiye the cat-bird very cordially. In
fact, he grow cross from the day the
latter arrived, and snarled and scolded
overy time he came near The cat-bird
soon found out that his enemy never
left the cage and since then has constd,
cred the cardinal fit subject for annoy
ance. He will alight on the cardinals S
cage, driving him nearly frantic; he
will stand on sholf near the cage hook
in, and try to yet at the food dish--all
of which Is in the highest degree often
sive, and calls forth violent scolds and
screams of rage. Finally, he will steal
grape or bit Of fruit stuck between
the wires, when the cardinal will fairly
blaze with wrath. AT one time the
cat-bird indulged in promenades aefoss
the top of the cage, until tho exasper-
ated resident resortpd TO severe meas
ures, and by nipping his toes succeeded
in convincing his tormentor that the
top of his house was not q pubic high
way.
Worse than all his other misdeeds,
however, was a deliberate insult he paid
to the cardinals singing, This ardent
musician was one day Sitting down on
his perch, as he Is fond of doing, and
singing away for dear life, when the cat
bird alighted on the window-sash, close
by the cage. The singer kept his eye
on him, but proceeded with the music
till the end Of the strain, when, as usual,
he paused. At that instant the cat-bird
gave his tail one upward jerk, as it to
say: Humph!n noticed the insult
ing air, but | was surprised to see that
the cardinal appreciated it also. He
began again at once, in much louder
tone, rising to his feet which he rarely
does-lifting his crest, swaying back
and forth in perfect rage, glaring at
his enemy, and pouring out his usual
song in such flood of shrieks and calls
that even the calm cat-bird was dis
turbed, and discreetly retired to the OPP
posite window. Then the cardinal seat
ed himself again, and stopped his song,
but gave vent to his Indignation in a
most energetic series of sharp "tsips y
for a long time.
Quite different is the cat-bird's treat
ment of two English goldlinches. On
them he plays jokes, and his mschiev-
Gus delight and his chuckling at their
success are plain to see. One Of them
Chip, by name knows that when he
is in his cage, with the door shut, he is
safe, and nothing the cat-brd can do
disturbs him in the least; but the
other Chipee-is just as hustered and
panic-stricken in her cage as out, and
the greatest pleasure of his life is to
keep her wrought up to the fluttering
point. He has perfect perception of
the difference between the two birds.
When both are out he will chase them
around the room, from cornice to cor
nice; drive them away from tie bath,
which they all have on a table, purely
for fun, as his manner shows. But
once Gagged, he pays no further attention
to Chip, while always inventing new
ways to worry Chipee. He alights on
the perch between the cages, crouches
down, with eyes fixed upon her and tail
jerking, as if about to annihilate her.
She flies in wild panic against the wires,
to his great qualification. Then he mffs
himself up to look terrible, spreads his
legs wide apart, busters and jerks his
body and wings and tail, making feints
to rush at her, till she is so frightened
that | take pity on her and drive him
away.
One day, when she was more nervous
and he more impish than usual. | COW
cred her cage with towel He came
back as soon as I had left it, and pro-
eeeded to inquire into this new screen.
After looking at It sharply on all sides
he went around behind the cage, pulled
at the end Of the towel and peeped in.
She futtered. and he was pleased. l
arranged II more securely. and the next
performance was to take hold with his
bill and shake it violently. This also
remed,ed. his last resource was to come