The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1883-09-06
The Scent Of the BuZZard.


While digging sweet potatoes noticed
very luxurious growth of vines cover
ing small mound in the field, and in
quiry revealed the fact that horse and
cow had been buried there some
years before. Just then nothing i'm
pressed me in that connection save the
immensely of the potatoes which we
found everything these two graves, but
in the afternoon and during the follow
ing day buzzards Swallowed the farm by
scores, seeming to obey from all quar-
ters of the heavens a mysterious sum-
mons to convocation. / soon perceived
the sweet potatoe-field was the radiant
point of each speeding shadow. BuZ-
zard after buzZard traced as they APP
peared in various portions of the sky
with half-folded wings, reminding ME of
mute aerial hounds, looming down the
scent, :" their course as swift, silent, and
undertaking as an arrows. 1t was a
strangely interesting spectacle to behold
them swoop within few feet of the
horse-hades, and rise again with slow,
reluctant flaps, indicative of disappoint-
ment, then return to deliberately beat
and ''quarter" the ground, aerially
speaking, with all the tact and persever-
ing sagacity of their canine compeers:
in fact, the performance was suggestive
of a foX-hunt, in which Reynard's place
was represented by the dead bodies,
''earthed'' in this case, however, for
other than Reynard's reasons. One of
the vultures in particular showed
an extreme faith in the guidance.
of its smelling powers by alight-
ing without demur on the fence half
a dozen PAGES from the centre of attrac-
ton, where, after some time of manifest
uneaSiness and uncouth pOSturing, it
was joined by few of its more dubious
companions. This visitation of uncanny
birds continued long after, though L
never saw so many as at first when the
crop was plowed out, this disturbance
probably releasing for time the pent-
up odors. could detect no faint in the
atmosphere of the place even while
working in the freshly plowed ground,
vet hundreds of buZZardS assembled
from far and near, and with unerring
accuracy pointed out the place of burial
with oyershadOwing wings. In cOnse-
quence of these observations the theory
that the vulture family are enabled to
detect the existence of dead body by
scent, unassiSted by any of the remaining
senses, and this too, at a great distance,
and when such carcass had lain deep
under the ground for several years, was
to satisfactorily proved. Gosse, as
| before stated, gives an instance con-
frmatory to the one just related, justly
attributing to the same species of
vulture this wOndrOus faculty of track
ing its prey from afar. 1t was observed
in Jamaica: "a poor German immi-
grant, who lived alone in a detached
cottage in this town, rose from his bed
after few days confinement by fever
to purchase in the market some fresh
meat for a little soup. Before he could
prepare the several ingredients of herbs
and roots, and put his meat in water for
the preparation of his pottage, the
parOXysm of his fever had returned, and
he laid himself on his bed exhausted.
Two days elaspedin this state of helpless
ness and Illumination, by which time the
mass of meat and pot herbs had putre-
fed. The stencil became very percepti-
bic in the neighborhood, vulture after
vulture as they sailed past were observed
always to descend to the cottage of the
German, and to sweep round as if they
had tracked some putrid carcase, but
failed to find exactly where it was. -
THE american Naturalist.