Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-03-31
Crows and Their Lore.

Long = says GneS laWese 1dUullst tue
crow was very much handsomer than he
is now, and quite as gay as very much
less intellectual birds. But one day he
met the nok-jung-the peacock-in the
forest, and looking at the splendor of his
colors and the magnifcence of his train,
was moved to envy-not a creditable
trait certainly, and for which he has, it
would appear, suffered in the pages of
Esop, but one which it is difficult for
even the most gifted to repress, especially
in the case of outward appearance, which
wins reader applause than any degree of
mental power, however great. The crow,
therefore, inquired whether it were not
possible to dress him in such fine style
also. The peacock was good natured-
revolving years have soured his tempera-
ment somewhat since then-and, more
over, as a well-informed bird, remem-
bered the recent disappointment Of the
crow in the matter of the bird. sovereign
ty, and he therefore declared himself
quite ready to effect the metamorphosis.
1t was a very easy matter, he said; all
that it was necessary to do was to cover
over the crow with silver and gold after
the fashion mankind had of decorating
the images. But previously to setting
out to look for the materials he smeared
the crow all over with the black pitch of
the rakh tree, without which the silver
and gold leaf could not be got to stick
on. The peacock was away some time
gathering together the requisite amount
of tinsel, and the restlessness of the, crow
in the meanwhile proved his ruin. He
0Oy,11 not hoor RI raYooSn 1pSnr rofhSnr
and in his hoppings about and peerings
into holes and corners he, came upon a
decayed carcass in the underwood. Upon
this he set to work with his accustomed
good appetite, and when the peacock
came back there was the crow irving and
Juggling away at a mass of rotton car
rion. This was too much for the delicate
nerves of the nok-jung. He was so dis
gusted with the sight that he utterly re-
fused to have anything to do with gild-
ing the offender; and so, as the pitch
would not come off, the crow has had TO
remain ever since in his black dress, and
has nothing to remind him of his former
sprightly appearance but the title Covvus
splendens, of which poor consolation even
unappreciative and sinful naturalists
would fain rob him. The crow and pea
cock have naturally been on very stand
ly state of affairs is unfortunately per-
petuated as we'll as aggravated by the
pitiful and vindictive malice of the pea
cock, who takes an unworthy pleasure in
expanding his tail into a resplendent
wheel whenever he sees his victim. This
Eastern fable finds confederation in the
classical legend of Ovid that ravens were
once as white as swans, but lost their
beauty through the family characteristic
of undue meddlesomeness in matters
which do not concern them at all. A
raven me day told Apollo that Coronis,
a Thessalian nymph whom he passionate
ly loved, was faithless, and the god shot
the nymph with his dart; but hating the
tell-tale bird,
blacked the raven DER,
And bid him prate in his white plumes no
more"
1t is evident, therefore, that the title Of
Corrus splendens is no ill-natured sneer,
as the unlearned would have us believe,
but is an interesting bit of history emf
balmed, and therefore to be cherished as
against the modern emendation of smpu-
dicus, which is only redeemed from the
charge Of impertinence by the fact that
it simply and unduly urges the graceless-
ness Of the crow, a trait which nc one is
in any way concerned to deny in the
present day. 1t is almost as %gratui1ous
an insult as appeared in the custom which
used to prevail among the Greeks and
Romans. The children of their wealthy
families frequently kept birds for their
amusements, and among these the crow
was very often found. In their childish
quarrels the boys used to pull the
feathers out of each others pets, as a
means Of making them and their owners
ridiculous. No doubt the crow very VIC
lently resented this indignity; but still
the fact is preserved for us in the phrase,
II have a crow to pluck with you" and
the selection Of him as the specimen bird
is a compliment to the crow, in so far as
it proves that in his case to the gratiica-
ton of irritating his owner was added
the excitement Of avoiding the angry re-
sentiment Of the insulted bird. 1t is not
often, however, that we find the crow
figuring in the position of a victim. He
is usually triumphant in the guise Of an
aggressor. As the raven he appears on
WV VI od1u, Clt Ddulon Wal
flag, with the expressive name of Ian
deyda-the desolation of the land. He
is said to bode famine, and when he for
sakes the woods and comes into the open
country, the inhabitants may prepare
themselves for famine and mortality; for
the bird bears the character of Saturn,
who is the author of these calamities,
and has an early perception Of the bad
disposition of that planet. There is here
therefore direct acknowledgement of the
crows familiarity with the occult
sciences, though it is true that there
have, as usual, been found grudging peo-
pie to grid at the belief in the fashion
of the Carneodes, '.as if the great
Jupiter hadde nothing else to doe
but to dryve about jacke-dawes and
Groves" But the consensus of nations is
against these carping critics, and the
Scandinayians triumphantly place on the
shoulders of Odin the two crows Hugin
and Munnin-Mind and Memory-and
there they remain jogging up his facul.
ties and carrying out his behests. This
Northern belief in the crow or raven as
ambassador and kings messenger might
not find credence in a generation where