Daily Yellowstone journal., 1886-03-27
TORN ENTS OF TEXAS.
THE MockIne-elRo AND ITS cAPAc-
ITY TO MAKE THINGS HUM"


The Voice of the Chacaiaks-His Whole
souied Efforts to Make Noise - The
Large and socIable Red Ant-1he Ta-
rantula. Centipede and scorpion.
Then we have the fog-whistle locust He
Is about seven times as large as grass
hopper, and makes nine times the noise OF
a planing-mill. During the day he hides,
probably TO oil up his machinery, but at
dusk he gets In tree overhead and lets
loose with a suddenness and violence to
make your teeth chatter. II you have
been ON tugboat New Years eve, you
will know the effect produced by this
pleasing insect when he tunes up and
breaks into song After hearing him once
you will think a saw-filing machine q
music-box. lie sings steadily for five hours,
and al midnight precisely lets off an extra
whoop TO let you know he is through, and
instantly becomes silent, and probably
goes 10 bed with the proud consciousness
of having done his duty. Meantime you
have found il impossible TO close your
eyes, but now you hum "Te Deumn and
settle down comfortably. Then the mock
ing-bird begins.
LISTEN To THE MoCKING- BIRD
Did you ever reside next door TO a family
depraved enough TO keep mocking-bird!
II so, how long, II quite long, may ask
how many of your family are in the luna
tic asylum, in Jail for homicide, or in the
cold grave, A mocking-bird has happy
knack Of whistling in minor key ut hours
when even the most hardened parrot will
tuck his head under his wing and give the
family rest 1t is precisely when you
are most tired and sleepy that the mock.
ing bird considers IL his duty to brace up
and make things hum. think this is be.
cause he has bad conscience and Is afraid
of the dark, and so whistles 20 keep his
courage up
In the effete north a man pays $50 for q
good knocking bird, and then proceeds to
depopulate the neigh borhood by hanging il
out the window where It can keep the
whole block awake during the entire sum.
mer. Then having killed of the adjacent
residents by chronic insomnia, he is en-
abled . buy their property at ridiculous
rates, and so reimburse himself for his
outrageous expenditures on the bird.
have no doubt II you inquire into the pri.
vate history OF some Of your reHl estate
kings, you will find they got their start by
using mockng-bird.
There, however, the high price of mock.
ing-birds is natural check to this species
of villainy. but here they grow for nothing.
The woods are full of them, and their con.
cert begins exactly where that of the fog.
whistle locust ends.
Well, after five hours of exasperating
chirps and shrieks, in which il he mocks
anything he mocks man rasping pane
of glass with rusty nail, and gives q
good imitation, the mocking bird per.
ceives it is dawn, and knows that 1t is
high time for all scoundrels to 90 to bed
So he shuts up with snap, and skirm.
ishes around for such early worms as ht
thinks necessary. At this time il might
be possible for you to sleep awhile If il
were not for the chacalakas
THE VOICE OF THE CHAcALAKA.
You don't know what a chacalaka Is, A
-chacalaka is long tailed bird that infests
this region, and is supposed to be species
of pheasant. He wakes up about dawn
and Immediately proceeds TO acquaint you
with the fact that he has voice like eros,
between that Of guinea hen and pea
cock. You know how vociferous hen |,
when she has lust laid an egg. and want,
To draw attention 10 IN, We'll that Ia IN,
way chaculaka behaves when he wake
up and is ready for business. You would
naturally think he would busy himself
getting breakfast. and POSTPONE the riot
Gus fuss until later. hut such is not The
case. for from daybreak until the sun is ar
hour high every chacalaka In this region i,
throwing his whole sorri into an effort te
make more Noise than n restaurant niooe,