The Red Cloud chief., 1886-08-27

| where its master sat. laid the fish in
his o%utstretched hand. He dropped il
into a covered basket which was fas-
tened 10 the raft. and Hoated in the
water. The Chinaman s;roked the
neck and plumagc Of the bird a he
took the fish from it, and muttered
words of approval. The cormorant
| shook out his feathers and manifested
its delight in various ways. After a
minute or SO the Chinaman again
waved his hand and the cormorant
| plunged once more into the water Is
noisclessly as before. The other birds
maintained their stolidity. apparently
unmindful Of what was going on about
them. The cormorant that vas fish
ing again made a successful dive and
| placed the fish in its masters hands rs
before. 1t was caressed again, and a
third time sen: into the water.
The bird now seemed To be thorough
ly warmed up 10 its work. and went At
it with an ayidiiy that showed plainly
the pleasure it took in it. The third
time it was under water longer than
usual. and when it finally came up it
had no fish. The change in its action
was striking. Itswam frantically about
in the water. twisting and turning. and
cvincing the greatest distress. but no
matter which way ii turned il kept its
sharp eyes fixed intcntly on its master.
with an expression in them that wa. Il
mute appeal. The distressed cormorant
made no move to approach the float.
The Chinaman raised his forciingcr.
and then turned it downward with Il
jerk. The bird diycd again, and 80
quickly that it was gone like a flash.
Ia a few seconds ii came up. bearing
in its mouth a large fish. II swan
boldly for the raft. deposited its prey
in lis masters hand. and showed by
the j%oyfmlncss of its action as he sirokcd
its neck that it understood that it had
| redeemed itself.
when the Chinaman had placed the
| third fish in his basket he made a sign
with his hand and the cormorant
strobe proudly to the end of the raft
opposite the group Of birds. where it
took an easy position. 1t seemed to
| understand tina: il had done it, work
satisfactorily and was entitled to rest
As soon as this signal was given to the
cormorant a visible change came over
the other birds. Each one Strengthened
up to its full height. arciicd its neck.
shook out its feathers, and seemed
trembling with excitement. The Chi
naman held out his hand AS he had
done before. and the largest bird in
the group stepped out and waddlcd up
to the chair. Its master care>sed
it As he had done the first one.
With the selection of the second
bird by their master the others ut Oncc
resumed their attitude IF listlcs>ncSs
seemed ~sullen. and did not respond to
the carcsScs of the Chinaman as the
first one had. 1t evidently had no
heart for the work expected of it. At
the signal from its master it plunged
i'm the water with a noisy splash. 1t
disappeared. but was down not more
than five seconds. When it came up
it had no fish. II showed no disap-
pOintmcnt or distress O:cr its failure.
and swan indificrcntly about. When
its master gave an angry signal for it
TO dive again it went down with 4
great flutter and splattcring of water.
and % reappcared without any fish.
II dcportcd itself with the SANE impu-
dcnce. Tho Chinaman now arose to
his feet. He shouted at the bird and
made al emphatic signal. The anger
of its master did not disturb the cor-
morant in the least. 1t WAS apparently
incorrigiblc. At the angry signal it
dived with ~aggravating deliberaiion.
and almost Immediately rcappcarcd
without adding any thing to its masters
catch. Then the Chinaman uttered
several guttrral ordinations. and sig
nailed the bird 10 come in by jerking
his thumb back over his shoulder. The
cormorant swan tan:aiizingly slow to
the raft. The Chinaman caught it by the
neck and dragged it out Of the water.
He cuilcd it soundly on the head and
threw it violently on the bamboo. |
thought the poor bird must certainly
be killed. but it arose coolly to its feet.
and at the signal limped sullcnly oil To
the end of the raft where the frs. or
morant was resting strong in its
masters affection and approval. This
| bird manifested unmi>takablc delight
ut the discontinue of its companion.
| but the others seemed to notice nothing
but the movements of their master.
.|The Chiraman next held o u both
| hands and took two Of the remaining
bir,ls ut once. These seemed to apprc-
| ciate his carcsscs. and rs they were TO
he worked together. to feel that the
competition would result in greater or
less reward. As they waited for the
signal they eyed each other jealousy.
When the Chiaaman waved his hand
both birds cut the water ut one and
disappeared together. In ten seconds
one OF them came up. 1t had a fish.
1t looked eagerly around on all sides.
Its rival had not vet appeared. The
cormorant hastcacd toward the raft.
1t was within two feet of i. before the
other bird had come to the surface.
and then the second one appeared i'm