Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-08-15
The Children s Chickens,
ALICE P. ADAMS.

Tom and Kitty had always lived In
the city, until their father moved to
California to take charge of large
ranch. Their knowledge of domestic
animals and fowls was quite limited, as
their pets in the Eastern home were
only two-Beauty, the gray pony, and
Tiny, saucy little Scotch terrier.
So the children were greatly pleased
when, on the very day after their ar
rival in the new, strange land, the
chickens were given to them, on con-
dition that they assumed entire respon-
sibility, and gave food and drink at the
proper time. The two young people
soon became fascinated with their
feathered pets, and spent hours in the
poultry-yard watching every motion
and daily discovering wonderful traits
of character.
Of course names were given to all the
favorities, and prominent among these
were Jack and Jill, pair of handsome
Light Brahmas. Old Jack was so
large that he could pick corn from the
top of q barrel while he stood on the
ground, and he stalked about the yard
in lordly manner that greatly i'm
pressed the other ROSTERS. He was
not greedy, and when he called to
the hens, or "gurgled," as Kitty ex-
pressed it, he never ate the nice tidbit
himself, but gave it up with evident
satisfaction.
Jill was the largest hen in the yard,
with an abundance of fluffy white
feathers and little perky tail. She
was Toms especial favorite, and would
hop into his lap and eat corn from
his hand as long as he would feed
her. She never objected to being car
ried anywhere about the place, or even
to being stroked on the head and back
when she was ON the nest; but when
Kitty took liberties and shook Jilly's
bill she would "sing," and her song
was the most unmusical croak I ever
heard.
Then there were little Jack and Jill,
young Brahmas, resembling the other
pair so much that they were called by
the same names with the diminutive
prefix. Little Jill was very tame, and
would walk up to you at any time if
you held out your hand, and allow her.
self to be taken up, and curl her claws
contentedly over your finger. But I
imagine that this docility was partly
due to the fact that she expected some.
thing to eat, for she was sad gor-
mand. Kitty declared that she never
carried her head like the other chick
ems, but always held it down, looking
for some unlucky insect to snap up.
One day when Papa was planting the
premium corn sent by the R1trdl, he
heard slight noise, and turning around
found that little Jill had been com.
placently following, picking up the
kernels as he dropped them. And when
the corn came up there was long,
empty space, monument to little
Jill's gluttony.
Perhaps the homeliest hen in the
yard was Nettie Danford, who wore
yellowish-brown with considerable red
about the head and had disagreeable
habit of picking at the buttons on Kit
ty's wrapper. She received the name
Of an unsuccessful lady editor whose
paper was discontinued within six
months after the first issue, and whom
she was supposed to resemble in per-
sonal appearance. Nettie had the rep
utation, too, of being a most astonish-
ing scratcher. She executed no fancy
figures, but every scratch counted, and
woe to the luckless chick that stood
behind her energetic claws.
Two of the roosters were special
pets; one of them, DIR. Latham, o
dashing White Leghorn, was named
for spruce young doctor in the neigh
borhood; the other, handsome Brown
Leghorn, was also very gay until he
had serious fight with old Jack in
which the latter was victorious. After
the battle, when Jack came near, the
Leghorn would stink away with droop-
ing head and tail, his whole attitude
so expressive of humiliation that Tom
christened him Mr.. Church, in memo
ry of a little insignificant gentleman
living at their old home, who never
dared to make q remark unless it was
sanctioned by his wife. Poor Churchy
The children tried in vain to help him
recover his lost spirits. His tail feath.
ers dropped lower and lower till they
swept the ground, he refused to eat,
and one morning Tom discovered him
in an out-of-the-way corner, dead.
A trim little Quakeress was Friend
Ruth, dressed in modest gray with q
touch of white, having a shining gray
topknot, and q hint of worldly vanity
in the delicate sea- green of her cal
| lobes. ..
Then there was the old Gourd Hen
so-called because she Matched her first
chickens in a large gourd; and Yankee
Doodle, who had very peculiar crow
supposed to resemble the first strair
in the chorus of the song for which ht
was named; and host Of others al
more or less famous, but the one tha
was most frequently shown to visitors
in preference to the rest was undoubt
edlY ShanksY.
He was noticed from the first as hav
ing a long, slim body, and after thu
down came off from his back and wingl
| it was nearly two months before th,
feathers appeared. He possessed (
long, thin neck, also destitute of plum
age, that he was continually stretch
ing upward and onward" and he pre-
sented such ridiculous figure with hi
| naked wings which looked as if the SUI
had blistered them, that his name wa
remarkably appropriate.
| Shanksy's plumape diminished hi