Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-11-28

not pay old Jim any thing for it. That's
why I'm here. Iguess know my duty.
NV number is 2O61. and if you want to
know any thing about me you just go
over to the station house. May be
you'd like to build a.nest hero your
self. Well, you just try it on and I'll
run YOU in SO quick it'll make you
dizzy"
"Well," said Mr.. Fassett, meelsly, 81
thought owned this tree, but if it be-
longs to Mr.. James Crow wish you would
tell me how he came to own it."
'That's easy enough. He bought 1T
from another crow. Ask me something
harder"
GLOW did the other crow get it?"
ssHis grandfather gathered twigs and
built nest in it once, and the family
has kept policeman here ever since"
replied the crow with an air that said as
plain as plain could be, ''that settles it,"
and Mr.. Fassett's knowledge of the law
assured him that it did settle it,
The two crows were silent for time.
Fassett's thoughts reverted to his inter-
view with the builder, and he had just
begun to wonder whether he would ever
sell those lots when his companion told
him he mustn't be lettering there, but
move on. So Fassett moved on. Spread.
ing his wings he was surprised to find
how easily he sailed through the air.
PasIng over the corn field he recognized
"a =, 1>,,k
his hired man let fly charge of bird
shot, which whistled past Mr.. Fassett
and assured him that his hired man
made up in vigilance for what he lacked
in Workmanship.
Taking fight again, Fassett went in
the direction of large tree in the for.
est, where he. expected to alight; but
just as he reached it whole flock of
crows few at him from the branches,
croaking, ''scab! scab! scab!'
Not understanding what this meant,
Fassett continued in his course, when
the crows rushed upon him, and but for
the timely interference of two other
crows, policemen as he afterward learn
ed, Mr.. Fassett would have been denud-
ed of every feather on his body. As it,
was, he nearly lost the use Of one eye.
But he had the satisfaction of seeing
the ringleaders of his assailants taken;
old crow, who administered severe pun
ishment, after lecturing the offenders,
on the freedom of labor and the Grimm
atty, not to say heartlessness. of pres
venting any crow from working for ),
living. ss
All this seemed very strange to Mr.
Fassett, who was not familiar with.
crow usages, but he subsequently learn.
ed that the tree toward which he was
going was great mandatory Of crow
nest materials, and the crows that work
ed there were on strike. They mistook
him for scab, and hence the trouble. Il
By this time Fassett was quite hunss.
cry, and curiously enough his appetite
suggested worms as tempting bill of
fare So he few down to q corn field,
and was scratching away, when flock,
of strange crows ordered him of VA
'But / am hungry said Mr.. iFas-,
sett. Is
't'.No doubt Of it." said the leader of
the crows; '.but why don't you work for
q living like an honest crow 80 80
DO crows work for living?p 9
OF course they do. !, How do you sup
eeas they. get liyins'"' 4
Mr.. Tassett thought a good many of
them got living by stealing his seed
corn, but remembering that he was a
crow himself he didn't say so. He only
asked what they worked at.
"Some of them make up nest materi-
ais, some gather the materials, some
collect corn, some build nests, some
guard the trees that belong to absent.
crows, and some guard worm preserves" ),
replied the crow boss. 'sIf you are real
" an honest crow, he continued, land;
want to make q living, you can join my
flock and I'll give you job"
Whats the pay?" asked Mr. Fassett,
falling in with the humor of this COM
ceit.
ga worm three times day and place
to roost. 50
"Mr. Fassett accepted the job, and
found that the principal duties of the
flock were to guard the worm preserves
of his boss from the invasions of other
tSAO"S' AAO Wdo IO9o4lCu III 6uO1IAOu 10
gather worms for the boss meals, and,
whenever he found grain of corn OF
other non-perishable food to carry it to
the boss warehouse in the trunk of a
large tree in the forest. He came near
getting into serious trouble once with
the crow authorities by eating a grain
of corn that he found; but the boss re-
Trained from making complaint on ac-
count of Mr.. Fassett's ignorance of crow
law. 's-s.
At night Mr.. Fassett roasted with the
rest of the flock on the limb Of tree, in
which the boss and his family had a.
comfortable nest. Fassett found that
the crow he worked for was not the
worst of birds; but he got tired of three
worms day and nothing but the limb of
tree to roost on, in return for hard
work, and one day he told the boss that
he was going to leave and look after,
himself.
TO BE CONTINUED.
-Tramps in Iowa are taken care of