Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-04-03

thrush God bless himD reserves his
thwacking powers for the shell snail only.
whereas Jacks treats all alike, thwacking
a section of bullork's flesh in about the
same degree he would tough-hved lizard
or an armor-coated beetle The batteriGg
process having with the help of a running
IRE of ChucEes. brought the morsel TO u
state considered satisfactory TO his lord
ship il is swallowed on the same lines that
duck employs TO make away with worm
or an eel, the head of the jackass beng
thrown back and the food sent to its lona
home by a repetition Of gulps. Jack always
says grace after taking meal-a kind of
gurged litter.
Stable as ne is. rs big MS ~ rock, and
tame and sluggish as his habits, it might
he thought that the laughing jackaSs
would become an easy mark for the gun
loving Australian. yet in many of the
settled districts he Is quite common
bird The chief reason of his immunity
! from harm lies in Che recognition of the
good he renders to the community by wag-
ing war against the snakes. Ii is said.
though ! have not definite proof of tbs
assertion, that a fine of e attaches 10 the
killing Of a jaekaSs Certainty Jack is
camvnrouS, and, therefore. not good
eating, and he also preserves himself to
some extent 10y building his nest in not
easily ausacked holes in gum tree Any
how, he manages to laugh and grow mum
erous in the land
To look nc him. you would never think
Jack was the merry soul he is His looks
are as stoIid MS his blink and he has a
slow solemn way of taking life, excepting
when the is on the laGgh Most of his
time is spent among the timbors that
cothe sides and bottoms of the gulies and
the creeks which everywhere intersect and
encircle the rounded hills Here, at al
most any time of the day, from an hour or
two after sunrise till when Sol begins to
get his rays mixed up with the trees top
ping the tar-dlstaut swclls as he backs
down for the night, Jack may be found
holding Quaker meetings for he is a
geparious in some big gum trea or do.
ing his best to keep his stomach full New
en- does he hurry himself and would as
soon thinS OF leaving his perch because
stranger happened to appear rs he would
of groauing Very seldom is Jack stir
red to mirth during the middle
portion of the day, indeed, il would APP
pear as if some untoward event were nee
essary to stir him up properly other than
at the two extremes. I'm the heat Of
the day il is no unusual thing to be startl-
ed by the noise Of the limb of gum tree
goipg laundering down (the severe heat is
the cause think. and then, before the
oppressive silence of the bush has been
fully restored, for laugh to ring out IT'S
am echo. Again. 1t sometimes happens
that the firing of gun is the signal for an
outburst Of wild eachmnatons Jack Is
gifted with considerable curiosity, and
have seen him lay around in some adjacent
tree watching me fell timber, and getting
quite an amount of chucdiug fun ont of
the crash Of the topping trees Almost
anything ont OF the common run is incen-
tive enough TO raise Jacks temper TO the
laughing point But morning and night
are The seasons to hear him to perfection;
he then laughs continuously, irresistibIy
pnd contaglously