Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-08-05
Gently they had a regular set to-"
which | witnessed.

Gently they had q regular set to-"
which | witnessed.
Both birds being naturally fond Of
flesh and having had nom for several
days l shot an English sparrow with
which to feed them. Cutting of the
wings, feet, head and tail, and remov-
ing the feathers, l approached the cage
with the body in my fingers. lmme-
diately Jack came to the wire bars to
receive my present, which he undoubt-
eddy believed was meant entirely and
solely for him. He grasped 1t in Ills
claws, and hopping to a perch began
tearing of pieces of flesh and swallow
ing them with apparent relish and In
great haste, while Bob looked on, evil
IDENTIFY astonished at Jacks appetite
and wondering whether enough would
be left to swear by" when his turn
came. Jack was at last forced to rest
from his greedy efforts, and when the
lull came Bob, who had been watch
ing from the corner of his eye, made a
dash at his companion and the food
fell TO the bottom of the cage.
Bob was there, however, evidently
intending to make the most of the stu
alton. but Jack could not stand by and
see Bob thus enjoying himself without
making some effort i'm his own behalf,
for like the dog in the manger he did not
intend TO let Bob have it all. even
though he could not eat it himself. So
he Jumped on him" and fastened his
claws as firmly in Bob's back as he had
previously done in the body of the spar
row. and began pecking him in the top
of the head. At first no attention was
paid TO this annoyance beyond an oc-
casional shake or fluttep of the wings,
either made to dislodge his enemy or
else to regain his balance or keep from
falling over backward. but Jack pecked
viciously, occasionally turning his head
to n side after taking a good hold,
as II endeavoring to tear out a piece be-
tween Bob's ears, and this, too, every
time Just as the latter raised his head
to swallow. At last Bob could not
stand this any longer.
The tremendous pecks received In
the back of the head, and more than
all the gripping pains in the small Of
his back where Jacks claws were plant
ed, caused him to forget his appetite
and raised his ''dander," and turning
partially over on the right side he
caught Jack a left handler" This
wrung from his victim a cry of pain
and landed him sprawling on the bot
tom of the cage, where he tipped over
the dish Of drinking water. which
soaked them both. Neither would let
go his hold, but kept clawing, pecking,
scratching, rolling over and over, all
the while uttering loud. discordant
notes, which plainly indicated they
were not only furious but under great
stress of pain.
At length, fearing the birds might In
their anger destroy n another, thus
ending the whole affair with a tragedy,
! took the cage down from where it
was hanging in order to separate them;
but only with considerable difficulty
could this be a,c"ini lished, it being
actually Necessary 1, = III them apart.
They finally resumed | .eir accustomed
places on the perch, while the ''bone
of contention lay upon the floor.
Both birds, with soiled and dripping
plumage, pitiful looking objects.
Jack, who had the best of the fight up
to receiving the left handler, appeared
in the better condition of the two, but
looked as though the food so hastily
swallowed had become slightly dis
placed. As for Bob he seemed to feel
she abuse and shameful treatment
keenly, hung his head. and half closing
one eye, as though that member had
been injured, refused to be comforted.
Forest and Stream.