The Portland daily press., 1891-05-13
The whip poor-wIIIs OF Martha's
Grove.
re. ?. w., In Chautauqua Record.

lie. Z. w., In Chautauqua RecOrd.l
Among all the frequenters Of the Chaut-
auqua Assembly at Fryeburg, none are more
regular or prompt In their attendance than
the Whip-poor. As soon as the snow
has disappeared from the hills and valleys
Of Maine, and the earth is once more robed
In her mantle Of green, Mr.. and Mrs. Whip-
poor-will break up housekeeping In their
distant home and return to their fayorite
summer resort, the river bank at Martha's
Grove. Here they at once set up h0usekeep-
Ing and make their few simple preparations
Tor the great event OF the summer, the
Chatauqua Assembly. Mr.. Whip poor-will
builds no nest for himself aud family, With
charming Indifference TO the aristocratic no.
tions OF some feathered friends, the Whip.
p0or-WlllS live out OF doors all the time
Some OF her neighbOrs think ii shocking for
Mrs. Whip-poor-will to bring up her family
In such reckless way. but 1t Is little she
cares for society small talk so long as she
has plenty Of food to eat and the great blue
dome OF heaven to shelter her. Near the
ground, on turf OF old dead grass or a
bunch Of fallen leaves, Mrs. Mhlp-poor-will
carefully lays two greenish-whlte eggs, spot
ted with blue and light brown. With trae
material Instinct she guards her treasure
night and day until at last the WhiD-pOOr-
will home Is gladdened by the presence of
the children. two tiny Whlp-pOor-wIlls
dressed In the softest and lghtest OF sum
Notwithstanding their slack methods Of
housekeeping, the Whip poor-wIlls are
proud Of their family name which written in
full Is comprimults rOcVeruS or as some
Times given I'm In tne directory, Gntrostomus
rocyerus The Whip p0or-wills are modest
Ia appearance and dlgni6ed In manner.
They are about ten inches long, with
plumage much mottled and iudistetly mark
ca with small transverse bands. The top OF
the head Is streaked with black, and around
the throat they wear a white collar. Every
Whip-poor-will wears moustache OF which
he Is very proud, composed Of stiff bristles
projecting about an inch. They have large
mouths. Their soft plumage enables them
TO fly noiselessly through the air, and with
their large eyes they are able to see distinctly
ipsthe darkest Disht. They are so weak In the
legs that they walk only with great diff
Guilty.
When the Chautauqua Assembly opens,
Mr.; and Mrs. Whip-poor-will are sure to be
on hand to welcome the arrival OF their
friends. AS they have free admittance to
the grounds they do not trouble to show
their tickets 10 the gate keeper but pass
quickly by him crying as they go the we'll
known connteIsigni" Whip poor;toiu." "
the auditorium, they look In upon the gath
ering company and greet their friends with
their glad note OF welcome, "Yhip DOOR
loiu tohip-p0or-lUiH!" Just as the speaker
rises to commence his evening. lecture and
hush has fallen upon the audience SO that
one might hear the proverbial pin drop, the
old lady Whip-pOor-will. sly old bird, peeks
around the corner post and shrieks out in
honest glee, ,ohip poor toiW tpLip poor-Ioili
whtp.poor-totU and then away she seamDers
only 70 repeat her little Joke the next night.
Inc Whip-poorwills are full OF erotcheLs
and eccentricities. They prefer darknesssJ
ngnt, though not because their deeds are
eVli. Ihey go TO bed at sunrise, standing
aWkwardly upon branch or erOuching up
on the ground and basking In the sunshine.
Inc normal hours have no attraction Tor
them. They do not heed the chorus re-
hearsal, the cooking school, the afternoon
lecture nor the round table, Even the din
ner bell, which causes a eommotion among
the men. women and children upon the
grounds is entirely unnotlced by the sound
sleeners' But when the ChautauQuaps
gather at the river bank to view the beauties
Of departing day, when the orchestra dis
courses sweet strains ofsmuslc from viols and
elarinets, and thankful hearts pour out their
praises in song and prayer. then the feath-
cred sleepers awake to enjoy the inspiring
scene, and with true Methodistic ardOr they
break In upon song and prayer with their
own peculiar amen, tohip-pO0r.1 1ciU
When the sun has disappeared behind the
white hills OF New Hampshire, aud the earth
Is once more wrapped In the shades OF might.
the whole family sallies forth in quest OF
breakfast, They eat on the Ning. 10 and
iro they tney nolselessly wing their way
from tree to tree, from bush to bush, skim.
ming near the ground, first this way, then
That, and quickly selzing and swallowing
every mosquito, moth or beetle that ventures
within range OF their sharp eyes. Thus, at
the same time they satisfy the demands Of a
yoraciOus appetite and confer blessing up
on mankind.
All through the assembly the whip-poOr-
wills enjoy themselves lii their own eccen.
tric fashion, and they give pleasure to the
Chautauquans. An Assembly without the
plaintlve cry Of the Nhip-poor-will resound-
ing through Martha's Grove would be
Hamlet with the Prince of Denmark left
out." From first TO last they do their part to
make the Assembly success; and on the
last night of the session. when the last num-
Der Of the closing concert has been played
and the last words Of the directors spoken,
and the great crowd pours out OF the audi
tOrium for the last time, the whole family
are at hand to do their part. and with sad
voices they cry out their melancholy farewell
to they dispensing company, lchip-poor pillf
ivhipPOor-loiW"