Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-12-10

anything that is convertible into annas
and pice in the bazaar
But inasmuch as the hard-hearted
European skeptic insists on holding his
poor black servant responsible for the
crows mlsdeeds and docks his monthly
wages in accordance with this princi-
pie native ingenuity is ever on the rack
to devise means of circumventing the
enemy. The birds cunning is so ex-
traordinary that no ordinary trap de-
ceives him, and the boy has recourse
to all kinds of lodges to accomplish the
desired end. Sometimes he makes a
few strong paper cones, and smearing
them inside with birdlime drops NOR
sci of juicy raw meat into each and
throws the snares down on the rubbish
heap behind the cookhouse where
crows do mostly congregate. Down
comes a crow to investigate. He turns
over a cone thoughtfully and applies
his eye to the interior. Meat, by all
that's edible! In goes his beak and he
is securely ''bonneted." Before he can
claw off the circumference the willy
native is upon him and he is borne
struggling and squawking into the
smoky coollhouse- There the boy
squats on the floor and holds him tight.
while the bobachee faStens cork upon
| his nose with bit of wire from soda
| water bottle, and thus adorned he is
| released, to wear a badge of shame for
| the rest of his days. Being caught by
the superior craft of a man is the only
| thing a crow is ashamed of. But he
does not live long if there happen to be
| z griffin in the district; the new ar
| rival recognizes in the strange eXcres-
| cence the distinctive mark of new
| and curious species, hitherto unknown
to natural history; and, fred with sci
| entific zeal, shoots him accordingly. 1t
| is an expensive mistake-for the crow.
But SO admirably is the crow ''Intel-
| ligence Department organized, that
the most subtly designed trap soon fails
to delude. The corked example, for
instance, goes about, a melancholy
warning against the allurements of
| paper cones and tells every fellow he
meets how he came by the decoration.
| Thenceforth, those instruments are
doomed to failure and derision; you m ay
spend lifetime making paper cones
! and charging them with the choicest
! dainties, and the crows will come and
| sit round, squarking sarcastic remarks.
| If You leave the snares long enough,
| the birds will calmly set to work and
| take out the bait from the apex and in
safety; but no appeal to crow palate
will induce them to fall in with your
scheme.
The intelligence of an elderly crow
is exasperatingly human. Point your
gun at him and he seems to vanish into
thin air; in reality he has dived behind
| the nearest cover like flash of black
lightning. Threaten him with the I'M
mounted barrels, and without stirring
a feather, he croaks back jeering
''squark.'' He regards hand-thrown
missile with utter contempt; waiting
until it is fairly launched, he calculates
| its course with mathematical precision,
steps aside to let it pass, and resumes
his old perch, yawning.
Crows are intensely cl annish. IF you
are consumed with morbid curiosity
to ascertain how many reside within a
radius of five miles round your bunga-
low; or if you conceive a philanthropic
wish to relieve your neighbors of their
share of the crow population, it is very
easy, once you have caught a member
of the race. That, | admit, is difficult.
But, assuming that you have succeeded,
all you need do is tie red rag to his
leg and let him go. In three minutes
all the crows in the district have heard
of the outrage, and the air over your
compound is darkened by thousands of
angrily protesting birds-al1 crows.
Other feathered creatures ignore the
carryings-on of this disreputable fami-
ly. 1t is an indignation meeting, called
to condemn you; and the crows, flying
just out of gunshot, hurl down unani-
nous and deafening votes of censure
with all the power of their lungs If
you appear outside for moment the
uproar becomes positively bewildering.
All you can do is to remain quiet in
doors and wait. Presently there is a
lull; this denotes that committee has
been appointed to examine your vic
tira, and that the business is in prog
ress on the top of high tree. 1t is a
crow supreme court of judicature, anG
only two methods of procedure are
known to tiff the rag can be pecked
off the committee crows remove it; if
1t can't they lose their temper, swear
that the rag adorned crow has himself
to blame for his misfortune, and kill
him out of hand. This done, the meet
ing, which has lowered in waiting.
bursts forth in votes of still more vo-
c!ferous censure and breaks up Then
you venture forth, feeling like man
who has passed through an Indian
thunderstorm and an earthquake
rolled into one.
/ have already mentioned the crows
taste for young birds; and there is in
this nothing very remarkable. a half
t1edged sparrow is 4 tender and succu-
lent morsel no carnivorous bird need
despise. But what, in the name of
gastronomy, is there to rec ommend the
scorpion rs an article of diet, even to
the depraved appetite of a crow? And
yet his fondness for this ugly reptile
amounts to passion. If you see half
a dozen crows standing silently in a
circle on the road, you may be sure
there is n scorpion in the middle, lash
ing out on all sides with that danger
GUS curved spur which forms the ex-
tremity of his tail. Stand still and
watch the one-sided strife. One crow
takes his place in front of the reptile,
to engage his attentions; the rest hop
round, Selling every opportunity of
giving the ever-moving tail vicious
dig. The scorpion is scaly AMI tough
and surprisingly active. SO it takes
some time to disarm him: but his
strokes grow fainter and fewer and
the crows digs harder and more fire.
quent At last a well-aimed peck
strikes home between the overlapping
armOr and the tai is severed It's all