The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-01-31

over to the station house. May be
you'd like to build nest here your
self. Well, you just try it on and I'll
run yol in so quick it'll make you
dizzy"
'Well," said Mr.. Fassett, meekly, 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. lie bought it
from another crow. Ask me something
harder"
"llow did the other crow get it?"
s'His 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 ne had just
begun to wonder whether he would over
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.
Passing over the corn field he recognized
his hired man and few toward him, but
his hired man let fly charge of bird
shot, which whistled last Mr. Fassett
and assured him that his hired man
made up in vigilance for what he lacked
in Workmanship.
Taking flight 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 flew at him from the branches,
croaking, "scab. scab! scab!''
Not understanding what this meant,
Fassett continued in his course, when
the crows rushed upon eim, 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 ASSISTANTS taken
before magistrate, half-demented
old crow, who administered severe pun
ishnent, after lecturing the offenders
on the freedom of labor and the GRIMM
atty, not to say heartlessness. of pre-
venting any crow from working for
living.
All this seemed very strange to Mr..
Fassett, who was not vet 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.
by this time Fassctt was quito hum
cry, and curiously enough his appetite
suggested worms as tempting bill of
fare. So he flew down to corn field,
Of strange crows ordered him of.
''But / am hungry" said Mr.. Fas-
sctt
mo doubt of it," said the leader of
the crows: but why don't You work for
a living like an honest crow
''Do crows work for a living?"
''Of course they do. How do you sup
pose they get living?7
Mr.. Fassett thought good many of
them got living by stealing his seed
corn, but remembering that he was a
crow himself he didn't say so. lie 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. ''if you are real
ly an honest crow" he continued, sand
want to make living, you can join my
flock and I'll give you job"
What's the pay?" asked Mr.. Fassett,
falling in with the humor of this con-
ceit
"a worm three times day and place
to roost."
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
crows He was required in addition to
gather worms for the boss meals, and
whenever he found grain of corn or
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 grain
of corn that he found; but the boss re-
Trained from making a complaint on ac-
count of Mr.. Fassett's ignorance of crow
law
At night Mr.. Fassett roasted with the
rest OF the flock on the limb of a tree, in
which the boss and his family had
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.
-------v"-
-Tramps in Iowa are taken care of