The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-05-03

tail the animal strikes its quilts into its
assailant. Nov If some animal could be
found that actually throw it's quilts at a
distance of several feet, the idea would be
still further carried out.
The r~attlesnake is not the only RATHER. l
have seen the black snake and the harmless
little garter snake yibrate their tails when
disturbed in precisely the same manner.
The black snake tail wasin contact with a
dry leaf and it gave forth n loud humming
sound, which at once put me on the alert.
A western correspondent writes me that
she once put a looking-glass down on the
floor in front of the canary birds cage.
The poor canary had not had any cominun-
ion with his own kind for years. HE used
often to watch the ugly sparrows-the little
plebeians-from his aristocratic gildsd pal
ace. Iopened his cage and he walked up to tho
l~ooking-glsss md it was not long before he
made up his mind. He collected dead
leaves, twigs. bits and began Il nest right
off. Several days after in his lonely Gags
he would take bits of straw and arrange
them when they We're given him.
/ thought what different emotions this
birds ref ected image in its little
breast from those aroused IN amals blue
bird last summer that disturbed the sleep
of my hired man in the early morning. The
bird with its mate hada nest in a box near
by the house, aAd after the manner of the
blue birds WAS very lnquisitive and saucy
o windows; one morning it chanued to
discover its reflected image in the windows
OF the hired mans room. The shade. of
some dark stuff. was down on the inside,
which aided in making q kind of looking
glass of the window. Instantly the bird be-
gan an assault upon his supposed rival i'll
the window and made such a gathering that
there was no more sleep inside that room.
Morning after morning the bird kept this
no till the tired plowman com planned bit
terly and declared his intention to Kill the
bird. In an unlucky | suggested
that he leave the shade up and try the
effect. He did so and his morning sleep
was thenceforth undls.u rbed.
l encountered a little NOUS 80 in my trav~
els the other day that int rested me. He
was on his travels also and we nat in the
middle of u mountain la Ike. | was casting
etched Upon the CLASSY surface a delicate V
shaped figure, the poiut of which reached
about the middle of the lake, while the two
sides as they diverged faded out toward the
shore. l saw the point Of this Y was being
slowly pushed towards the opposite shore.
| drew near in my boat anu beheld q little
vgotC usty Tor the oppo-
site shore. His little legs appeared like
swiftly revolving wheels beneath him.. AS
| am near he dived under the water to
escape me, but came up again like a cork
and just as quickly. 1t Il Imaginable to
sea him repeatedly duck beneath the sur
face and pop back again IN a ~twilkling.
He co I'D not keep under water more
than q second or two. Pres ntlv ] reacht d
him my oar when he ran up it and INTO the
palm of my hand, where he sat for some
time and arranged his ar and warmed him
self. He did not show the slightest fear.
1t was probably the first time he had ever
shaken hands with a human being. H was