Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-10-24
1T GROWS FAT ON FIIrs
A Bird that Thrives on tho Spanish =,
First Class Table Luxury

A Bird that Thrives on tho spsr,.A
First Glass Table Luxury
you would scarcely suppose tb,.
bird which fattens itself On al i LAY :
that will raise a blister on von,. .-t 80
almost as quick as a coal of g., -
would be much Of a table -. -
would youPn inquired the iso.-y;
grocer OF Eighth avenue OF
Bun reporter as he hooked a macksrei
out Of the kit for a consumer
Few people up north ever hand =,
the bird, l guess, much less ever tost
ed one, but every one knows the SIS"
ish fly. a fly blister used 70 ~ s,''n,
comrlon as collie, and some foll,s y.os
TO say that 1t was easy to loco apv IN.
u you could get him to eat anvibinS
that Spanish fly had been pnt into
But maybe you don't know wbatitj.
to loco any one. Well, the old darl.o-,
hoodoo doctors of the south will ~
you that if you want to make civil
love you all you have to do is n ~.
some part Of Spanish fly into an an
pie or ice cream or an oyster stew g.
anything you treat her to, and tbB,
when she eats the fruit or the disb
she'll be crazy after you. That's vbot
they call being locoed. | don't kno,.
whether the Spanish fy will do tba,
or not but no one ever tasted one NJ
these birds | am speaking OF without
being crazy for them ever after ana
they don't feed on anything evcan,
Spanish flies in the season when ~.
bird IS sought for food. I DONE sav
that people who eat them are locoe5
by the birds, but maybe they are.
81 never saw these birds anvwhers
except in southern Louisiana, bpt
suppose they abound wherever tba
Spanish fly is plentiful The bird IA
called the papabote. and folks WIN
know say it belongs to the ployer fani.
ly 1t is of the size Of the woodcock
with sober gray plumage and short
hard bill The coming Of the Spanish
fly on the foliage in the localities thar
1t frequents is sudden and mvsterioua
Nobody knows whence It comes or
whittier it goes. 1t disappears as mvs-
teriously as it comes 1t is one of in.
most destructive insects that lives. az
1t comes in countless myriads and de.
yours ravenously growing vegetable
plants The papabote comes with the
fly, remains until it disappears. and
consumes untold millions of the insects
The birds grow so fat that they are lust
balls covered with feathers. and when
they fall before the gun OF the sports
man they invariably burst open, like
overripe fruit
1.-The hunter who goes out with his
dog and his gun. though, with the ex-
pectation Of filing his bag after the
regulation methods of the scientific
gunner, will return without his game,
for the papabote is the shyest of birds
and can be approached within gun
shot in only one way for unlike all
well-known game birds, it will NOT
crouch to the hunting dog. The bird
is heavy of wing, and probably for
that reason rises in fight long before
the hunter is within range. 1t can DO
shot in no way considered sportsman
like but must be approached by means
OF a horse and wagon. The bird will
permit a horse to walk up close to IL
and in open buggies or spring wagons
the hunters ride about among the feed
ing grounds Of the papabote, their
guns lying across their laps, and they
wing the birds as they rise on every
side when the wagon has got nearer
than the birds considered safe. The
birds are considered such an incompar-
able delicacy among the epicures OF
Louisiana that small armies of men
make a great deal Of money during the
season by shooting papabotes for
market. 1t is said that here is not
case on record OF a person who had
once tasted a papabote, fattened on
flies who did not have an irresistible
inclination for more.