Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-10-01
PRAhzs oF rHe OSTRICH.

Ths Tall On sinIy Bird Does Some
Mighty & e~' Things At Times
The ostricl is not a bird that can be
easily broug 4 up IN the way hat ii
should 60 II has no powers of dis
elimination because tod hath de-
prved he of wisdom. neither had he
impaired To her understanding"-as
runs the description Of the ostrich In
the book of job II cannot discrim-
mate between a wire fence and the
open camp. between friends and foes,
or between what l. helpful and what
Is hurtful 10 tie digestion Il was ow-
ing TO its want Of understanding in this
last respect. and 10 an equal want Of
discrimination on tie part OF the Brit
fish public. that il has been found i'm
possible 10 keep o-triches alive in the
geological gardens 800 London
A public nccusfourd to slip its pen
mics into aur1,.uar machines could not
refrain froru tbe Temptation offered by
the omniver0uS throat OF am ostrich,
and filed them mp with poisonous cop
per. a. If they werr 80 many missionary
boxes. IN it, African life. however.
the chief danger that beSet~ it is not the
recklessness of it, appetite. but its reck-
less disregard Of its own limbs II will
take fright at "A shadow and hurl itself
blindly into the nearest fence. from
which il will be eXtricated with a
broken leg. OF fight savagely with a
brother ostrich and break its leg. or
dance. Waiting with swift and graceful
precision, affording a o beautiful
sight 70 the spectator and the greatest
satisfaction to himself. until giddiness
m upon it and brings it TO the
ground-again with a broken leg. II
is true that its dangerously powerful
legs are also very brittle. but 4 III be
confessed that it does not use them
well.
OF the danger that TIE owner some
times runs from those powerful limbs,
a writer tells some very amusing sto-
'ries. A sturdy newcomer, some six
feet in height, laughed at the warnings
that were s~sen him when he set out
for a walk and d~isdainfully refused the
protection of a tacky-a thOrny branch,
the d~exterous- use Of which will keep
the ostrich at bay-averring hat he
was no afraid Of a dicky birdT" He
was missed and discovered some hours
afterward by a search party most IN
comfortably perched on the top Of an
ironstone bowler and slowly grilling
under the African sun. while the ''dicky
bird did sentry up and down. watch
ing him with an evil eye.
Another gentleman had a theory that
any creature. however savage. could be
subdued- 'quelIed." as he said-by
the human eye. One day he tried to
quell one Of his own ostriches. with the
result that be was presently found in a
very pitiable -predicament lying Hat on
the ground. while the subject of his
experiment jumped up and down on
him. occasionally varying the treat
ment by sitting upon him. Doubles
Il was safer TO lie down than TO stand
up to be kicked but to be sat upon ss
II one were an egg must have beer in.
deed humiliating
Curious. too. is the account that the
author gives Of the camps or little
kingdoms that the ostriches mark out
for themselves. with invisible but nevel
to be encroached upon boundaries
Inside that camp it viii bear no In
trusion. but outside Of ii. In the do
main Of It's neighbor. it is profoundly in
different Z the strangers wanderings
Nor is il safe for the farmer to pre-
sumo upon his former Acquaintance
with any bird. for the ostrich has no
wits enough q distinguish an old FRIEND
from a new intruder. nor sufficient re
spect for bis owner TO except him hon
his suspicious hostilities. though ]
would appear that, IS a rule. he VII
manifest a stronger aversion to tn
Kafnr or Hottentot than to a whit
man. Great Divide