The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1892-09-23
BURIAL OF A PARROT
WHOLESALE MOURNING OVER A
MUCH LOVED HOUSEHOLD PET.

The unfortunate Creature SAID by bys
Loras BY BY" and Yielded Up the
Ghost---The Funeral Was a Large One
and the Furnishings Were Gorgeous.
There was a strange scene in Noe
Valley, away out Castro street, on Thurs
day, and those who witnessed it will not |
soon tire talking of 1t. To most of those
who took part in it the occasion was
fraught with more Of curiosity than of
deeper Interest, but it was not 30 with |
ALL In Il little front parlor at 141415 |
Castro street stands big empty bird
cage, Rising from the top Of the cage |
a staff on which a flag, hoisted half mast |
high, tells the visitor that the one time !
occupant is dead. All around the little
doorway where she fiuttered in and out |
bits of black and white still further |
emphasize the fatal fact, and bouquets |
of flowers fitted into feeding and drink
ing cups and hanging from the swinging |
perch where Polly used to swing are
tokens to her memory.
It was only parrot, this recent
dWelleF within those walls of wire, but
seldom has q bird left more sincere
mnurners behind it, and many man or
woman would be proud to think that
such an elaborate funeral was in store
for him or her. Less than two years
ago this poor parrot was Matched ont in
| the wilderness of Panama. John StTan-
Afghan, an honest sailor lad, came into
| possession of the bird on one of his coast |
wise trips and brought 1t to his uncle's
home in Noe Valley. just one year ago
it was presented to Mr.. and Mrs, Au-
gustus Tache, and in their pretty little
| home on Castro street the bird really
began to live the life that has now so
suddenly ended. The parrots name was
Loretta, but owing to the difficulty par
rots find in prououncing the letter 7 she
called herself LOra, and those who
| knew her and loved her learned to aG-
Gept the abbreViation. LOra was the
pet of the entire neighborhood, but she
was the apple of Mrs. TaGhes eye.
There were tears in both of Mrs,
Tache's eyes last evening as she related
stories illustrating the genius and ac-
complishments of poor LOra. In ap-
| peaFance the bird had been quite like
any other green parrot with gold trim
| lttlABEs lLGL DlAo " az AHuE5A 5AAAf bAl hAAAAAAg
stated by Mr.. Tache, who is a carpenter.
"She just fitted into a box II by 3
inches," said he, And there stood the
box on pedestal just in front of the
empty ''cottage" 1t was dainty box,
more like yonng lady's glove box than
a coffin, covered with blue silk and liRai
with the same in quilted squares. Yeb
in it poor Lora had been laid ont, BY
the silken handles on either side the
| pallbearers had carried it to the grave
side, and there in the darkened parlor
it now stands with the other evidences
of 0 woman's strange devotion to the
memory of o dead bird.
The lessons that Lora learned in her
home on Castro street seem all to have
been good ones. She could not only talk
and whistle like other parrots, but as
singer she had an enyiable record. Her
singing of the chorus of "Auld Lang
SyRen Is said TO have made many of the
residents of Noe Valley weep copi0usly,
and Mrs. Tache herself was very much
overcome last evening in endeayoring to
| give the reporter an idea of LOTas rem
| dition of "Amid the Raging of Sea
"She had sweet and lovely voice, p said
| this fond mistress of O pretty pet, but
| Mr., Tache did not seem to agree with
her There was also slight difference
Of opinion as to the cause of Lora's de-
mise. Both agreed that the parrot died
| of cholera morbus, but Mrs. Taehe de-
| claFed that the disease was due to Mr.,
Tache feeding the bird on watermelon,
while the latter contended that death
had been due to too freqent bathing at
the hands Of Mrs. Tache,
Whatever the cause, poor Lora was
taken i'll on Monday last, She was 'off
her feed, as Mr., Tache puts it, all the
afternoon, and when night came she
could muster up no words from her yo-
| luminous vocabulary save "Raer Laral
| Poor, poor Lora.P II should be men
| toned here that she never referred to
herself as Polly, and never made the
stereotyped suggestion regarding the
pFoyerbial cracker. just as Monday
was turning into Tuesday Mr. and Mrs.
1 Fache, snugly slowed away in the adj
joining bedroom, heard q terrible scream.
They knew at once that Lora was ON her
last legs, Mrs. Tache promptly got ont
| of bed and went to the rescne. She also
4 did what mother would have done for
| o dying child. Shatook the bird to her
| bosom and sat with it on her own bed.
| Poor Lora Lived but q short hour longer,
| After the one shrill scream there came
but these words, "By by, LoFa, BY
| byR They were the last words indeed.
1 Written by the afflicted mistress these
| words are Sill pinned to the wires ef
the empty birdcage. The writer and
| her husband are as subdued in their
grief as If q child had been taken away.
The fuHeral took place at 4p. IN, on
| Tlursday Fhe neighbors turRad out in
goqaly Numbers, The house NJ l4l4lS
Castro street was crowded, and there
were more Aowers than city officials
have sometimes been honored with. But
the most unique feature Of the occasion
was the hearse. The son Of a neighbor-
ing groeeryman offered the services of
/ bis goat wagon. Certainly nothing
could have been better suited to such d
service. The goat was o well trained
animal ana did not run away. Two lit-
4 tie girls, Gay Spencer and Maggie Del
h more, carried the caslket out OF the
\ house and placed ~ " the little wagon
Then taking their places, one on each
SIDE, and the other children walllpg
\ two by two behind them, they led Che
way ap Castro street To Clipper, where
- tbs garden q M. Etrahaghan, at
~ grave had been dug 70 receive aA
thas remained q Liora, The older peo-
4 pic stoed " when ne Blue casket was
eNehaag q fqr o cQarser one, and when
the aarsh was dllea y above flae lowered
cqfan taere waa more tban ole genuine
s0h asigia, San kfanc aee Efaiela,