Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1892-06-10
CALLED HIM OTHELLO.
THE NAME OF A VERY REMVRX-
ABLE TAME CROW.
diiscd as a Pet and Did Many Wonder
full Things-ActuaiIy Fell in Love
With Girl. and When She
Died He Died, Too.

~ ou've heard all about crows IA
general allow they can distinguish a
mile away the difference between a man
with wooden gun and a man with q
real gun. loaded; how they post senti-
nels to warn them OF approaching
danger while they are looting your
cornfield and how they do thou.
sand and one other things that only
reasonable beings could do; but YOU
evidently never saw crow who had
developed under the improved infu-
cnces OF civilized society" sad a man
from Passaic county to New York Sun
reporter. Such one was Othello.
One of my boys found this crow In the
woods when he was still too young to
fly, having been tumbled out of his
nest by high wind. My boy brought
him home. cared for him tenderly and
succeeded in raising him by hand.
LAS he grew we got to affectionate.
y calling him Old Fellow. but that
soon got corrupted into Othello. a
name which certain trait OF char &C :
ter subsequently developed made very
appropriate. The genius OF this crow
early asserted itself in the facility with
which he learned the English Ian
guage. Any crow taken young and
treated properly. can be taught to
speak many words but this crow &C.
CURED an amazing vocabulary. Still.
he was never very talkative. his IA
vorite oxpres sions being .Hullo
George How's Peggy G'lang
lang and ! startlingly realistic
imitation of the clicking sound d per-
son makes to start q horse with or hur
ny it up,
The George referred to was nv.
self Peggy was the young wife OF a
man who worked for me and lived In
the house Peggy being servant in
the family. Othello wasn't on speak
ing terms with Peggys husband and
that was why he always inquired OF
me as TO the state of Peggy's health
if he didn't see Peggy around any
where And what do you suppose was
the reason Othello wasn't on speaking
terms with Peggy's husbandP Because
he was dead in love with Peggy and
insane!y jealous of the husbandI It's
as true as l tell you. Lord What a
crow that was! Dead in love with
Peggy? l should say SO, We discoy.
cred that before the crow was six
months old. lie showed it in a hun.
dred ways, but most by his uncontrol.
liable jealou y when Feggy came
around where he was He'd strut and
tune and often fly savagely at the
young farmer; and, to tense him. Peg
gy would often lay her head on her
husband shoulder. and perhaps kiss
him or pretend to- and then Othello
would almost go wild.
One day Peggy and her husband
were going TO town He had a horse
that was safe enough ordinarily but
needed but little provocation to stnrt
him going, and then he was hard to
stop. Othello had been brooding over
Peggy in disconsolate way for two
or three days. When she got in the
wagon that morning the love-sick crow
sat on the gate-post near 10y ga ing at
her. Her husband had gone to the
barn after something The reIns
hung loose on the dash board. Twas
A.
peration come over Othello's face.
Suddenly he made dash for the
wagon and pumped down by Peggys
side.
"'Ge.e-ed APP he shouted to the
horse. and followed the cry by the
impelling click all horses know.
The horse started with Othello
ceiling and clicking at him like mad.
and before any one had time to do or
say word. away the horse was going
on dead gallop down the road, and
in jiffy had disappeared in a cloud
OF dust around the bend. There was
only one explanation. Othello grown
desperate had simply stolen Peggy
and was running away with her.
Peggy's husband mounted another
horse and started after them. Three
miles down the road he came up with
them-at least with the horse and
wagon and Peggy. The runaway had
been stopped by team coming in the
opposite direction. Nobody was hurt.
bat Othello was missing The bad
crow evidently knew what the result
OF his folly would be. and had disap-
peared. Six months passed. and In
the meantime Peggy had d ed OF a
fever. Ono afternoon / was on my
way home from town and was driving
by the place whore Othello had been
foiled in his attempt TO steal Peggy.
when | was startled to hear n hoarse
and quavering voice exclaim:
" 'Hullo George
Il looked up and there sat Othella
thin and dishe .eled. on fence stake
! stopped and called him and he got
INTO the wagon by my side. He didn't
say word until We got pretty near
home. and then he said:
!" Hullo George How's Pepgyp
In spite OF his foolish indiscretion
everybody was glad to see Othello
back again. But he wasn't the same
crow. lie soon found out wha. had
become OF Peggy One day | saw
him busy at something in ono OF the
lower beds | watched him. He