Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-05-25
ANIMALS AS THIEVES.
The REGULATIONS of some of the Low,

other classes for food: whole families
are parasitic, and gradually weaken
and destroy those on which they feed.
Huber relates an anecdote of some
hive bees paying visit to a nest OF
bumble-bees, placed in a box not far
from their hive, in order to steal or
beg the honey, which places in strong
light the good temper of the latter.
This happened in a time of scarcity.
The hive bees, alter pillaging, had
taken almost entire posse ssioa of the
nest Some mble bees, which re-
NAMED in spite of this disaster, went
out to collect provisions, and bringing
home the surplus after they had sup
piled their own immediate necessities,
the hive bees followed them and did
not quit them until they had obtained
the fruit of their labors.
They licked them, presented to them
their probosces, surrounded them, and
thus at last persuaded them to part
with the contents of their "honey-
bags" The bum blebees did them no
harm and never once showed their
stings, SO that it seems to have been
persuasion rather than force that pro-
duced this singular instance of self
ASAAoi' lis ndnGuVeF
was practiced for more than three
weeks, when the wasps, being attracted
by the same cause, the bum BILE bees en-
entirely forsCok the nest
Birds, Notwithstanding their attrac-
| tlveness in plumage and sweetness in
song, are many of them great thieves.
When nest-building they will steal the
feathers out of the nests of other birds.
| and are much inclined to drive off
other birds from feeding ground,
even when there is abundance This
| is especially true of one of our greatest
favorites, the robin redbreast who
will peck and run after and drive
away birds much bigger than him
self.
Very different as the robin and
the sparrow are in other things, they
resemble each other in this. On an
early, spring morning when a little
touch of frost still makes the surface
OF the earth hard have seen a black.
bird on lawn at last after great eff
forts extract worm, and this was the
signal for crowd Of sparrows who, bv
dint OF numbers managed to drive
away the blackbird and carry off the
worm, to feed to their own young ones,
no doubt.
But the stealing of nest-buildinr
material or of worms is not nearly SO
surprising as the stealing of the nests
themselves. In a sense, of course. the
cuckoo steals the use of the nest of
another bird, when she deposits in it
her own eggs, and steals or procures
under false pretenses the services of a
foster mother for an intruder; but that
Is not what we mean. 1t is a more
common thing for the sparrows, when
there is prospect of a mild autumn.
to save themselves time and trouble in
the building of nest for a late brood
and to drive other birds from the nest
they have built and still inhabit. Some
times even the swallow is a sufferer in
this way.
Readers of Frank Bucklands most
delightful books will RENE Der that
nothing pleased him more than to OBJ
serve the different and delightful WAYS
in which his pets would thieve He
would sometimes even tempt them to
steal just to see how clever they could
be in doing it. He tells one delicious
story about his favorite JENNY, the
suricate, and another about pet rat
which he had, aud which not unfre-
quently terrified his visitors at break
fast
He had made a house for the pet rat
just by the side of the mantel-piece. and
this was approached by a kind of lad
der, upwhich the rat had to climb when
he ventured down to the floor. Some
kinds of fish the rat particularly liked
and 70 Al.
was strong. One day Mr. auckland
turned his. back to give the rat chance
of seizing the coveted morsel, which
he was not long 10 doing aud running
up the ladder with it; but he had fixed
it by the middle of the back, and the
door of the entrance was too narrow to
admit of its being drawn in thus.
But Mr. Rat was equal to the emer-
gency. In a moment he bethought
himself, laid the fish on the small plat
form before the door, and then enter
ing his house he put out his mouth.
took the fish by the nose and thus
pulled it in and made meal of it.
Never after this did he attempt to drag
in such morsel carried lengthwise,
though Mr.. Buckland often tried him.
One OF the most remarkable instances
OF carrying on career of theft came
under our own observation. A friend
in northeast Essex had a very fine
Aberdeenshire terrier, a female, and a
very atfectionate relationship sprung
up between this dog and tomcat. The
cat followed the dog with the utmost
fondness, purring aud running arainst
it. and would come and call at the door
for the dog to come out Attention
was first drawn to the pair by this cir
cumstance.
One evening we were visiting our
friend and heard the cat about the door
calling, and some one said to our friend
that the cat was noisy. He wants
little DelP' said he-that being the dog's
name; we looked ineredulous. s'WelI.
you shall see" said he, and opening the
door he let the TERROR out
At once the cat bounded toward her.
fawned round her, and then, followed
by the dog, ran about the lawn. But
change came. Some kittens were
brought to the house, and the terrier
got much attached to them and they to
her. The tomcat became neglected.
and soon appeared to feel it. By and
by to the surprise of every one. the tom
n"Soo W Set, ana TO eS-
tablish in the hedge of the garden, two
kittens, fiery, splitting little things, AMI
carried on no end of depredations on
their account Chickens went: the FIR
and remains of little rabbits. for which
he perserveringly hunted, were often
found round the nest, and pieces of
meat disappeared from kitchen and
larder.
Our friend cou d not find it in his
heart to shoot the tom and this went
on for some time, when suddenly the
cat disappeared-had been shot in a
wood near by, by a game-kee per, when
hunting to provide for these wild little
things, which were allowed to live in
TIE hedge, as they dept down the mice
In the garden; but first one was SHOT