The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1892-06-11
tanned HuMMlNo BIRDS.
Fed ON Honey Holding Flowers, Craoksrs,
Sugar and Malaga Wine.

Fed ON ey-Hoidiug Flowers, craokers,
sugar and Malaga Wine.
Twas once the possessor OF two OF
those tiny wonders tho ruby throats--
Is 1t gem. half bird,
Or Is II bird, half GENT
While walking tho orchard one day
In Juno / espied a humming- birds
nest "a fitting casket for the gem) on
a horizontal limb about five feet from
the ground When / looked into 1t
two feathered mites few out and
foil TO the ground. As there
were pigs In the orchard l thought
had better take tho birds out of II
carried them to tho house. made a
light frame for cage and covered it
with lace. In this | kept them four
months. letting them out every day.
fed them upon cracker soaked In
Malaga wine and sugar. and brought
to them all the honey holding flowers
shat could find. When l brought in
n bouquet they Immediately few TO it
buzzing joyously.
l gave them a snuffer tray for q
bathing tub, but one OF them would
never voluntarily tako his bath. SO
the other would chase him around tho
room. take him by ono leg. drag him
to the tray and pull him into the
water. He seemed to be doing this
for fun; there was never any quarrel
ing between them. AS there was an
open fireplace in the room. / always
had to cover IL with shawl when
let them out; but one day forgot to
cover 1t before opened the cage door
and one OF them took bee line for
the fireplace. but as though frightened
ut the dark chasm. he few quickly
back to me- alighted on my hand and
sat there trembling for some mo-
menta
When / came into the room, after
leaving them for awhile they would
fly to me. chirping and seeming very
glad to SEQ me. They never showed
any fear OF anyone. and seemed to en-
Joy lighting on my finger. and would
look in my face very intelligently.
Sometimes they got out Of the house.
but always returned and usually
alighted on the comb in my mothers
hair.
In the fall after the flowers were
gone they did not seem we'll. During
the last weeks OF their life there
were no blossoms but those Of q few
clover heads under the apple trees.
was making a silkweed cape and as
the feathery stuff was flying about
the house one OF them got some OF 1t
In his throat and died the next day.
He had appeared stupid for some days
before. The other who had seemed
little better than this one. grew
worse after the death OF his COM
panion. and lived only two weeks
longer. ~
One warm day in the middle OF Oc-
tober says writer in Forest and
Stream as was going into the or
chard to get the few remaining clover
blossoms. / took the bird In the cage
with me, thinking the air might do
him good. / held the cage in one
hand and was picking clover with the
other; but when was going to put
the clover in the cage found the
door open and no bird there sup
posed that the wind had blown the
door open and he had fallen out and
died. / called him by the pet names
which he knew and II he had been
living he would have answered me.
searched long and carefully for
him, but never found him. / think
they died for lack OF their nat
ural food, the honey OF flowers. II I
could have taken them to the south
ern states early In September pre-
sumo they could have lived through
the winter. / had become very much
attached to my beautiful tiny pets
and felt their loss keenly.