Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-04-20
SUICIDE OF AN OYSTER.


pcntsch, who kGcps he road house at
nxcrra on tie Sonkars side of the
New Y6rl and Y6nkcrs boundary line,
uond INC only thing he Is afraid of is an
oyster. Thatcrow ain'tufraid TO buckle
IN and bDvc 4 round or Two with bull
dog. but inst nut an oyster down where
he NAV lie and he'll null for cover so
ouirk that he'll lo1li like n black streak
,this is an interesting fact, for il proves
that crows have GOOD memories. And
that crow Of mine Has GOOD reason to be
n little shv Of oysters. He had an ex-
pcrionce Win one once tint would lave
wound m his career II hadn't lnp-
nnnrd 10 he near and rescued him. That
scrap between the oyster and The crow
also proved 10 me that willie the oyster
may be dumb, he Is no chump, not by
long shot. Would Won believe that ma.
ternal affection hunr around an oyster
to any great decree? Or gtiefy or
would YOU think nm oyster had sense
enough to Sit down ana deliberately
plan its own drathy You never would
of course. But YOU will after Won hear
about this oyster Of mine and the crow.
~ had family of oysters IN tic cellar
thai kent them so lone. feeding them
bv hand. that thew rot to be regular pets.
used 10 feed item oatmeal and thew
cot SO they knew inc, aud every time ia
gointo the cellar and whistle they'd pop
| their shells omen and wait fgr me to
sprinkle the oatmeal in Oh EN-. They
| ate peck Of meal d day, and grew 50
fat that il was all some Of them could
do 10 shut their shells down on them
| selves when they had opnned up. Among
them was t. biz she oyster, and clingine
TO her shell was one of her Young ones,
| which she seemed to think the world Of.
This little fellow used to open his shell
| with the rest Of them when | whistled,
| and took in his meal like a little man.
Those oysters knew me SO well that
| nobody else had ever been able to force
them into openinr their shells by whist
linz nj them; not until got that tame
crow. The crow hadn't been around
| here more than week before he could
initiate my whistle exactly,
zone day was down cellar, settina
off in one corner sorting potatoes, when
heard something come humping down
the cellar stems. | looked IN and saw il
was the crow. He didn't SIC me, and
laid low to sec what the mischicyou:
chap had on his mind. He thumped or
down tile steps, and strobe over to where
the oysters were. He stopped close t
them, and piped IN nv whistle as
natural as | could have done it myself
Every oyster popped its she'll wide open
hut the instant the surprised biyalve:
saw the crow standing there, shut wen,
the shells again with a snap that showed
either great fright on the part Of thu
oysters or great disgust.
The crow stood still minute, look
Inc a GOOD deal SURPRISED himself. ant
then he tried TO fool the oysters again
He whistled, but the oysters were ont,
him and STAYED shut. All but one. Tha
one was the Young oyster He hadn'
cnt his eve teeth vel. and when tn,
crow Whistled the second time hi
oprned IN again. Whether he woult
have closed III right away or not
have no means of Knowing; but an,
how. he never rot the chance. for In
shell had no sooner orened than IN
crow bounced ON The foolish youn,
oyster and dragged him ont oilicke
. than a flash.
orhe OYSTERS mother must bav
tpmLlnl ia thc fact that something wa
wron~ on the outside. for she o5ene,
hnr s6alI /, IittIesnnd noernd All i,1st n
liz crow WINS robhIinE bnr vn,ns me
'rhnn sha f,ey ,yida n5nn Nh Win m
,, tremendous spring. III on The crow an,
md him ~ tbe neck SIC closed he
shell on lin % tirbt fiat Il shut III
wind right III md iii IL ro,ld do M
! ia kirt and r,sn amd An arnnnd III
collar lfltg n ben with It's hcad oil.
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