The Worthington advance., 1893-08-10
NAT LASK'S PARROT.


NAT LASK'S PARROT.
Story Of a Remarkable Man and a
Remarkable Bird.
Ever hear of Nat Lask's parrot?''
asked Jim Gordon, of Little Rock.
'Never was such a remarkable parrot,
don't think. But then, Nat Laslx was
somewhat of remarkable man. He
was an old Arkansas and Mississippi
river boatsman. He used to run be.
tween Little Rock and New Orleans in
the good old times before the war. He
owned twenty niggers once, and they
all got their freedom just because Nat
was such q remarkable man. There
was good many niggers running away
about that time, and making their run
for good. Nat gave it out that he'd
like to see any of his get away. For
every one that got away, he said, he'd
set another free. LESS than a week
after that one of Mats best niggcrs
turned up missing, and he couldn't be
found. Over the border, sure. The
runaway's ife'belonged to Nat.
'''Suse,' said Nat, dye know whar
Joe is"
"'Yes, massa.'
"'Wall then, you jes' go long an ]ine
him.
$50 he kept his word and set one
slave free because another had sue
ceeded in running away, and he showed
what remarkable man he was by set
ting free the wife of the fugitive. And
Nat wouldn't take back his offer either,
ani his niggers kept running away,
and he kept setting others free to
match 'em, until he hadn't one left.
"'Don't make no iffnce,' Nat used
to say. Nobody didn' 'bleege me to
set my niggers free.
"Just about the time the war broke
out Nat was in New Orleans taking on
cargo. On the levee one day he was
passing an old woman who was selling
out:
''Damn fool!''
''That fetched Nat up standing, and
he asked the woman which parrot had
addressed him in such familiar tones.
''He knows me, said Nat, but swar
never knowed him.
NAT didn't have to wait for the old
woman to tell him which parrot it was,
for the bird yelled out its compliments
to him again on the spot, and Nat was
SO tickled with the parrot that he
bought It. He was so taken up with
his new companion that he paid no at
tention to anything else all the way
back on the trip to Little Rock. When
he arrived there he gave up his boat.
"'Goin' to quit boatin',' he said. It'll
talke oil my time now ON to tend to this
parrot
"And if he didn't quit, right there
and then, hope to holler! He tied
himself up to that parrot and had no
time for anything or anybody. Then
the war began to stir things up, and
one day Nat said:
''Thar's goln' ter be the deuce ter pay
round hyah fore long, an take to the
woods!'
''He was good as his word. He took
his gun and his parrot, went way back
into the wilderness along Big Nam
melee creek and put up snug log
cabin. And it was there that the par
rot came out strong. The woods were
full of game-wild turkey, deer, bear,
panther. The creek held plenty of wild
ducks and geese. Nat trained the par
rot to hunt. The bird got so he could
give all the calls and cries of the wild
turkey better than the wild turkey
could itself, and he never missed get.
ting the right call or cry in at just the
right time. He found out that lost
fawn, or a fawn hidden by its mother.
could summon it's mother or some other
deer quickly to where it was by a
plaintive bleating, and the parrot got
on to that bleat only too quick. He i'm
itated the unearthly screech of the
panther SO ably that Nat used to say it
was nothing out OF the common for
Bobby-that was the parrots name
to call as many as dozen big fellows
around the cabin of an evening and set
them all to fighting at once. Bobby
couldn't only do the quack of duck or
the gable of goose to perfection, but
he could manipulate those cries SO that
you would think he was whole flock
of ducks or geese. So, if there were
ducks or geese flying over, it was no
trick at all for Bobby to let himself
loose just as if it was a dozen or so
fowl jabbering together, and flying
flock, hearing him going on, would say
to themselves: These ducks must have
struck good luck down there in the
creek. Let's drop down and get piece
of it. And when they had dropped
down near enough Nat, hid in the
bushes, would tumble half dozen or
so before they could get on to the way
they were fooled.
Bobby liked to hunt wild turkeys
best. If there was turkey within
! hearing of him, it couldn't resist that
seductive call of his, and when it came
within gunshot and Nat put ball in it,
Bobby became a very fiend in his gloat-
ing over its death struggles. He would
fly around the poor bird and laugh and
yell like a demon. But if Nat hap
pened to miss the turkey after Bobby
had called it up, then maybe he would
get fits. The parrot would fill the
woods with language that Nat used to
say made him sit down and wait for the
shower of fire and brimst tone that he
felt sure must be sent down on them
for that birds wickedness. And he'd
fly at Nat and pull his hair out in
punches, and make vicious grabs at his
eyes and face. At these unfortunate
times, which, luckily, were rare, Nat
used to lie down on his face and let
Bobby peg away and pull at him until
his frenzy passed over. Nat knew
when that was by the bird perching
somewhere near and easing himself up
by simply yelling: Damn fool!' Then
Nat would get up and start for home.
- Bobby wo uld fly to his usual place on
Mats shoulder, where he would ct in
tervals yell in Mats ear Damn foolI
Nat meyer iaYYed hack He said that he