The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1893-10-18
STORY TELLING OWLS
THEIR FUNNY YARNS MADE THE
ACIRONDACKS RING WITH MlRTH.

The Jovial Birds Were So Laughter Pro-
voF ng That the Side Splitting Contagion
sD7 Fad to Their Human Auditors, and
Even the Looms HOwled With Delight.
"What amused our party most up in
the Adirondacks, said a Scranton man,
twas an entertainment given to us by
flock of story telling owls. Our camp
was away back in the wilderness of
Herkimer county, and we had hardly
turned in for the night when a flock of
owls alighted on tree over us and be-
gan to tell stories and laugh. Every
owl listened in silence to the one that
was talking, and when the tale was fin
ished the whole flock laughed as though
they were tickled half to death.
They reminded us OF lot of drum
mers in a smoking car, and they had
such jolly fun it became contagious
We all rolled and laughed over the fun
the big eyed birds We're having up in the
tree, and before long the side splitting
contagion attacked some looms out on
the lake, which fairly yelled with de-
light whenever the fun loving owls guf-
fawed and shrieked and shouted over a
right good yarn told by one Of their
number
"Once in awhile a story was SO funny
before the knob was reached that we
could hear two or three of the feathered
listeners smoker and chuckle under their
breath, and when the end came the en-
tire flock made the woods ring. The
jovial birds had met expressly to swap
experiences of the night before, and
they talked SO plainly that we could
easily keep q run of their anecdotes as
we lay on our beds of spruce boughs.
One of the owls told about how big
rat that he had caught by the back
yanked itself loose and showed fight.
The owl described how he had let the
rat fatter itself that it was going to lick
him. how he finally bit his tail off at the
root, and how the rat then went squeal-
ing and zigzagging around with no rud-
der to guide it's movements. The picture
50 amused the eager auditors that they
fell INTO the most violent fits of laughter,
some Of them tu1nbling from their perch,
they were so tickled.
Another owl described the tussle he
had had with tough old jack hare in a
swamp. He said that the hare had car
ned him along through the rushes and
over logs for some distance after he had
got his claws in its back, and that he at
last brought the hare up standing by keep
ing one claw in its hide and catching hold
OF bush with his other claw. The hare
rolled over and over as soon as the owl
let go of the bush, and the owl said that
his feathers pointed in all directions
When he finally got the best of the hare.
Peal after peal of laughter followed the
narrative
Another owl told about biting snakes
head off and trying to swallow it. The
head stuck in his throat, and he would
surely have choked to death, he said, if
Ills mate hadn't come along just then
and pulled it out with her claw. The
story teller's predicament was such
funny picture to the imagination of the
listening owls that they responded Wath
yeIls of wild delight.
But the story that fairly upset the
whole party Of nocturnal roisterers and
made them heot and screech and futter
oil over the tree for at least five min
uVes was told by an owl with an alto
voice. He said that he felt like kicking
% some mischief the night before, so he
sailed out to sse settlement. settled down
"a the window Sill of house in which
mere was no light and began to tap ON
'ae panes with his bill. The folks were
asleep, SO he fitted to the opposite side
" the house and tapped there. Nobody
a.Esed, and he kept going from one side
" the house to the other till a woman
sU' up, struck light and began to try
Nc windows to see If they were fast.
Nj en she came to his window, he
pesfed in at her, and she started to
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