The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1893-04-21
FRIEND OF THE WILD PIGEONS
Boston Hickman for Whom tho Birds
Have Taken . Great Liking.

Boston Hickman for Whom tho Birds
Have Taken . Great Liking.
One of the prettiest sights in Bos-
ton is to be seen everyday about
noon in Boswo,th street when Corne-
Illus Bresnahan, hack driver, feeds
bis pet pigeons, says the Boston
Globe .sCon," as his friends call
him, is fine, tall fellow, with =
pleasing manner and pleasant face.
He is not by any means talkative
about himself, aud does not appear
to regard his feeding Of the doves as
any thing very extraordinary. But 1T
is q pretty sight to see him great,
big, burly man standing in the road
way surrounded by fifty or sixty fine.
healthy, well-fed doves, some flying
around him, others at his feet pick
ing up the corn, while five
or six of the more familiar birds
perch on his shoulders or on his hand,
eating their food with the utmost
abandonment
Every day the birds come on time,
whether Con is there or not. These
pigeons .roost in the caves of the
temple or in the oelfry of the old
church on Birthstone corner, but ex-
actly at noon they leave their roosts
and fly down to Bosworth street and
await Cons coming. Sometimes he
is late, but the birds wait for him.
and often when he gets to the feeding
place he will find two or three score
of doves cooling and fluttering in readi-
ness to receive their corn at his hands.
Con drives hack No 269, and has,
been driving for nearly twenty years
He is we'll known all over the city
He began this feeding of the doves
about three months ago. He had no
idea of going on with it when he be-
gan. But he saw that the birds soon
got used to him, and that they would
come at his whistle, and after while
he found he could call them by name
The birds are simply wild pigeons,
without an owner, and no one to feed
them but Con. When Con is late a.
long line of birds will be found wait
ing on the lodges of the Horticultural
building on Bosworth street, but they
will see Con as he turns into Bos-
worth street with his hack and down
they fly, settling in the road, anxious
for their supply Of corn
The major general, as Con calls a
crooked-bill birds quite rot. Con
says the major general can lick any
of the other birds, and he shows mis-
fighting qualities when an o. them,
occupy too much room on Cons hand.
The major seems to think that he has
as<rl,% 10 L
will perch on his thumb and eat
heartily while the others are COM
PEELED to look on.
Then there are the two ssjudges. -
solemn-look :ng fellows. and Kit and
Dan McGuinnis. all of whom are
special pets with Con. But they all
know his whistle and come to him.
Con has peculiar whistle which he
uses to call the birds, but he also
talks to them, much as mother
would to her pet darlings.
''Come here, little one," says Con,
| as beautiful bird flies around his
head. .'COme and have some corn
and the bird hutters to his hand and
eats in perfect contentment.
.'Now kiss me-" he says to another
| and the bird puts up his bill and takes
the kiss, flying merrily away as if
satisfied. Then Con smooths them
and pats them as they look up into
his face. half hidden by his cap
And so. day by day, as regularly as
clock work. Con comes and feeds his
pets, and they fly off to roost as hap
py-well, a happy as well-fed birds
1t is pre- tty sight, and crowds of
men and women stop and take in the.
interesting scene. But the crowds
do not trouble the birds; they go on
feeding and cooling as if only their
kind friend were present
A number of saucy sparrows, too,
have just begun coming to partake
of Cons hospitality, and he is seri-
ously considering whether. he shall
take them in hand also They are,
however, little scary at present,
though one or two are bold enough
to approach close to the swarm Of
doves.