The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1893-05-29
SUICIDE or A.. OTSIE?.
4 story TO Prove Something liz: 81 -
Generally known.

New York and GOnkers boundary line,
and the only thing he is afraid of isan
oyster. That crow amt afraid TO
buckle in and have a round or two with
a bull dog. but just put an oyster down
where ne may be, and he'll pull for
cover to quick that he'll look like a
black streak. This is an interesting
fact. for it proves that rows have good
memories. And that crow of mine a
good reason to be a little shy of oys-
ters. He had an experience with one
once that would have wound up his
career if I hadn't happened to be
near and rescued him. That scrap
between the oyster and h crow
also proved to me that while the
oyster may be dumb, he is
no chump, not by a long shot.
Would you believe hat maternal af-
lection hung around an oyster to any
great degree? Orgrief? Or would you
think an oyster had sense enough to sit
down and deliberately plan its own
death? You never would, of course.
But you will after you hear about this
oyster Of mine and the crow.
Il had "a family of oysters in the
cellar that | kept them sOlOng, feeding
them by hand, that they got to be regu-
lar pets. | used to feed them oatmeal,
and they got SO they knew me, and
every time I'd 90 into the cellar and
whistle they'd pop their shells open and
wait for me to sprinkle the oatmeal in
on EN-. They ate d peck of meal a day.
and grew 50 fat that it was all some of
them could do to shut their shells
down on themselves when they
had opened up. Among them was
q big She oyster, and clinging
to her shell was one Of her
young ones, which she seemed to
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 we'll that nobody else had
ever been able to force them into open
ing their shells by whistling at them:
not until | got hat tame crow. The
crow hadn't been around here more than
"a week before he could initiate nv
whistle exactly.
'One day | was down cellar, setting
off in one corner sorting potatoes, when
! heard something come humping down
the cellar steps. | looked up and saw
it was the crow. He didn't see me. and
| laid low to see what the miscellaneous
chap had on his mind. He thumped on
down the steps, and strobe Aer to
where the oysters We're. lie stopped
close to them. and piped up my whistle
as natural as | could have done it my
self. Every oyster popped its shell wide
open. but the instant the surprised
bivalveS saw the crow standing there
shut went the shells again with a snap
that showed either great fright on the
part of the oysters or great disgust.
The crow stood still Il moment. look
ing a good deal surprised himself, and
then he tried to fool the oysters again.
He whistled, but the oysters were onto
him and stayed shut. All but one.
That one was the young oyster. lie
hadn't cut his eye teeth yet. and when
the crow whiotled the second time he
opened up again. Whether he would
have closed up right away or not have
no means of knowing: but. anyhow. he
never got the chance. for the shell had
no sooner opened than the crow bounced
on the foolish young oyster and drag
ged him out quicker than Il flash.
The oysters mother must have
tumbled to the fact that something was
wrong on the outside, for she opened
her shell a little and peered out. just
as the crow was gObbling her young
one. Then she flew wide open. and,
with one tremendous spring, lit on the
crow and had him by the neck. She
closed her shell on him so tight that it
shut his wind right off, and all he could
do was to kick and gasp and flop
around the cellar like 4 hen with
its head off. l. had hard work
corralling the crow, he pitched around
so. and in another minute he'd have
been a goner, but finally got hold of
him and yanked the i~nfuriated oyster
away from his throat. put her back in
her place. and hurried out of the cellar
with the crow. He spent all the rest
of the day in the corner yOnder swear
ing and jawing to himself. and, al
though that was six months ago. all
you've got to do to-day if yOu want to
see him make tracks is to sit down and
order a dozen oysters on the she'll and
let him hear you.
Il took to noticing after that that
the oyster the crow had robbed of her
young one didn't open up when |
WhiStled EN- for feed, although she
had always been the liveliest one
among the lot. Finally l coaXed her to
open her shell one day. and | was
startled to see that she vas wasted al
most TO a skeleton. 1t struck me as
the truth then and nobody can make
me believe anything else as long as l
live. that the oyster was pining, actual
~ pining for her lost young one. She
was all broke up, and it made me feel
bad TO see her.
That family of oysters used to have
a heap of fun catching rats. You
wouldn't believe how them oysters
used to enjoy themselves catching rats.
Steel traps were never in it with them
when it came TO doing up rats. The
way they did it WAS to open their shells
every now and then and lay low. II
there is anything a rat likes it is a fat,