The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-09-11

such an extent that | sent man down
the well to see what gave the water
this peculiar flavor. After pulling ont
% barrels of water we came to a small
duck in the cold embrace of death.
l own white drake, called Sin Fran
els, named for Sir Francis Drake. This
beast discovered that the cistern at the
barn could be entered safely, and so he
had for the past year been in the habit
of taking plunge there and enjoying
himself, trusting to the hired man to
come and bail him out when the horses
were watered at eventide. In June q
new brood of little yellow duclllingS
came forth under the management of a
plain and comparatively unknown hen
These ducl1liDgs seemed TO inherit
some of the peculiarities of Sir Francis
for one of them, seeing a glimmer Of
water 1913 feet below him one day while
strolling around the well, took a notion
to cool his little red feet in the dark
tide. He found q large lnothole in the
well curb and descended deity to the
bottom.
As he went down his whole life doubt
less, covering a period of three weeks, was
unrolled before him like panorama,
and when he reached the water his soul
had quilted its little tenement of clay
When we took him out his still feath-
ers showed no signs of pain, but he lay
peacefully in the old oalen bucket, for
ever at rest.
1t was almost pathetic to know how
even in death he had called our atten-
ton to the fact that he was down there
all by himself. Instinct perhaps, you
will say, but does it not almost approach
actual intelligence?
The hen turkey is doubtless for her
size the most successful ornithological
ass known to science. She is poorly fit
ted for parent as every one knows who
has studied her She becomes thought
full and preoccupied i'll the mouth Of
May, and you may see her strolling of
by herself at times as if studying ma
ture. She soon after becomes a nonres-
ident, and Just as You decide that she
has been yielded up as a sacrifice to the
colored revival near by she suddenly APP
pears ON the scene with nine small edi-
tons of herself, each with little Wa
terbury tick Of its own.
She exhibits these specimens Of her
handiwork about twice and then dis
appears. She takes offense at any at
tention, though sometimes she prefers
to go up tree for the night, leaving
her little ones in wide eyed wonderment
to put in the night in the grass.
At early dawn she comes down and
starts off through the wet, icy weeds in
search of food The little chaps broken
of their rest and heavy eyed with loss
of sleep, are dragged IS or 90 miles
through the tall wet grass till they are
soaked and chilled to the heart Then
they are given each Il hard, indigestible
grasshopper or a hunting case beetle for
breakfast. Then the hot sun comes pour
ing down upon them, and when you
meet the old idiot two weeks later she
has one little bobtail, moth eaten tur
klet for whom Thanksgiving could have
no horrors.
The hen turkeys morbid desire to in
Cubate is peculiar and powerful. She pre-
fers for this purpose the primeval forest.
There she selects the dead tree top of a
prime giant oak and deposits hatful
of freckled eggs. To see her on her nest
at such a time one would think she was
preparing an article ON the tariff, but
as one approaches her dangerous light
seems to come into the gentle eyes, and
one passes by on the other side
A hen turkey is no more fitted for a
mother, however, than the soubrette of
road company. She is a great pedes-
trian, and of course after her long sed-
entary spell naturally wants TO exercise
so she starts off the day after her fami-
ly has broken the shell, and stepping
about two feet at a time expects her lit
tie folks to keep up with her When
they fail TO do so, she curses them bit
terly and shows no patience whatever
When she overtakes a large prasshoppcr,
she eats it and gives her little ones the
drumsticks, Is that any kind of way
to win the love Of the young?
Not by any means whatever.
Let me pause here to say II word on a
subject to which | desire to call the at
tention Of my fellow ornithologists
throughout the country, and especially
in this state
For years it has been noticed that in
tellectually the hen is failing. She is
not what she was even before the war,
and it has attracted the attention not
only of scientists, but of the average
layman. What is the cause of the hens
intellectual rerogression?
Others may have a more plausible
theory than my own, but / submit here
this idea for what it is worth. OF course
there is no question regarding the exist
ence of the trouble. Tho hen does not
shine socially as she once did. She is
moody and taciturn, and her memory
is deficient. You let her get into an in
closure through hole, and she will re-