The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-11-01
FIGHTING OSTRICHES.
flercely Contested Battle Between Two
California Birds.


fiercely Contested Battle Between Two
California Birds.
lew days ago there was a battle
royal at the Coronado ostrich farm,
just across the bay, which, for ferocity
OF purpose and certainty of execution,
outdld anything of the kind that hui
name society ever undertook to stop.
Inc fighters were two full-grown cock
ostrlches, Jim and Colonel" and
the sight during the combat was one
that the few people who CHANGED to
witness 1t will not soon forget
observation-disclosures ostrich with
ms anger thoroughly aroused is as for
mlda BILE foe as the most daring sports
man would care to face. The big birds
kick is in itself peculiar thing, as well
as vicious. The sweep of the powerful
leg Is forward, with a motion not un-
ike that of boxers arm shot straight
from the shoulder. The bony, pointed
toe, driven by the hard, tough leg mus
cIeS' easily penetrates an inch-thick
board of redwood or threefourths of
an inch of Oregon pine, which is not
A-""Ni ooIISI JlidI Odh' DcSlucS' IllC
rapidity and accuracy with which the
ostrich kicks are surprising
The fight at the Coronado farm was
entirely informal. Keeper Campbell
had served luncheon to the thirty or
forty bipeds in the ostrich yard The
birds ate the cabbage leaves and grain
with avidity, crowding together as
hens crowd about corn in barnyard.
Peace reigned until two old cocks
wanted to eat the same cabbage leaf.
The ostrich has a short temper. In
about thirty seconds these three-hun-
dred-pound cocks squared off for a
go-as-you-please fight and royal fight
1t was in the eyes of the keeper as he
saw plumes worth ten dollars each soar
from the body of bird in response to
the kick of the enemy, and fall crum-
ped and worthless in the dust. Feathers
did not count for much in the flashing
eyes of the ostriches-they wanted
blood With a deep hiss and out
stretched wings Jim bore down on
Colonel like gale, sheered to the right
and caught on the left thigh, ripping
the thick skin from the leg Colonel
retaliated, almost crippling Jim's wing
with a kick that all but capsized him.
They then spared with feet and beals,
picking and kicking feathers from one
another, until Colonel dealt a terrific
blow on Jim's body which seemed to
literally lift him from the ground.
Only the thick mass of feathers pre-
vented the terrible toe from penetrat-
ing Jim's abdomen. Regaining his
breath Jim knocked Colonel over with
side kick, breaking his wing. Colonel
regained his feet before the attack was
renewed. Both birds had lost their
long plumes and looked as if they had
just been pluclled. Both We're tired
and weak from loss of blood. Their
attacks grew feebler, and finally, as if
by common consent, they ceased fight
ing and walked off among the bushes
to recuperate. The fight was draw,
and the anxious keeper was glad that
the birds were alive. They are worth
three hundred and fifty dollars each.
During the fight no man dared trust
his life near the fighters. Experienced
keepers seldom try to interfere with
fighting animals. If they do the COM
bined anger of both birds is likely to
fall upon the meddler, and end in his
death. A single kick from one of these
ostriches would simply disembowel "a
man.
There are now six hundred or seven
hundred oStriches in this state, each
yielding about fifty dollars worth of
undressed feathers annually. 1t costs
three cents day to feed each bird All
eggs are Matched in incubators, about
80 per cent Matching successfully.
The chicks are allowed to run about in
the sunshine shortly after Matching,
and several days after birth they begin
eating tender vegetable sprouts For
nine months or so they are kept away
from adult birds lest their elders kill
them. Until three months old chick
can be bought for twenty-five dollars
In several years they attain maturity,
and sell for from three hundred dollars
to five hundred dollars Selected
feathers especially the long white
plumes, sell for one hundred dollars a
pound. Considering the individual
value of ostriches and the annual
yield it is small wonder that the keep
ers look upon battles like that across
the bay as something in the nature OF
calamities. -San Francisco Chronicle.