The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-04-04
The Crow as a Military Genius.

There is much being said just now
about 'The Last Days Of the Con-
federaoy," but how to outgeneral the
crows is what is uppermost with our
folks.
You have only to watch and study
the crows to decide that they are nat
ural military geniuses. 1t would be
easy to convince an old soldier Of the
Virginia army that Longstreet failed
in his duty as general as itwould be
to convince Brown that the average
crow was not possessed with military
instincts. These crows are coming
out from their winter quarters just
now and forming into companies, regi-
ments and brigades, and their maneu-
yers in the fields show that they are
under the control Of some master
hand in military tactics. Their
changes in chase Of operations their
knowledge of all the fields, their
speedy movements and strict discip-
line speaks we'll of their commanders
as generals and Of them as military
tribe. Never can your catch them off
their guard. A company of crows
were never surprised. No matter
where they halt or for how short a
period they expect, pickets are always
posted. From some eminence which
overlooks all the ground these pickets
stand ready to sound the alarm and
make a surprise impossible. Their
discipline is so perfect that it is next
to impossible for an enemy to get
upon them. There is no struggling,
no personal" indiscretion, but at
the sound of the alarm up they rise
and away they 60 to pull corn some
other day.
Ever since I can remember it has
been fight between the farmer and
the crow. Away back in the long
ago "scare-crow" was common in
every farmers field. Old suits Of
clothes were stuffed and put upon
poles and some of them looked ugly
enough to scare anything, but the
crow has outgrown all that. They
have progressed with all the rest Of
the world and laugh at such old fogy-
ism. Soaking seed corn in poison has
been resorted to, but still their in
crease is apparent, and to-day the
"problem" how to keep the crows from
pulling up our corn is as much a ques-
tion as ever.
OThere is but one way to combat the
crows that me and Brown haver found
with any degree of success. Find
their nest and then you have them. !
want every farmer to join in fight
against these pets this year, and SO
give the process: When you have 10.
Gated the nest then build "blind'
close by it; when your blind-or sew
eral blinds-there should be one on
every side of the tree-is ready, gath
er your neigbors with good guns and
plenty of ammunition and place them
in the "blinds. Have a cat ready
with plenty Of good string to tie with.
Tie the cat securely to the limb Of
the tree close by the nest and await
developments. An old crow will
pretty soon visit the tree and find the
cat. Such fuss will then begin as
you never heard from a crow before
Tue alarm goes out and pretty soon
from every direction crows begin tc
gather. The elements about the tree
where the cat is bound will soon be
black with crows and you can Kill
them to your hearts content-kill
them all. The crow is q game bird,
and will stay by their nest fighting the
cat till the last one has fallen. They
die without knowing from whence il
comes.-Sarge Plunhett, in Atlanta
Constitution.