The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-11-15
TWO WHITE OWLS
They Will Be a Feature
in Bohemia.
GIVEN TO THE PRESS CLUB.
How They Saved Mans Life in
the Arctic.
A VERY INDIGNANT GRAY OWL.
1t Belongs to the Bohemian Club, and
Thought 1t Was a Ruler in
Bohemia.
GIVEN TO THE PRESS CLUB.
A VERY INDIGNANT GRAY OWL.


of its new quarters on Kearny street there
will be among the many adorDments which
will add to the pleasing aspect Of the
rooms two ornaments which will be fright
in line" with TIE principles of the men,
bers of the club.
These adornments will be two white
owls from the Arctic region. where white
| owls hold their sway. They are the gift
of Joe Kruft. the genial bohemian boni-
| face. and in addition to their standing as
| rare birds these particular owls have an
interesting history.
The Bohemian Club is generally sup
| posed By its members to be under the
| guidance and protection of huge gray
owl with staring eyes that blink aud close
at the approach of daylight, even though
the fowl has withslood the jokes and
FRANKS of royal high jinks. The Bo-
hemian Club owl has made a record for
itself, and that it has become swollen with
a certain amount OF pride is no djscredit
| to l..
When the news was brought up to the
club quarters that the old rooms Oh Pine
| street had been destroyed by fire the old
gray owl of the Bohemian Club is said
to have chuckled and muttered to itself
about its luck in getting away from the old
| familiar district before the holocaust came.
| So long has the old gray owl been ir Be-
hernia that it began TO look upon itself as
the one and only Bohemian owl on this side
of the Rocky Mountains.
After George T. Bromley and a special
committee transported the old gray owl
from the old quarters to the elegant apart
ments of the Bohemian Club on Post
street the owl felt himself pulled up with
| pride. Upon survey of the new quarters
it was no wonder that the owl got a
"swelled head" and though he was some
body. As gray owl he looked upon him
self as an aristocrat if not autocrat of
Bohemia.
However, he cid not reckon on his
cousins, the white owls from the north,
coming in and contrasting his position. He
heard the news yesterday from listening
too intently to the conversation of two
mem bers of the Press Club who had wan
dered into the sacred precincts of the b.
hemisn Club rooms. Now the old gray owl
that thought it had al immortal cinch on
Bohemia is wearing frown. There are
two white owls opposed to him.
The history of these white owls, which
will pose Ia the new Press Club rooms, is
an interesting one. and even the old gray
owl who, it Is said. turned gray in night,
like the prisoner of ChillOn," through
hearing Daniel O'Connen unload a joke
which assisted the elephant to disem bark
from Noah's ark, felt suicidal tendency
| concerning him.
The two white owls came down through
| the agency of whnler over eleven years
| ago. Joe Kruft, the owner and donor of
the owls, tells the following story concern
| ing them:
| In 1881 Captain James NJ. Blair went
through the Yukon River district as far
| as it was then possible for white man to
go. He mingled with the EsQuimaux, and
in fact became one Of them for the time
being. During the winter of 1882. while
out hunting for moose, he was overtaken
| by a snOwstorm, and for hours wandered
| about aimlessly in the bleak regions seek
| ing for the path which led toward home.
| For two days and nights he wandered in
! the binding snow, living On what little
provisions he had in his pouch. Sur
rour ded by banks of snow he could make
no bearings, and during the day be walked
| to keep warm. while at night be made a
snow hut and slept. On the fourth day b e
was in starving condition. and death
stared the captain in the face. lie was
even too weak to make struggle for life,
| for he knew not which way to turn.
Toward evening, as he lay in snow
hut which he had made, he heard the
'twoo-twO0" of an owl. He looked out
and saw large white owl fitting around
the opening to the snow hut. More as a
matter of curiosity be arose and dragged
himself to the opening. The white
owl fitted back and forth, uttering
its hard cries. He then saw another owl
as immaculate in plumage as the first sit
ting on the top of his hut.
| As he went out the two owls "twoo-
twood" again aud flew short distance
off. He follrwed after them, as he says,
instinctively, and upon approach they flew
| further along. He still followed. and al
| though the dusk was growing into dark
ness, he staid with them. How many
miles he went Captain Blair says he does
not know, but he followed the two white
owls and finally arrived at one of the trad
ing stations of the Hudson Bay Fur Com
pany.
From that time on he was all right, but
| the people at the station insisted on ca tch-
| ing the owls, which fitted around and
| refused to leave the neighborhood. They
at last succeeded. before Captain Blair had
recovered from the exhaustion occasioned
by his terrible experience. Captivity did
! not agree with the feathered life-savers
| and they died within two weeks. Captain
| Blair, who is an experienced taxidermist,
took the birds and stuffed them. Upon
his arrival here he presented them to his
old friend Joe Kruft, and In his possession
| they have remained until he decided las [
week to present the birds to the Press Club.
Such is the history of the two white
owls. 1t is no wonder that the gray owl
of the Bohemian Club hung its head in
detection and felt blue because it had had
n thrilling experiences and had not saved
human life. Even the goblet of rosy
wine as it passes among the Bohemians
who may be adorned with yellow chrysan-
themums will not cause the erstwhile
jOvial owl to relax the wrinkles in It's fore
head feathers or smooth down those
in The corners of its staring and all
|