Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-07-18
SANTA Annals ONE LEG.
a Good Story Of Crow Cunning
Told by Consrsssman Cummings.

n Good Story OF Crow Cunning,
Told by Congressman Cummings.
Ex-Congressman Cummings, OF
New York, tells this good crow story
in the Washington Pathfinder:
1T was In Florida. Tom Murrey
and had made camp little back
from the shore-object, fish. Among
other things we used to immediate q
turtle every morning. The sea
turtle does not lay it's eggs under
what you might call the Australian
system. Whole herds come out OF
the sea together, and the way they
mix up their eggs must make it a
tangle when one Of them tries to call
its family together. You know MUIR
roy, great cook and all that! Well.
Murrey claimed to know all OF these
turtles by their given names. and
used to stroll about among 'em and
look in their faces, and pick out one
to kill. Murrey claimed that you
should pick out turtle for food by
his head.
"'If he has a broad. fiat head,
wide at the jaws, like an adder. says
Murrey, don't touch him. He is q
turtle with q savage temper. He
fights other turtles and gets into fits
Of rage and spells his flesh. Pick
out turtle with q round, kindly
face; one that you would not hesitate
to accept for a guide, philosopher.
and friend; that's the turtle to eat.
But about the crows. They used
to flock about camp by the thousands
to peck ut the shells of the turtles
that Murrey had slain and to grab
of biscuit crumbs and scraps. One
of these, l noticed. was a one-legged
crow. Somewhere in the game OF
life he'd lost one Of his pins, and
was pegging around making living
on the other. / felt sorry for him.
My fad is cripples, and so l ran a
deadline around the camp and
wouldn't let the other crows come in
side. We just gave Santa Anna the
run OF the camp--that's what we
called the one-legged crow, Santa
Anna--and he was welcome to the
biscuit, the baking powder, and any
thing we had. Santa Anna became
quite tame, and would let us pick
him up at times. AS he ransacked
the camp and filled up on the delica-
cies, the other crows perched about
on the scrubby trees glowered ut
Santa Anna, and loathed him, and
wondered where he got his push.
But one day we missed Santa
Anna. He came not. The next day
and the next were vacant of Santa
Anna. Murrey and l felt lonely.
The other crows stood about in the
trees and gloated over us. By the
look OF green and Satanic exultation
in their eyes we could see that they
had murdered Santa Anna.
'On the third day after our pets
disappearance, however. we were de-
lighted by his sudden coming back.
There he was pegging about on one
leg and standing in on the sugar and
the dried currants as OF yore. Tom
and / were tickled to death. 1t was
as il a stone had been rolled from our
hearts. What grow to be wonderful,
wv, was viz dppOtipC OdhOo hhio
had brought with him. He ate from
morning until night. He was at it
all the time. Murrey is superstitious,
and / knew that crow that ate
through twelve straight hours and
never let up was due to break up our
camp.
II concluded to catch Santa Anna
and see il / could solve the mystery
of all this grub he'd been slowing
away. I'd got to be careful. for
another popularity which Santa
Anna had developed during his three
days vacation wa as profound shy
ness. 1t panied Murrey to the
heart, after all he had done for him.
! approached Santa Anna with great
caution and suddenly reached for
him. / missed him, but in his hurry
lodging away. Santa Anna stuck out
a second leg, which he'd carried hid
away in his bosom feathers. At this
the other crows. which were sitting
in the trees watching, screamed
rudely and few away. The secret
was out. They had killed the real
Santa Anna. and now, one by one,
they would hide a leg in their feath-
ers and hop into camp and work me
and Tom"