Evening star., 1895-09-14
ARE CROWS HUMANs
How Those of LOudOun County Treat-
eI MhiSlSN-Soaked Corn.

eel WhisI<y-Soaked Corn.
A writer for The Star while in Loudoun
county recently was sitting with a group
of farmers VINO were discussing the crops
The conversation drifted from crops in
general to corn in particular, and finally
from corn to crows and their destructive
habits.
One of the farmers said: II was troubled
by crows considerable last spring. They
scratched up the corn as fast as 1
could plant it and then sit on the scare
crow wnen they were tired and needed
a rest
BILLY Leth tor me that ought to soak
some corn in whisky a. d let the crows
eat it, and then when they We're drunk and
couldn't fly very well, to shoot em. 1t
seemed to be a good idea, an / thought
I'd try just little first time and see wnat
effect it had, so I soaked pint Of shelled
corn in whisky and laid it in a heap in
the field where the birds could get it.
After a while 1 went out with gun to
see what was the result. There was lot
of crows by the pile, but they seemed to be
actin kind 'er str&rGe There was a long
line of 'em facin cne old black fellow, who
was standin' behind a clod of earth. 1
couldn't make out what they was up TO at
first. One of em would step up to the clod
an lay somethin' or it and then the old
fellow behind the clod would give him
somethin'. Bimeby l noticed that when a
1EL
of corn an the one behind the clod handed
him a grain out of the pile put there.
When crow got whisky grain he ct
it an went off to the field an scratched
up two more corn kernels and come back.
Then l saw how twas. The old feller
behind the clod had discovered the Pile
first and was keepin bar, an the customers
had to pay two grains of ordinary corn for
one soaked in old rye. The one keepin'
bar was very business-like, and put away
the customers two grains before he would
give him one in return.
Some of 'em were better provided than
the others, an took a friend up with them
wher they walked up to the clOd an
treated him. After they had been keepin'
this sort of thing up for a while, some
of 'em got kinder tired an leaned up
against the clod and cawed sorter husky
and indistinct, an others got quarrelsome
and hollered at one another and waived
their wings, an some of 'em laid right
down and went tco sleep. A couple of
crows hauled up a dead rat to the clod of
dirt an they got enough corn for 1t to set
EN- up for the whole crowd, an they
seemed to be the most popular crows in
the whole flock. This drew purity heavy
on the barkeeper's stock in trade, so he
raised the price to five grains for each one
of hisn. The other crows didn't seem to
like it at all, an they held indigna ton
neetirs, and one of 'em got up on a stump
an holiered for about fifteen minutes, an
the others staggered around an waived
their wings all at once an seemed to en-
courage the one on the stump.
Then they all got together and made a
rush for the feller behind the clod and
jumped on him an mashed his clod an ct
up all his whisky grains an stole all the
corn that had been paid to him for what
they got.
Il hated to hurt critters that acted In
such a human manner, but business is
business, an when they wuz all in heap
Jeatin' the barkeep, 1 let fly with both
barrels of my shotgun an killed about
two hundred an forty-ive, an got some
more with a club.
There hasn't been any crows in that
field for three months" concluded the
speaker.
Il don't like to seem to doubt any mans
story" remarked a man sitting on a bar
rel, after pause, but 1 reely can't bring
myself to blieve, KNOWN Williams re-
gyard for whisky as l do, that he ever
Us ed II Cor such a purpose."