The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-17
VOICE OF THE CHOW.
A Reminder of the Days When Ma
ture Was Young.
From Harper's Magazine.


From Harper's Magazine.
1t is the voice Of the crowl 1t is heard
at Intervals all winter-for the crow is
loyal to his home-whenever there is a
spirit Of "thaw' Zone Of our northern
gods) abroad, but 1t is really harbinger
Of spring, when the streams are released
and the clouds are loose and high SAIL
ing and the wooing south wind makes
all the trees uneasy to take on color and
to burst their buds into bloom. on any
day when the sun, climbing northward
attacks the frost and the snow and ice
slides with thunder-like rumble of the
steep New England farmhouse roofs, the
crow Is abroad calling us to a new life
1t Is the harshest voice In the whole or
chestra of birds, yet ii Is hOmelike ana
sincere and has In it a note Of wild free
dom, of infinite promise. The crow has
never yielded to the modern demand for
culture, and his "caW' Is almost the only
thing In civilized life that can take us back
to the untamed and primeval nature. He
belongs to the forests, to the free buccan-
eerlng life we secretly long for. When
we walk in the woods in the spring IL Is
the call of the crow that interprets FOR
us our wild desires
For myself I confess that he stirs In
me more memories and sets me In a more
sympathetic thrill with nature than any
other of her voices. He IS not the raven
of pOetry-the dark-winged symbol Of
domestic rock but the plain New England
crow. He is called "A thief. because he
digs where he has not planted, like a
stock OPERATOR and he Is an outlaw, with
a price on his head, but as l hear his
voice on a day when there is a smell of
new earth and wide awakening over the
liberated land l forgive him all the de-
fects of his qualities When | consider
his ways his milltary-ike discipline, his
shrewdness, his contempt Of the scare
crows of this world his refusal to be
tanned in our decadent civilization, / am
grateful for his example.
There are two charges against the crow
he is despised because he is poor and
hated because he is not edible. But many
men are as poor as they are inedlble II
the crow were not both we should ex-
terminate him. His refusal to be civil
lied in these respects Is his projections
He sets us an example Of poverty borne
with self-respect and he shows his wis
dom in making his diet so miscellaneous
that no one desires to eat him. Even in
the matter of diet he Is better than the
decayed-fish eaters of the Arctic regions
and I have no doubt he prefers good,
clean corn when he can get it, and often
risks his life to pull it out Of the corn
hills. In fact, the crow has character
and we cannot tell what he might not
become If he were well and deeently treat
ed. We may criticise his Voice-though I
hope its note of wild freedom will never
be changed-but l have heard some or
chestras which would be improved bv the
Introduction of his "caw." ! wish / could
sing the crow. No poet has ever done it,
not even Walt Whitman who might have
had a surer hold on immortality by sing
ing the crow than by singing himself.
Recent Investigations show that the
poison OF the poison ivy is a volatile oil
Hence water will not remove the poison
from the surface as well as alcohol If ap-
piled freely.