The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-06-19
KILLED BY BLUE CRANES.


A Fierce Attack of Birds Upon Two
Men Lost In a Forest.
In the heart of the country just opened
by the settlement OF the Red Lake reser-
walton in northwestern Minnesota there
are interminable swamps and muskegs, as
the Indians call them, which are masses
of tangled forest and low swamps OF
cedar and tamarac woods, almost Inn
penetrable. In these forests are the
haunts OF myriads of wild creatures.
Moose and caribou roam the woods, and
their paths, often worn to the depth OF
a foot or more along the edges OF the wet
lands and surrounding the lake, are fire.
quently met with. The red deer Is TO be seen
at any time. Wolves are mutually numer.
Gus where the deer are TO be found, and
the black bear can be seen In every blue
berry patch or plum thicket. The smaller
game animals are as plenty as the larger,
and there are no liner places In America
for the fisherman than the lakes and
streams that abound In all the region.
The few men who stumble into that
wilderness come out with queer tales OF
their experiences and of the scenes they
have witnessed there. Not the least
strange Of these was the experience OF
Black Duck settler, Harry james by
name, who attempted to cross the wild
erness last week on his way from his
home to the settlements on the west OF
the timber country in the Red River
Valley. He was with q companion, and
they were attacked by blue cranes. One
OF the two men was killed and the other
barely escaped with his life, and will
probably be blind In at least one eye for
the rest of his life.
A lew miles south OF Black Duck Lake
Is a rookery of blue cranes covering sew
eral square miles. IL is said TO be the
largest of It's kind In America. The birds
congregate In this rookery every year in
vast numbers, and are just at this time
hatching their eggs and rearing their
young. The rookery Is In aspruce swamp,
and ie almost inaccessible on account OF
the lakes and painless woods that sur
round 1t. A more dismal place would be
hard to find.
The two men were not acquainted
with the. woods, and, though old hunters
and pioneers, they were soon tangled in
the wilderness OF swamp and forest near
the edge of the rookery about nightfall.
Making their way by the compass they
were attracted by the yelping OF their
dog, fine hound, that was ranging a
few rods ahead of them. The dog was
evidently attacked by some creature that
was making IL exceedingly disagreeabie
and serious for him, and they fastened
TO his relief. AT once the air seemed to
be alive with cranes, and the dog came
bowling and STUN bling to them, covered
with blood and half blind, and followed
by the birds. When the birds spied the
men they turned their attention from
the dog and attacked them. Both were
struck by the beaks of the birds, and
James was knocked down, with several
wounds in his head, face, and neck. The
other man was rendered insensible by
wound in the temple, and the birds,
which had become infuriated, continued
their onslaught on both so fiercely that
james was unable to help his comrade.
The latter received wounds which caused
his death.
Shielding himself as best he could
under log beside which he had fallen,
James opened fire on the birds with his
Winchester, and kept Ii up as long as he
had cartridges; but ii appeared to do no
good, although several OF them were
killed. Darkness coming on, he crept of
into the dense brush. but not until one
of the birds had given him blow with
its beak that ruined one eye.
Tho next morning he reached one OF
the surveying camps of the Farmers
Railway, and with William Hines, q
brother of the now famous Farmer Hines,
returned to the rookery. They shot sew
eral of the cranes and retired, carry ing
home with them one bird which stood
seven feet four inches in height and
measured eight feet across its extended
wings. Two others nearly as large were
shot. The intrusion OF the two men ex-
cited the cranes very much, but as it was
daylight and both men were shooting
they kept at a distance.