The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1896-10-31
INDIGNANT birds.
An Attempt to Rob Them OF ih
Youug Creates Sensation.

When a college student was taken
very Ill In my sophomore year ana
ginning strength but slowly. the doctor
ordered me into the country.
boarded at a farmhouse, ana gave
myself entirely UP to the woods ana
fields.
Through nm entire summer ! studied
lovingly tie ways of the birds ana ue
termincd to raise some young thruSh'S
and take them with me to my CITY
home in the fall.
My selection WINS n nest Of brown
thrushes. 1t was in a thick mass oil
brushes in a swamp-an entanglanent
of wild growth, and almost impene-
trable.
Every day I watched, from the eggs
to the Callow young | resolved 10 III
low the old birds two weeks; then
would assume tie raising Of the .ouHg
ones.
At last the day came, and all my
preparations were made. Taking WljA
ne cage | worked my way through
the dense underground. Very careIuHy
| removed the nest, and was trying 70
get 1t into the cage, when the 1eulalc
bird arrived She uttered n cry, almost
q Shrek. and disappeared, but returned
Immediately with ner mate.
The two birds made wild efioFt 10
drive me away. even flying at me, WIN
every demonstration of rage anu uIS-
treSS. Then, to my surprise, they Dolh
left
| now felt so mean that at once set
about putting the nest back in the
bush; but it gave me a great deal 81
trouble, as | could not make II stay III
its place
What now? The two old bords We're
back, accompanied with n whole beYy
Of wild birds. The entire ccppttc was
alive with them. They seemed bent
on picking my eyes ont. | had to
screen my face by holding the cage
before It.
AS to these blrds-their number and
variety, md conduct--Gll together, II
WAS IN extraordinary scene. 1t seemed
to me there were at least fifty of these
Indignant little bodies, and perhaps
dozen species, some dying 1T me, and
all making angry demonstrations.
There were brown thrusheS, song
thrushps, cat-birds, and several of the
warhlers. Such an uproar-meWlnG,
chrclling, twitterig and other cries,
babel Of bird sounds. 1t all meant
distress and rage. But such miX-up!
All talked at once. The one keynote
of the discord was distress and lndiS-
nation.
| got cut Of that swamp n wiser ana
n better youth. My conscience smote
ne, and my only solacc lay in the
thought that l had done my best TO
undo the mischief ! had wrought.
The next morning | again went to
tho swamp to see how matters stood.
How softly I worked my way through
the bushes How DEATH still every
thing was. The young birds had gone!
did SO want to know how the old
birds had managed matters, and now
ii Jared with the little ones.
That Indignation meeting Of the birds
occurred great many years ago; but
the scene is still vivid to my mind.
one winter, just after n sn0W-stoTm,
q brvv of snow-birds appeared near my
| house. fed them crumbs and they
stayed with US several days. They got
little bold. even coming up to the
kitchen steps to get their rations. There
was. however, one exception.
\ fence separated the old apple or
chard from the house lot, and l OBJ
served that one bird kept on the fence
rail, never venturinC nearer to the
feeding place To my surprise and de
hight. the reason for 1t was soon made
plain.
The poor little fellow was lame Of
one wing; 50 he must not be too bold,
as. in the event of danger he must
have some vantage for escape. So an
old bird took him crumbs at every
feeding time.
But the most remarkable act IN my
Knowledge of bird in sympathy with
another in distress was performed by
q robin not two hundred yards from
my house. 1t was Il deed Of daring,
and in the highest degree heroic.
\ sparrow hawk had pOunced on a
sparrow In the street. and was bearing
il away. 4 robin from his maple tree
witnessed the act, and instantly start
cd i'll pursuit.
High in the air the noble little fellow
caught up with the buccaneer, and one
could hear the short. jerky cries Of
the hawk as the robin was 'pegging
IN and making the feathers fly.
The hawk dropped his prey, and the
robin returned to the maple tree, where
he had left his mate. The sparrow
made the best of time to get back to
| his kind.
Was not that nobly done for the rob
in-so brave and so magnanimous. too?
Samuel Lockwood, in Our Dumb
Animals"