The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-04-02

amongst the rocks. overhead, the trees
and vines formed canopy of verdure,
while in front hung curtain of lianas,
or bush-tropes, stretched across like the
Melted threads of hammock.
All the birds in the island seemed to
find refuge here as soon as the heat out
side became oppressive; woodpeckers,
thrushes, doves, fycatchers, emerald
coated trogons and humming-birds in
their iridescent sheen of feathers: They
regarded me quite curiously as lay
prone upon the sand, but not one
tentions;s and this touching confidence
robbed me Of whatever sinister motive
l had in entering the place. So my
gun leaned against the rock, while
l watched the motions of my compan-
IONS Never had naturalist a better
opportunity for becoming acquainted
with the little folk that wear plumage.
Making as little disturbance as pos
sible, drew out my notebook and
recording the many odd things which
l saw. At last, however, fell asleep;
and when I awoke the gorge was in deep
shadows, for the sun had set, and most
of the birds had gone to their haunts
for the night. I was about to depart,
when my ears were saluted by sound
that made me start and clutch my gun
nervously. In the words of the great
Crusoe: IF I had had a hat on my
head, | will not answer for it that my
hair might not have lifted it off, For,
it was the same strange spirit-voice
which he heard, uttering it's melancholy
call.
Suddenly the hollow voice sounded
right over my head, causing me to jump
wildly to one side. There was a rift in
the network Of vines, through which 1
caught glimpse of dark form on the
dead branch Of silk.cotton tree. Rails
we will soon settle this" when the dusky
creature threw back its head and again
uttered its melancholy cry. The note
seemed strangely familiar. Then, all at
once. it broke upon me that had heard
this same cry years before; in a cave
gun, sat down ON the sand. and laughed
at myself. $50 you are 'Toh,' my dear
old bird; and instead of intending to
brighten, only meant to greet me-" He
came hopping toward my retreat, and l
talked to him as to an old acquaintance;
and he really seemed to understand me.
bobbing his head from side to side, and
looking as wise as judge.
'"Toh" is said to have been the only
bird left outside the ark, at the time Of
the delugc. The Indians of Yucatan told
me this tradition, when l visited them,
many years ago. The original Toh was
a very bad bird, they said, for he sat
on the tree beneath which Father Noah
was ut work putting the ark together,
Noah only shook his head, admonishing
him. You had better come i'll out of
the wet" when the ark was finished; but
Toh refused to enter. Noah said no
more. thinking, proba bly,, that it was
the birds, own business if he got
drowned; but some of the animals, as
they passed beneath the tree. tried to
persuade him to go with them into the
ark. The giraffe and the elephant finally
got quite angry at Toh's scotfings, and
reached up to seize him, but only sue
ceeded in pulling out some of the feath-
crs from his tail; and this is the way,
the Indians said. that Toh's tail got SO
Singularly stripped. But Toh kept on
laughing at them, and repeated his cry
of ''toh! toh!'-which is Indian for Ego
a!ong;;'. and so along they went, without
him. Yet, the tradition says, he sur
vived the flood, and was the first to
greet Noah and his passengers when they
In Yucatan, Toh lives in the curious
Water-caves. sometimes 100 feet deep,
from which the Yucatan Indians get
their only supplies for drinking purposes.
The West Indian representative of the
family is called the king of the Woods"
lie does not live in a cave. because he
can find none there that are suitable,
but he digs hole in mari bank from
. to 10 feet deep, and there, In April or
May, Mrs. Toh lays three or four round,
white eggs.
Toh is about II inches in length, has
soft, silky plumage Of green and chest
nut, a crimson iris and pretty crest;
he is, altogether, an attractive bird. of
modest and retiring habits. His pecu-
liar feature is his tail, with it's two long
shafts, or barbs, stripped of their laminae
except at the tip, where spoon-shaped
fan of an inch or so remains. Some
naturalists think that the bird comes
naturally by this feature; but others who
have watched him say that he strips his
tail himself.
His food consists of snakes, beetles
and berries-he is almost as omnivorous
as Il crow. When Toh captures snake
on the ground, he doesn't eat him there,
but first carries the reptile in his claws
to some branch, where he kills it by re-
peatedly dashing its head against his
perch: His peculiar and mournful call
note has made him an object of super
stitious dread among the negroes. who
insist that he is ghost. or "jumbie,"
and always avoid meeting him after
dark Trod A OIor