Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-03-31
A HELPING BIRD.

sna MT Do long! SAID the gray parrot.
regret to say that the irrepressible
young man that brings the daily milk is
the tutor Of my parrot in the latest up to
date slang of the day.
l am an old sea captain-at least not
old. Perhaps the word slipped out I'M
awares. 1 am the right side Of SO anyhow
But being in receipt of a pension and a
small private income to boot, have cast
anchor in NY present abode in the expec-
tation Of weathering many storm yet.
Being without q known relation in the
world, willingly fell in with the sugges-
ton that l SHOULD pick up my moorings
alongside my old friend and messmate,
Captain Travers late r.. N, who, having
left one of ibis legs on the west coast of
Africa while capturing SLAYER, was pen.
stoned off at an even EARLIER age than my
self and now lived with his sister--a most
comfortable party, fat, fair and 40 or
thereabout--in the adjoining house to
mine in the neighborhood of London. We
had always got on well together, our
tastes and dispositions were similar, and
we had often met during our naval ca
reers. His sister / had not previously been
acquainted with; but being In many re-
spects like her brother, we were soon firm
friends.
Captain Travers and myself had each a
favorite parrot-his the common African
gray, with a red tipped tail, and mine the
purer variety, without trace of color, but
otherwise similar.
I had not long settled down in my new
quarters and got everything shipshape, or
what seemed SO to me--a very important
difference, as know today-when, almost
unconsciously at first, began to feel what
a lonely old bachelor was and what a set
off to all my other belongings the figure of
Miss Rachel Travers would he by my fire.
side. But just here the curse of my life
began to make itself felt. Inherent shy
ness in the presence of the opposite sex
has logged my footsteps from my earliest
recollections. Give me gale of wind In
the bay of Biscay, a tornado in the tropics
or 20 hours duty on deck, wet through to
the skin, and Captain Manley, late of the
p. and O. service, will thank you for it
and consider life well worth living But as
dispenser of delicate attentions to the fair
sex, intensely as heinwardly adniires their
pretty ways, Captain Manley does not
no, he certainly does not-show up to ad-
vantage.
My complaint got worse and worse, and
many an hour did spend pacing up and
down my quarter deck--I mean my front
parlor-saying, Rachel, love you," in
various tones, practicing which would have
the best effect when l should have suit
able opportunity.
At last l heard my parrot saying, Ra-
m in, liy,,tv, IN off IN M
my sentence and with the idea Of hearing
the effect from other lips-or should say
beak-I taught the bird to repeat the
words.
Although fond of pets generally, have
an antipathy to cats, especially at night.
am not aware that our neighborhood was
particularly beneficial in its aspect Or 9TH
err qualifications to the feline constitution,
but l know that until l was inhuman
enough to start an air gun cannonade on
my numerous nocturnal visitors I was
frequently unable to get respectable
night rest. One Internal black and white
Tom defied my finest efforts. If average
cats have nine lives, am sure this one
must have had 10, and began to wonder
what sort Of uncanny being this was that
had no objection to letting my bullets pass
apparently through its body without sui
fering any Inconvenience. But, after all,
it must have been my bad craftsmanship,
for one afternoon saw my enemy quietly
walking up the low fence that divided my
back garden from Captain Travers'.
The opportunity was too good to be lost,
and, quietly getting my air gun, I took a
steady aim and fired. There was no mis-
take this time, and without sound poor
puss dropped on to my flower bed as dead
as the proverbial doornail.
My exultation, however, was of short
duration, for to my horror and dismay, on
proceeding to pick up his unfortunate car
cass and give it decent burial, saw that
my shot had passed right through the un-
lucky animal and killed my neighbours
parrot, which had been put out to sun It.
self in little summer house that stood at
the bottom Of the garden.
was staggered at my position. knew
the parrot was supreme favorite with
Miss Travers, and how could ever ex-
plain my carelessness Icould not imagine.
Suddenly way out Of my dilemma pre-
scented itself to my mind, and hastened
to put 1t into execution. I knew that the
Traverses were out and would not be back
for some little time; 90, hurrying indoors
carefully painted the end Of Its tail with
rade, and, finding no one was about,
stepped lightly over the fence and substi-
tuted the living for the dead bird, which
| buried, together with the cat, In my own
garden. I knew that my parrot would