The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1897-04-10

4
riod. Was 1t not on
account OF the fact that our feathered
friend was mainly instrumental In the
dissemination Of the undigested seed
% the cinnamon plant that q law was
passed forbidding the killing Of o crow
under the severest penalties? Most Of
The stories which are related Of the
eagacity OF the crow and OF his power
| Of acting In concert with others are 90
incredible that / almost fear to COM
promise my character for veracity BY
repeating them. For instance, Crows
have been known to undo a paper par
ca In order to pry into it's contents;
% unite the knot OF q napkin inclos-
ing provisions; to remove the peg by
which the lid of basket was fastened
dcwn-always with some unhall0wed
object in view; to hunt In couples after
o brood Of chicks, one diverting the at
tentton Of the hen-mother by repeated
fefnts In one direction, while the other
made on with the coveted prey, etc.
That they have a language OF their
own, though undistinguishable to our
ears, by which they readily communi-
cate intelligence, give warning, secure
assistance, and combine to act in a def
mite way, is only too evident. Point but
q gun at a crow, and the warning cry
Of Care! Care" or something similar
Is at once raised from the nearest out
post and echoed and re-echoed from
every tree for miles around; and for
many long day that spot will be care
fully Stunned by every crow in the
neghborhood. Put a substitute a stick,
crutch or broom for a gun and he will
laugh you In the face and positively
call his fellows to come and defy you
with taunts and yells Of derisive laugh
Ter. The most notable instance, how
ever, which have seen of their power
Of acting in concert, and apparently
after due elaboration, was what / wit
messed on certain occasion Of the pro-
ceedings Of an immense multitude of
crows and which had all the sem blanoe
OF an open-air criminal court; or, rath-
q, Of the summary mode Of trial and
execution pursued by vigilance commit
tees under the sanction Of lynch law.
It was at noon and was driving past
the Colombo esplande, when my atten-
ton was drawn to q gathering Of the
Crow clan in large numbers. They ap-
peared to come from the east and the
west, from the north and the south sim
ultaneously and, for the most part, 81
iently. Perched on the branches of
come large trees which stood at q dis
tance end occupying irregular but COM
handing positions along the seaside
were stationed certain noisier brethren
apparently engaged on sentinel duty,
but cawing their eternal khaa khaa
win q vehemence and energy which
scanned to denote some occurrence of
more than ordinary import. Perhaps
lire the "Oyezi Dyes" Of the town crier
their hoarse, monotonous cries were a
sufnmons to all good citizens to assem-
BILE forthwith In the interests Of public
justice. Presently there was q sort of
an arrangement Of the black forces.
Serted ranks formed kind of SQUARE.
all the birds hopping on the ground.
save those on outpost duty, till the
greensward presented almost a funereal
appearance, while in the center. under
the custody Of some special constables.
an unfortunate crow culprit was care
fully guarded, not without sundry
pecks and raps on the head and other
reminders peculiar to the force. There
was brief silence while the president
OF the tribunal appeared to be asking
the prisoner II he could show cause
why sentence should not be passed on
HIM Caws enough be had, poor fell
low. but the formula was unmeaning,
as In many a higher tribunal; his case
was pretudiced; and without waiting
for q reply he was ordered to be
dIummed out Of the ranks, banished.
ovtlawed-Qae sais-je? The sentence
ives received with reclamation. There
w1s q universal clamor and uprising
into the air. / looked round for the
victim; he was running the crow-or-
deal for life. He rose, was pecked at
by q number Of his fellows, struggled
hercely and got on, only to be pursued
BY others, who hurled him down with
beak and claw, Then on his back.
grimly facing his assailants, he fought
desperately for bare life. Once again
he was successful. and this time a. he
rose in the air with rapid wing he dis
tenced his pursuers and was soon lost
10 view. What his ultimate fate was
do not know. But the whole affair in
terested me greatly. What possible
crime could he have committed, the
miserable wretch who had sinned
against the unwritten code Of crow
law, such code as only an opium eater
could conceive Of in his widest imag-
innings OF q colony of escaped convicts
enact In new settlement