Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-06-29
THE FlsHERMANs PET GROW.
A bird That Went to Church, Though
Not tn Service. Every Sunday.

Not to Service, Every Sunday.
"You will find pet crows alongshore,"
said a fisherman, lust as you might
once that had one he. got out of its nest
when it was little, and brought up in
his home. He never clipped Its wings,
and it used to go out and be gone, may
be for hours, perhaps for days, but it
knew where it could get warm and
where the best things to eat were, and
it always came back. If any Of the FAM
lily saw 1t coming they would let 1t in;
il they didn't see 1t, the crow would
sit on the railing by the door and cav
to be let in; and, if nobody heard the
cawing, it would peck at the door with
its beak. 1t used to sleep in the house.
and was on friendly terms with the
whole household. The name of the
crows owner was William; his friends
used to call him Bill. When mealtime
came the crow would perch on the back
of Bills chair, and every now and then
Pill would reach up over his shoulder
something nice for the crow to eat.
Every Sunday morning the crow
used to go to church, and it never used
to go any other time. 1t knew the sex,
ton. The sexton was fisherman, too,
like everybody along the beach, and he
was superintendent of the Sunday
school, and big man in the church gen.
orally. The crow used to go over to the
church and sit on the doorstep Sunday
morning and wait for the sexton to
come, and when he did come and open
the door, the crow would go in with
him. The church was heated by big
stove, and while the sexton was build
ing the fire the crow would sit ON the
back Of a pew close by and look on.
Sometimes, when the sexton was work.
ing away over the stove the crow would
hitch along on the pew rail and cav to
him; and sometimes the sexton would
turn around and s1uile at the crow and
maybe say something friendly, and then
the crow would perk its head over on
one side and cav and cav, and then the
sexton would smile again and go on
building the fire. He would put in a
section of old tarred netting to start
the fire with, something that every
fisherman uses if he has got it, and the
best thing in the world to start n fire
with, and then he would build up the
fire and light 1t, and when it had got
well a-going and he had made every
thing snug he would leave the church
until it was pretty near time for the
service to begin; and when he went
the crow would go with him. think
the crow would sometimes have stayed
in the church, but of course that
wouldn't do, and when the sexton was
ready he would call the crow and the
crow would follow him out, and they
would separate where they had met,
on the steps of the church. The sexton
lived about half a mile away in one
direction, and the crow lived close by
in the other, and when the sexton had
gone the crow would go over to its home
and peck on the door, and they would
let him in.
Everybody around knew this crow.
and nobody ever molested it. The crow
itself took chances. Sometimes 1t
focked with other crows and then 1t
was in danger of being shot; but nobody
ever shot at it when it was alone. When
they saw it fly by they said:
"'There goes Bills crow - N. Z