Evening journal., 1898-11-30
NUTMEG BIRD STORaEs.

Up in New Hartford, on Town Hill, |
there Stands a lonely church of the
traditional New England type, white,
with green blinds, and box shaped
open seeep.e. This church was long
ago abandoned in consequence Of the
desertion Of the countryside for the
city by the later generations OF New
Hartford people. A heavy beld hangs
in the steeple. 1t is never rung now
exoept on the rare oecasion of an I'M
teament in the little churchyard near
by. Hence the neighbors were sur
prised recently TO hear al munfed peal.
There WAS no sign of life about the
church, and beyond speculating as toI
what caused the ring of the bell moth
ing was done. On the following day a
second sounding of the bell occurred,
precisely like the first, and it was de-
termined to ascertain the cause Lad
ders were procured, and a party OF
boys made their way to the creaking
floor Of the breezy old belfry. There
under the bell. lay the bodies of two
fat partridges, lboxh OF which had been
crushed out of shape by the force with
which the birds had flown against the
bell.
A tower on Mount Tom, below Gitch-
field, which was erected some years ago
by the Columbia College Summer
School of Engineering, had brought
low more than a dozen well fed part
ridges lately, which pumped into it
after the manner OF the Town Hill
birds.
William Clark, a North Madison
farmer, was an unlntentional vio,ator
OF the game law laso week. while
driving his two horse team over Stad-
die HiGl, in that town, two fiocl1s of
quails came together in their fiight
directly above his head. The antics of
the birds frightened his horses, so that
he lost control of them, and, in his ef-
forts to rein the animals in he piled
the lash vigorously. I'm saving his
whip Through the air he brought down
five OF the birds with the lash. After
subduing the horses he stopped and
picked up the quails, and on the fol-
lowing day his bin Of fare had some
thing on it resembling quail pie, de-
spite the fact that the game statute
provides "a fine for any person having
dead quails in his possession before
the law is off.
over in Groton Captain John Spicer,
who is one OF the hast Of New Eng
lands successful whalemen, has been
raising a brood of fine chickens, of
which he has taken great care. One
morning he heard a hubhub about his
J hennery, and, going out, found one
chicken gone. The marauder was not
in sight, and he took it for granted
that a henhawk had made away with
the chicken. The next morning there
was another racket in the COOP and,
rushing to the spot, the veteran whale
hunter was surprised to find the
mother hen in the act Of pecl1ing the
life out of what he supposed was a
hawk. The hen WAS on top and the
Feathers were flying in great shape. The
captain darted into the coop and was
still Further surprised to find that in
stead OF hawk it was fine partridge
that the hen had killed. He bore off
the STRAY bird in triumph. He is at
loss ko say whether the partridge was
attempting to steal his chickens or not.
Near Wangumlbaug Lake, in Tollana
county, Chester Griswold had an ex-
perience with coon the other night
which was more interesting to him
than any he expects to have with
game birds during Nhe present season.
His dog ereed a coon near the house,
and going out with his gun. Griswold
managed to draw bead on the ami
NAL and bring it down. It was a large,
handsome coon. and had evidently
been somebody's pet. and had escaped
from captivity. for about its neck was
fastened a paddock and a piclcel plated
chain, which had been broken off about
yard from the animals body. The
paddock WAS plainly marked with the
initials It. z. j." on 1t in script.-New