The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-24
WISE OLD GROWS.
How They Solved the CIam-opening
Problem and Administered Justice.

Problem and Administered Justice.
From the Youths Companion.
Few pastimes are more interesting ana
instructive to a person living in the coun-
try than observation OF the habits and pc
culiarities of the common birds and ami
mails which he sees. You may read the
observations of others with a great deal
of pleasure, but there is a singular fascin-
alton in becoming q discoverer on your
own account
OF all the birds that 1 have watched
think none has repaid me more richly than
that amusing old reprobate, the crow His
sagacity is notorious. and from some
things that have myself observed Il
would almost seem as IL he must be en-
dowed with something nearly akin to rea-
son.
On one occasion, while I was living In
New Jersey, near Long Branch, / was one
day attracted by the loud and excited
cawing of a number of crows down on
the shore of the Navesink river, which ran
only few yards from my doors. Curious
to know what all the excitement was
about, / seated byself al a window to
watch them. 1t was Just after the equi-
noctial storm in September, and l soon
found that they were disputing about the
best way to deal with some soft-shelleo
CLAIMS which had been washed up from a
sandy shoal
These clans, of which crows are very
fond, are oblong In shape, about four
or five inches long and two wide, with
shell not much thicker than a mussei
but stilI too hard for crow to break
with It's beak. From one end of the shell
protrudes a long neck. sometimes more
than half as long as your finger. through
which the clam sucks it's food.
For half an hour or more the crows
argued noisly; then the dispute subsldeo
and it was evident that they had arrived
at some decision which they were about
TO put to the test. Almost Immediately
noisy in the discussion. picked up clam
noisy in te discussion, picked up a clam
by its long neck, and flying up in the
air some distance let 1t drop. When II
struck on the stony shore all the crows
ABOUT htteen or twenty In number, flew
TO learn the result of the experiment.
That Ii proved the soundness of their
reasoning was evident. for each crow al
once possessed himself of a clam, few VI
into the cir with 1t, let it drop on Tie
stones TO break its shell. and then ate, Its
contents with great apparent satisfaction
| This they continued until they had eaten
as many as they wanted, ana then they
few away.
At another time 7 saw something which
convinced me that they have some sort OF
government among themselves, and that
an infringement of their laws is followed
| by punishment. This happened in Vir-
ginia, which, by the way, is perfect par
adlse for crows, with it's immense corr
and peanut fields. / was sitting at an up
per window one quiet Sunday afternoon
looking across n broad field toward the
James river, there about seven miles wide
| Tho field had been newly plowed and har.
rowed. ready for planting but was per.
! fectly level and smooth, so that any object
could be distinctly seen upon the ground al
a distance OF 800 or 400 yards AS L was
looking 1 saw q crow alight on the ground
| about 200 yards away. Soon two mors
came from the same direction and alightef
near the first one. Crows continued to ar.
rive, sometimes singly and sometimes by
twos and threes, until there must haYt
been about fifty or perhaps more. Al
came from the same direction and tool
ground on space perhaps fifty or sixty
| feet square.
They were very quiet. which is unusua
where many of them are together, and II
was evident that they had met for a pur-
pose. Presently one flew up in the all
some little distance, appeared to be LOOKING
| for something, and then returned. tbs
was repeated several times, at short In
tervals, before three crows appeared, fly
ing very low, at the sight of which tbs
assembled crows manifested considerable
excitement, though they made very littlt
noise. The three were flying in D line
one behind the other; the middle one, 6
/ detected looking bird, was Enthusiastically
! guarded by the others. They alighted 8
few yards from the others, and the pris
oner for such he evidently was. sat witt
drooplng wings and head. and still
! guarded.
I Then began a great noise. Each crow
seemed to be trying to outtalk every other
This continued for about ten minutes,
| should think, when, with one accord. they
pitched on the unfortunate prisoner and
pecKed him TO death. after which they dis
persed as quietly as they had come
! afterward went out, viewed the re
mains, and wasted considerable time II
vain speculation as to the offense which
the unfortunate bird-could have commit
| ted against the laws Of crowdorn, anc
what would have been the result II tht
| Jury had disagreed.
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