The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-09
-ucy ARE WINGED PROPHETS.
r,~cTICN BETWEEN SUPER
sr,T1oN AND OBSERVATION.

W. atnes and Last Years Bliz-
5.-Some Birds Which Winter
,bo Frozen North.
IAN, the New York Evening Post.
.hsve reen favorite subjects for the
.,r weather prophet. since prehistor-
Int some of the predictions based
t.r, are as foolish as were the ora
.-tved from the entrails or feeding
or .,cred chickens in the Roman COT
U,f 4ueurs. For example, it was held
cha whiteness of a goose's breast
81 W. t,lfeated the amount of snow TO be
,.i. tbat if a goose walked east but
s, or stood on one leg, cold wealth
,1d follow; or that partr.dges did not
IN the fan preceding a bad winter.
ls south old farmers used to have a
L., that when the ivory-billed wood
.eer beginning at the base OF a tree
narki.a gradually to the top, remov-
,u .5s bark. one must be prepared for
r5 winter with deep snow. The logic
..t;s has never to my knowledge, been
4 ,;rel and l fear it never will be, for
.-rsndid ivory-bill is now almost eX-
nrct
40 can well afford 10 smile at these
saint conceits. but there are sayings pop
'.r among sportsmen and farmers which
ho.s5 mon more reasonab BILE observa-
Il, If the migratory habits of birds They
N ,ou YOU that when the waterfowl ar
,,s rom The north at an unusually early
~. and with rush, and when the wild
arse and other noticeable migrants pass
so1fbward-bound, in high straight
f,,t as if eager TO set on, cold weather
nav h. exnected to follow, and probably
d. winter will be exceptionally 'hard."
Mis- idea is based upon the theory that
n ,sw have been forced by unusually early
Il 5 severe weather to leave their summer
q bsme in the far north ahead of the proper
a ,,ms and migrate in haste; and, as it is
4 t,,un that cur winters proceed from the
Wrtb the deduction is fair that by and by
ne shall get our fun share of the excessive
rigr. .. -. -,
twas a message of this nature that led
ne 10 think last winter was to be more
tan usually snowy, for I learned, as early
buntugs well named snowfiakes in com
mon speech and Lapland long-spurs had
lseu observed on the south shore of Long
Island and elsewhere near New York,
V1ere several winters may pass in sue
c5ssion without their being seen at all.
This meant TO my mind, that although
NO 10 that time we were having one of
de most beautiful of autums, the Arc
Il dc regions were already in the grasp OF
extraordinary cold, and the great plains
about Hudson bay and in the northwest
en- interior of British America were deep
IL buried in early SHOWS 1t was espe-
cally interesting, therefore, to hear, soon
serward, that the bad season on the Yu-
k0n had begun surprisingly early.
The effect of this condition of things me-
theological in the North would naturally
be TO hasten the departure of the migra-
tory birds who resort in summer to those
distant coasts to breed; and in addition
this it would force farther south than
usual those other birds which do not seem
70 fear cold greatly, but are obliged to
Nreat south Of the area of deep snow in
cider to find food. Certain hardy land
bids are able to maintain themselves all
winter in an Arctic climate. One such is
ils crow, which although by no means
m1fned TO that Indictment region is to
N found in winter in most of the north
dy parts Of the continent, where it
hunts the coast to secure aything that
may be cast up by the sea, and fingers
l6out the settlements of the Eskimos and
he posts of the fur-traders to seize upon
grbage and scraps that may be thrown
@t or searches with keen sagacity for
ne hunters traps in order to steal the
bait or rob them of their spoil. 1t ac-
companies with greWsome zeal the wan
Grlng band of musk oxen and caribou, ca
ger TO seize upon the Weaklings that fall
ana freeze, or becomes a camp-follower of
wolves, martens and other fierce bandits
Oh The dark and snowy wilderness, hoping
mparually either to share in their bloody
quarry or to pick the bones of any ally
iAdt dies of hunger or quarrelling, or may
le shot for its pelt or killed in some fatal
'Aarse upon buffalo or deer Such car
non, eked out with spruce buds, birch and
willow twigs, berries, ETC., gives the crow
precarous hold on life until spring re-
Fasts more ample larder. His sable
.oIm ana shadow are as ominous to the
naI-starying eXiles of that dreadful re
son as Is the vulture to the nomads Of
the desert
Inc crow does not turn white in winter
even on the shore of the Arctic sea, as do
o,Her oIfds that remain there or near
tnerei and there is no reason why he
4 "'-NN' 81 AoliS as he Is III nedlll,
ne Is IN no danger from any other foe. nor
IL need Of any disguise to enable him to
81, al upon his prey.
IAt great snow owl, on the contrary.
"Hlsn also IS an Arctic winterer. profits
" "ginS white, since he is not a scaven-
ser' put must subsist for the most part
w. Nndt ne can capture among creatures
; ;,N avs on the lookout for him. When fam
dl% cold nave sent into their hibernac-
wa an Lne small mammals he would dare
l.'ack' when fishes are sealed from his
92P ny ice, and most of the birds have
~ south, he is compelled in high lat
Vs TO depend almost wholly upon the
~, shoW-grouse or ptarmigans which
t5 Ivy Hun' IN The willow gfades that border
- "dler-courses or seek along the edges
snor vac spruce woods. Ptarmigans, too, are
SKY. white in winter, except that the
tbo ,aH IS black and betrays them TO
v,oi, 0Ni whose deadly pounce, by day as
by :, as by night is often avoided only
sue ule srouse diving into the snow and
yo- 'r1I0Hns away beneath it. This maneu-
er-.., 5,'equently tolls the owl, but is not so
f7loat against foxes, who will either
y5sr lae fugitive, or, calculating nicely
If ss 'no bird will burst out. wait to seize
NJ energies from the drift
a.