The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-08-20
New York SUM-

LAYING 1t up indefinitely Tor repairs, Is 4
person of multifari0as activities. His
lifelong trouble has been am undertaxed
capacity for work. lie has never been
able to get enough to do. What with
being Governor, lawyer, farmer, promo
ter, land owner, railroad builder, silver
boomer, speaker and humorist, he was
at one time doing half the work in
Austin county. Texas. Still ne pinned for
more. The energies pent up in his 800
pound frame became stagnant for want
of exercise. He had to run up 10 st.
Louis, Chicago and this city every few
weeks, launch a railroad, smash a Pres
idential boom, or kick theory 20 film
ders just to keep himself from rusiing
Mark Tapley wanted gloomy job,
but Hogg wanted a difficult one. He
never let a chance slip to add n new
task to his list. The harder the job
and the more work there was to it tne
better he liked it. A year ago he took
up ostrich farming. After figuring on
the disadvantages of the Texas climate.
the innate deprayity of the ostrich, the
superior ability of this bird to make
trouble and other difficult features con-
nected with ostrich farming, he con-
cluded that it was about the hardest
thing he could try. He resolved 20
have an ostrich farm az all costs. He
read up the history of the ostrich family
and found that it had never found a
home in the United States east of Cali
fornia The enthusiasm rose within him
as the difficulties of the thing presented
themselves one by one, the conflict with
the Texas winter and the Texas north
err" as well as all the kinds of deyilment
that a healthy ostrich can raise.
"Of course. raising ostriches in Texas
is little different from raising cotton, !"
said Ex-Governor Hogg to one who vSi-
ted him while he was guest at the
Waldorf-Astoria. lie leaned back in
one of the big leather-coyere1 chairs OF
the hotel and a twinkle of fun came
into his blue eyes. The Ex-Governor is
a very democratic citizen and has never
given the octopus a moments peace III
Texas, but he likes to stay ut the Wal
dorf7Astoria when he comes to New
York. Perhaps it is 4 good place to study
plutocrats. Its lots of fun" the big
Ex-Governor went on, as wrinkles of hn-
NOR formed themselves on his broad ex-
panse of countenance. Il got my os-
triches from a circus--I don't remember
whose circus it was. but it was 4 good
show. The children wanted to go and
/ took them. When the regular show
was over, the fancy horseback riding.
the clowns and all, | took the youngsters
into the side-shows. Wei. onas&of the
shows had ostriches, and my little boy
was just carried away with them, There
was a likely pair of young Ones long
legged fellows. with eyes as intelligent
as a mans and nice feathers My lit
tie boy liked them best: | did, too. We
looked them over. and the more we
looked the more my little boy wanted
them. / asked the fellow what he'd
take for the pair. His price was rea
sonable, and it was a trade right there.
Il had the birds sent to my place
near Austin. and blessed il / knew what
to do with them when they got there. ]
settled it by turning them into the
alfalfa patch. 1t was a shame, the way
they ate up the alfalfa. They just sim
ply moved it down, and when they got
filled up TO the guZzle they got frisky and
wanted to do some sort of devilment. My
little boys pony was loose in the patch,
and these devilish ostriches made a bee
line for him. He's a pretty likely pony,
but he amt used to circus birds, and he
fled for his life. ! thought he would
run his fool self to death, the wicked,
long-legged things keeping right after
him all the time. Finally the pony just
had to stop because he couldn't run any
longer Bless me if the ostriches didn't
stop, too. The pony looked cheap and
sort of sold out and the ostriches just
stood there, nipping at the alfalfa, wait
ing for another spin whenever that fool
pony got ready.
.They got to be the closest friends
after that--real chums. They lived to-
gether in the alfalfa patch, and it looked
like they would plot deyilment together.
The ostriches got to eating corn, like
the pony, and, do you know, it's NOR
tai wonder what an ostrich can eat. An
ostrich's appetite is simply Unsuitable and
he will eat anything from an old hat to a
crosscut saw. Everything is grist that
comes to his mill, and he's perfectly inn
partial in his selection Of food only he
prefers to eat up something of value that
he knows you'll be looking for presently.
| never would leave anything lying
around loose where the birds were. One
day the Wheelbarrow was missing, and
one of the farm hands said he'd bet his
hat the ostriches had eaten it up. Their
strange anu WOUueIlul dppeLlleS were
not the only things those pesky birds
were noted for Nothing ever went right
about the place if they could possibly
help it. They frightened the chickens,
the ueighbors, the neighbors' horses; they
got into all sorts of places where they
had no business, and they simply made
our life a guessing match as to what
they would do to us next.
But an ostrich is a wonderfully sensi-
BILE bird. Those two Of mine have got
more sense than lots of folks. They
picked up all sorts of tricks. They learn
ed to waltz. and I'm blessed if they can't
waltz as we'll as a society girl. They
have got wonderful ear for music, and
if you'll just give them nice tune
they'll make an ordinary dude ashamed
Of himself You ought to see them
waltzing through the alfalfa patch. The
pony seems TO enjoy it. He stands there
with his ears pricked up kinder smilin
and looks at them.
Everybody in Austin heard aboNt
my ostriches, and every afternoon per-
feet stream of people would come out TO
the farm to see them. The ostriches
seemed to enjoy showing off before a