Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-11-30
ODD STORIES OF ANIMALS.
Some Very Smart Woodpeckers of the
Maine Woods.

Some Very Smart Woodpeckers of the
Maine Woods.
A Chicago professor who has been in
the Maine woods this summer tells an
interesting story Of the intelligence of
family of woodpeckers which he en-
cOuntered near the headwaters of the
Allegash, and which were most uncom-
monty bright birds. AS everyone
knows who has observed these birds
at all, they feed on the worms that bur-
row into trees. Any worm with fair
amount of activity can bore a gallery
three or four feet long in tree, in
single season, SO to find his prey the
woodpecker has to make several holes
in the tree in order to get a victim,
This particular family Of woodpeckers,
having some difficulty in getting at the
worm after they had drilled hole into
his gallery, proposed to save them
selves unnecessary work. And what
do you think they did? In the Allie
cash woods grows the Indian poke"
plant with berries possessing an al
kaline juice particularly disagreeable
to all animal life. And so these Allie
cash woodpeckers, having made an en-
trance into the domain of the boer,
proceed next to drop berries of the In
dian poke into the opening. And so
much does the worm dislike the odor
Of the poke berries that he comes out
to get away from it, and incidentally
to see who has had the impertinence
to cause him so much discomfort. He
never gets any farther than the en-
trance, because Mr. Woodpecker is
waiting there, and that worm is COB
bled up so quickly that he never knows
what happened to him. This seems
like a good deal of a fairy story,
doesn't it, but Professor Eastman J.
Clarke says he saw it with his own
eyes.
A large goat was walking up and
down in the busiest part of the Bowery
one evening. He did not take much
notice of the passing throng, although
his immense size and rather aggressive
appearance gave timid passers-by a
shock when they came upon him sud-
denly. He was standing in a reflect
i've attitude by the side of pushcart
loaded with chestnuts and bananas,
masticating something. A hoodlum
slipped behind the Italian proprietor
and slyly grabbed a large handful of
| chestnuts. Then it was apparent why
the goat was there. In a flash he
sprang forward in a businesslike way
and caught the hoodlum in the middle
of the back 1t was almost as if he
had been struck by a locomotive He
flew into the middle of the street and
lay face downward in the mud, while
the goat strutted back to the sidewalk
and resumed an interrupted lunch on
the old rubber shoe over which he had
been Illuminating. The fellow who
stole the chestnuts picked himself up
and disappeared without looking back,
while the Italian patted the head of
the goat and whispered something to
him which made the goat wag his
stump of tail and rub his horns af-
fectionately against his owners greasy
vest.
SparrOwS seem to be governed ny
about the impulses that cause a hungry
boy to tiptoe into the pantry and
coon" a fistful of cookies; that is,
they think thing is right because
they want to do it. 1t is no uncommon
thing to see busy little cock sparrow
hop between horses hind feet and
then hop up and seize hair of the
horses tail. Unless interrupted the
sparrow will pull at that hair until he
gets it. Then he will fly away to his
nest in triumph. An English writer
describes a similar experience with
London sparrow. He says: 'T have
received a small story from st. James
park which is interesting as a confir-
nation of the conclusions Of science.
My informant was feeding with bread
crumbs wood pigeon at his feet. One
Of the birds feathers, an under tail
covert, which was ruffled and out of
place, caught the eye of sparrow
The sparrow flew down, seized it in his
beak and pulled it's best. The feather
did not yield at once and the pigeon
walked off with offended dignity. The
sparrow followed, still holding on, and
in the end flew off triumphant with the
trophy to its nest"