Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1899-11-08
A QUEER OWL PARTY.
THE SOLEMN BIRDS RESPONDED TO
THE WOODSMAN'S CALL.


gy Night In the Woods of West vir-
sinia-The whippoorwilI Call.
"West Virginia seems to be favor
lite region for owls" said John Lochlin
of Pittsburg, "and / was a highly
amused participant once in what they
call an owl party down there. / was
camping on trout stream in the Cum
berland mountains, attended by Jim
Frazier, grizzly old woodsman and
mcuntaineer. Just as it was getting
dark one muggy, cloudy day, was cit
ting in the cabin door smoking. and
Jim, after an inspection of the sur
roundings and conditions with his
weather eye. said:
This is gointer be fit night for
an owl party. Shell ! git ye up onef'
''That was the first heard of such a
thing as an owl party.
al don't know what you mean,
Jim, said I.
" This is gointer be fit night for
an owl party. he repeated. Shell l git
ye up one?'
"Jim had way of doing things and
explaining them afterward, so knew
chat if l wanted to learn what an owl
party was would have to wait and see.
Certainly said. Get me up
enc, of course.
"That was all that was said or done
about it at the time. but when darkness
had settled down Jim stood up in front
of the cabin and sent out on the night
wind a good imitation of the mournful
cry of the boot owl. After half min
ute of silence he repeated the cry. Pres
emily from away off in the woods some
where came an answer. mournful and
prolonged
{" 'Too-whool Too-whoo Too WHO'D
o-or
" That's one old chap that'll be to
our party anyhow, said Jim, and again
he repeated the cry. 1t was responded
to by the owl, this time nearer, and
his notes had scarcely died away in the
woods when from another direction
similar cry was heard.
" two of 'em, said the old hunter.
"And so he kept on Stimulating the
notes of the owl until his calls were
answered from every part of the sur
rounding woods, each answering bird
drawing nearer and nearer at every re-
Spouse. in ten minutes time, from the
trees over our heads, in front and all
around the cabin, dozen pairs of fiery
eyes were glaring down at us from the
darkness When the old woodsman ut
tered his cry softly, chorus of soft,
cooling responses met ii from the owls
in the trees If he hurled it in resound-
ing volume at the 9hostly assemblage,
from each throat beneath pair of blaz-
ing eyes would come collection of the
NEST unearthly sounds that a human
being ever stood still and listened to.
Short, staccato yelps, like the fright
ened barking of dog; blood curdling
gurglings and gaspings, as of person
being strangled; loud swapping of the
hooked mandibles, and a hair raising
finale of too-whoos, o-whoos.
"For an hour this exhibition was
kept up by the old woodsman's deft
maneuvering, sometimes with varia-
tions that were convulsingly ludicrous
and sometimes with Accomplishments
sufficiently demoniacal to scare a man
into fits. After he had ceased to pro-
woke the owls to further performances
they remained in the trees quarter Of
an hour or more, swapping their bills
together and giving voice to various
uncanny sounds. Then they began to
fit away one by one in the darkness,
until they had all disappeared.
'Givin owl parties is trick that's
as old as the hills down in this kentry,
said Jim. Owls ken be called jest like
that most any night, but muggy
night like this one is the best / don't
know what they think they come for.
but if tina 8 an owl within sound of yer
voice when ye give the call--and an
owl can hear considerable furder than
two miles-it'n answer ye and gradu 'ly
make its way toward ye till at last its
yer company come to visit. I've had as
many as elk dozen of 'em hodnoddin
with me all to wunst. Owls will put off
everything else they've got on hand and
set and visit with ye all night if yen
only keep on talkin to 'em, and they'll
jaw back as fast and as sassy as ye ken
jaw at Them -
''Jim. just at dusk one evening. got
me up whippoorwill party. BY imi-
tating the plaintive call of that noe
turnal bird he soon had score or more
Of them fiuttering noiselessly about the
cabin. never lighting. but swooping
about and keeping up the curious clat-
tering and swapping of their hairy beaks.
that are characteristic of their kind.
i couldn't do that if it wasn't
june. said Jim! The whippoorv Ill
don't whistle 'cept in that month. and
it's always the he Teller that does it.
That whistle is his love call. and all
them whippoorwills had caperin round
here so was of t'other sex and was
spectin to find a mate here hearin the
call.
"Jim assured me that could get up
an owl party or whippoorwill party
just as well as he could. but various
persistent trials proved that he was
wrong. 1t seemed to me that initiated
the cries of the owl and the whippoor-
will as closely as he did. but not re-
Spouse could receive to my invitation.
No sooner would jim pipe up or boot.
though. than the answers would begin
to come. II was most amazing. and