Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-07-28
JIM FRAzIER'S OWL PARTY.
Uncanny Entertainment Given in the Woods ir
West Virginia.
New York Sun,

Lochlin of Pittsburg, "and l was a
highly amused participant once in
what they call an owl party down
there. | was camping ON trout
stream in the Cumberland mountains,
attended by Jim Frazier, a grizzly old
woodsman and mountaineer. Just as
it was getting dark one muggy, cloudy
day, / was sitting in the cabin door
smoking, and Jim, after an inspection
of the surroundings and conditions
with his weather eye, said:
"This is gointer be fiji night for
an owl party. Shell git We up one?'
"That was the first l heard of such
thing as an owl party.
"I don't know what you mean,
Jim,' said /.
"This is gointer he fit night for
an owl party he repeated. 'Shell I
git ye up one?'
"Jim had a way of doing things
and explaining them afterward, SO l
knew that if l wanted to learn what
an owl party was l would have to wait
and see.
Certainly / said. Get me up
one, Of course
"That was all that was said or done
about it at the time, but when dark
ness had settled down Jim stood up
in front of the cabin and sent out on
the night wind good imitation of the
mournful cry OF the hoot owl. After
/ half minute of silence he repeated
the cry. Presently from away off in
the woods somewhere came an answer,
mourniul and prolonged:
"Too-who! Too-whoo! Too-whoo.
600"
"That's one old chap that'll be to
our party, anyhow said jim; and
again he repeated the cry. 1t was re.
sponded to by the owl, this time near
er, and his notes had scarcely died
away in the woods when from another
direction q 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-
sponse. 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 uttered his cry softly a
chorus of soft, cooling responses met it
from the owls in the trees. If he
hurled it in resounding volume at the
ghostly assemblage, from each throat
beneath pair of blazing eyes would
come a collection of the most unearth-
ly sounds that human being ever
stood still and listened to. Short
staccato yelpa, like the frightened
barking OF a dog; blood-curdling gurg'
lings and gaspings, as of person be-
ing strangled; loud swapping of the
hooked mandibles, and hair. raising
finale of too-whoos, too-whoos. Then
an owl here and an owl there would
take wing and glide about among the
branches in their ghostly, noiseless
way and pass by us so swift and close
that we could feel on our faces the
wind from their silent wings.
"For an hour this exhibition was
kept up by the old 'woodsman's def
maneuvering, sometimes with varis
tions that were convulsingly ludicrOu.
and sometimes with accompaniment
sufficiently demoniacal to scare mar
into fits. Alter he had ceased to pro
woke the owls to further performance.
they remained in the trees a quarter
of an hour or more, swapping theil
bills together and giving voice to vari'
Gus uncanny sounds. Then they be-
gan to fit away, one by one, in the
darkness, until they had all disap
peared and sought their regular night
ly vocations in that range of country
Givin' owl parties is trick that's al
old as the hills down in this kentry,
said Jim. 'Owls can be called jes
like that most any night, but mugg!
night like this one is the best. dom
know what they think they come for
but if tha's an owl within sound o
yer voice when ye give the call-ant
an owl can hear considerable furde
than two miles-it'll answer ye ant
gradu'ly make its way toward ye til
at last its yer company come to visit
I've had as many as SIX dozen OF EN-
hobnobbin' with me all to wunst
Owls will put off everything else thy'v
got on hand and set and visit with y
all night if yell only keep on talkin
te 'em, and they'll jaw back as fas
and as sassy as you ken jaw ut them.
"Jim, just at dusk one evening, go
me up whippoorwill party. BY imi
tating the plaintive call of that noe
turnal bird he soon had score o
more of them futtering noiselessl
about the cabin, never lighting, bu
swooping about, and keeping up tn
curious Gathering and swapping {
their hairy beaks that is characteristic
of their kind.