The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-20
FORETOLD BY THE PARROTS.
THE FEATHERED EARTHQUAKE
SHARPS IN GUATEMALA.

ings With Satan--A Forest Duel
Between Parrots.
From the New York Sun.
You had best mot ride the black NUKE
to-day, Don Carlos" said the old Indian
on the Guatemalan coffee finca TO the
young American. The latter was prepar
ing to take a nine-mile ride to the post
office and return before the noon break
fast There is going TO be a bad earth
quake" the Indian continued. and the
mule will be frightened 10 death. Take the
little bay beast instead"
| Don't you think l can manage the mule?
I'm not afraid of her" replied Don Car
los.
ITS not that, senior. If the quake comes
when the mule is tied. she will break away
for CERTAIN. Nothing will hold her and 1
know there is going to be big earth
| quake"
How do you know that, Manuel? Did
the spirit in the Takana volcano inform
you or are you good guesser on the cub
| ject?" asked Don Carlos incredulously.
Are you an earthquake expert?"
| Inc parrots nave Dten DldhlllS AiuNil
noise this morning, Don Carlos. l know
there will be an earthquake, and a bigger
one than usual. The parrots always raise
such a rumpus when a heavy one is COM
! ing You will see l am right, senior
The parrots had been keeping up ter
| rible racket ever since daybreak that morn
| ing, so much so that Don Alexandra, whose
| English blood had resented deeply their in
] bic ,.Ia nrfih
! sion, had risen wrathfully in his pajamas
! and fired a load of shot at the birds near
| EST the house. This only had the effect
of driving them to a safer distance in the
| tops of the tall, sentinel-like trees scat
| tered sparseiy among the coffee plants
| From these points of vantage they Jeered
! and booted at Don Alexandra for an hour
or more in the native parrot language. Inc
| parrots were wild and knew not the speech
| of man-only such profanity as was direct
ed at their heads on account of their noise
| and clamor They made such a discord,
flying from one tree to another and tell
ing their stories in harsh strident tones
| that sleep was out of the question. Don
Alexandra was forced to forego his morn
ing nap. He therefore got under the re-
| freshing shower bath and ordered the
morning cup of coffee, with the slice or
| bread accompaniment Which an the Iop-
les does for breakfast.
Don Alexandra and Don Carlos drank
| their coffee and then the younger man
orderer the mule sadd4ed He took the
advice of Manuel and rode the steady
mule The parrots must have had some
sort of a tip after all. Don carlos had
| ridden scarcely two-third of the nine miles
when the earthquake came and proved
TO be a big one 1t was, indeed, much
| worse than the imaginary earthquake
| seemed to be on the night when the big
| house dog sneaked under the lone bed
and rising, made the sleeper think the
world was coming to an end Thls time
| the quake was so pronounced that the
pools of muddy water in the road-it was
| in the rainy season-were greatly agltat-
ed. The mule spread her legs apart like
the supports of a particularly bow-legged
dachshund and waited until the thing was
over The animal swayed and rocked I'M
| der Don Carlos as if she had been
! shin IN a heavy sea. When the quaking
had ceased. the mule gave sigh OF re1et'
a snort, and proceeded. All the time the
PARROTS had been flying overhead, shouting
out in their Earring, discordant tones, i
told you so! l told you SOL
Don Carlos scratched his head and mar
veIed. 81 wonder how those birds knew
what was coming" he said to himself
| 'They must be in league with Old Nick"
| In Guatemala the parrots have much
| the same reputation among the natives as
| the blue Jays possess among the negroes
| of the states Like the jays, they are
| popularly supposed to have private deal
! ings with satan. On this account they
| are respected to a certain extent. Though
| the Indians and country people are fond
of making pets of them they seldom Kill
The birds. The most sought after are not
! the pure green, but those with yellow or
/ red marks on the neck and crest. FROM
| being feathered boiler factories in sound
when in their wild state. they become
! bonev-voiced creatures when tanned and
educated. They lisp in the soft mellihu-
/ GUS Spanish tongue, with the accent OF
! the pure Castilian. They even shrug what
shoulders they have in keeping with this.
When one of them is told, "Ados, chico
(eood-hy, little one), it will respond quick
/ Nv and cbeerfully with AIDES, Senior
bueno," followed by string of felicities a
ward long with as fitting ending, kiss,
! which expresses the essence Of bliss.
The parrots of Guatemala are some thing
of birds Of passage and pleasure. In the
I early morning they can be seen flying
from the lowlands, where { hey make
I their roosting places, to the high ground.
! They frequent the coffee hncas situated
at an elevation Of from 1000 to 1900 feet
/ above the sea level, in the day. They
/ feed on bananas, pantains, and other
fruits Always cheerful, ever restless,
J they skip from one 10 another Of the tai
/ trees enjoying themselves by shining up
in true parrot style the smooth while
( shafts Of the tropica. forests. They fin
ish up their business in the highlands reg
ularly about an hour before the sun sets.
/ Then they Depart, never singly, but in
couples or hocks of six or seven, for their
/ roosting places further down, where It
is warmer at night. They fly high, re-
| sembling somewhat pigeons on the wing,
but not moving so swiftly. While in
flight they utter their accustomed cries.
So regular are the parrots in their COM
ings and golngs that the native keep the
| time of day by them. If an Indian Is ask
ed the hour in the early morning, he will
respond:
1T is not much after sunrise, senior.
| The parrots have not long come" II at
noon. or whereabouts, he will say: 1T
must be midday, senior. The parrots are
| ouiet" Like the rest of the inhabitants
| Of the country who can do So the parrots
take siesta at noon. At any rate, they
are silent
| II was the writer's fortune to witness a