The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-02
AN UNIQUE OWL PARTY.

4
/ uttered the words, not long since, and
! IN face of the admission, could not
/ help wondering how many of the peo-
pie who vote verbally the absurdity of
attributing weight and power to signs
and omens-who do not-down in
some dark corner of their consciousness
stow away some such mental reserva-
! ton as the present speaker frankly adj
mitted
As a simple illustration, it may be
stated as a piece of well verified sta
| tistics that the number of people who
will commence enterprises, either or
binary or of great moment" on the
/ last day but one of the week, is inf
Intestinal, while the opposite majority
comprise people whose acknowledged
practicability of mind and methods
make the observance of anything sa-
voring of superstition itself a miracle.
The particular omen in discussion
when the above remark was made was
that of the alleged ill-inhuence exerted
by the presence of an OWl-allVe,
stuffed or in any form whatever
ones premises. The discussion was
caused by a story told by a well-known
Salt Laker of the effect produced on
the fortunes of his family by the burn
ing of an owl that had been for some
time in the possession of a member of
his family. The man who tells the
I =
to San Francisco and prior to the de-
parture there was purchased by the
aforesaid member an elegant bit of
millinery, composed, with the exception
of the frame that constituted the hat
shape, entirely of stuffed, sleek, brown
feathered little owls-a possession in
which it's charming owner took more
than moderate pride. Set jauntily on
dark braids of hair, and surmount-
ing a piquant face, the owl-hat occa-
stoned admiration and envy on the part
of every Salt Lake maid and matron
who had the felicity of beholding it be-
fore it's removal with it's owner from
the city to the farther west.
Arrived in San Francisco, the lady
saw with no small. satisfaction in the
windows of millinery shops and on
many of the swell heads of the me-
tropoliS hats and bonnetS trimmed with
owls galore-confirming not only her
good taste, but the fact that she was
Strictly in" with fashion slatest man
date regarding the prevailing style of
millinery
But, alas for pride and self-gratula- |
ton. Two weeks hardly had elapsed |
when her complacency was made total |
wreck by the chance meeting with a |
friend, who, upon beholding the dis |
tracing owl CONNECTION worn nonchal- |
antly, and with apparent challenge I'd |
envy and admiration, exclaimed in |
CONSERVATION at the temerity which |
could thus boldly tempt an evil fate to |
descend upon her household.
Anxious questioning brought forth |
the legend of the OWLS malign influence |
upon abodes harboring his presence, !
and the result was an instant decision |
that the precious owl-hat should be
sacrificed on the altar of the family
luck
Tho ooror3orx +1,o+ oooor5;oor - ~
oracle, would act as a counter-spell
against the pernicious influence of the
owls, was to burn the birds literally to
ashes, and accordingly an auto da fe
was held, in which the owl-hat went
out of the bodily existence in a pillar of
flame and smoke.
The man who told the story is mon
ument of staid prac6culity-yet, as he
finished the recital of the burning, he
said:
Il never believed in omens of any
kind, least of all in the owl legend, or
that any change would come from hav-
ing it out of the house. It's an actual
fact, though, that the day after the 4
hat was burned our luck changed. E.
got an order for $100-piece of carving,
| received news that promises favorable
financial prospects, and a cloud of
blues" seemed to be lifted from the
whole household. OF course, don't at
tribute it to the sacrifice of the oWl-hat
This story, with its moral, sank deep
into the heart of the practical woman
so that when, a few days
later, while visiting at the house of
member of the family, she saw perched
on picture frame a cunning, sleek
owl (stuffed, not living) she
related the sign pertaining to it's pres
ence in any household, ending with a
serious invocation to its owner to do as
her friend had done, and sacrifice the
owl on the altar of the family for
tunes.
The prayer was enthusiastically de-
MED. THE gift of a friend, it had for
years sat, wise, alert-eyed but limo
cent little presence in the parlor, and
is was out of the question to sacrifice ,
It's cute owlship to an utterly baseless
Il have no belief whatever in signs
Or Omens, anyway" she declared with ,
the usual superior air with which we
are all wont to utter this ime-honered :
fabrication. Nevertheless, from that :
hour the pet owl was doomed to sacri-
fee. Members and friends of the fami- !
" Joined in a pledged conspiracy to :
make its existence in the house
nightmare to it's owner. Did any oc-
great or infinitesimal, chance
TO go wrong on the premises-from the =
SCATTERING of dish to things of great +.
er moment-itS ill-fate was charged to 7
he dire influence of the night bird: 4
and though its owner made seeming 7
scott at these charges, it was cause Of .
intense secret mirth on the part of the r
several members of the "owl league" :
% note that gradually the protesta- |
ions as to the unaccountability of the +
)wl in matters of ill-luck in the house
hold gradually waXed less jealous It
ended one evening when a small card r
party was assembled in the house of the q
OWLS owner. r
Through the connivance of certain +
ieeply prejudiced members of the +
eague, the owl was surreptitiously re- T
moved from the parlor and stood on a Z
uneral pyre in tin pan, placed for i
safety of the projected barbecue on v
op of the range in the kitchen. t
Here, as the party was about break {
ng up, the guests were summoned by Y
he secret plotters, and, surrounded by I
! var1ously exercised group, some ce +
whom executed chants and ghost J
lances about the funeral pyre, the owl
vas sacrificed-its owner being admit
ed to the circle of spectators when too \
ate to quench the flames and smoke Y
scending from the sacrifice. [
Not content with the barbecue. the I
hief plotter in it's execution. well used i,
n histrionic efforts, desired a pathetic d
tage climax for the finale of the owl i,
pisode, which was enacted on Christ t
mas day. n
Among various presents which the t
WIS owner found prettily wrapped on g
he table Christmas morning was S
nVSf priOuS small hoy crvafha1 IL, y,ooo,- r.