Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1900-03-13
THE STORY OF AN OWL.
A Fine Specimen Encountered IN Mid
Ocean

nlshes that paper Win strange story
Of an encounter with am owl in mid
ocean The bird alighted ON the main
truck Of the ship, payingnoattention
to the lookout i'm ihe Grow s.nost,
only a few feet beneath The bird
may have been makinga passage from
one of The Aleutian islands to an0th
er, and it is not improbable That the
reflection Of The sunbeams from the
ocean had rendered its sight more
dim than usual. a land bird at sea,
however. seldom manifests the timid-
ity common toits kind when on shore
Among the passengers were two boys,
Markolf and Winchell, and they we're
up in arms in an instant
81 wish 7 had my gun here" said
Markof, with all the eagerness Of a
hunter.
"And | wish I had mine" respond
ed Winchell; "but it's at home, just
like the Irishman's cable and anchor
in the storml"
The captain stepped into the cabin,
and they heard his ramrod rafting in
his double-barreled fowling piece.
Presently he came on deck, and stand
ing near the mizzen-mast blazed away
at the main truck
The owl came futtering down, but
it would evidently fall overheard in
stead of striking the deck.
Seeing this, Markof and Winchell
rushed for one Of the quarter boats
and stood ready TO lower her away.
BY this time the bird, though still
alive, lay upon the water with out
stretched wings.
'Bear a hand, boysp cried the cap
tain; clover away and get him"
The boys let the tackles run, Un-
hooked them and pushed off after the
prize, which Markof seized without
difficulty, while Winchell sculled
with the steerage oar
There was a moment of triumph,
but that triumph was instantly sue
ceeded by a cry of distress from Mark
off.
"Owp he exclaimed; 'here, you,
Mister OWL let go! ow! let go~
Winchell looking around, saw his
companion standing helpless with
both wrists confined by the strong
claws Of the bird Dropping his oar,
Winchell turned quickly to assist
Markoff, who could make no move
ment Of his arms without the most
intense pain.
Blood was dropping freely from the
wounded wrists as Winchell, seizing
one of the talons, endeavored to dis
engage it. After a desperate effort
he succeeded, but it was only to find
his own wrist grasped by the same
fierce claw, the sharp hooks sinking
deep into his flesh. Meanwhile the
strong beak was not idle; it had
struck through the thick cloth of
Markof's trousers and fastened upon
one of his legs above the knee
The position Of the two youngsters
was as queer as it was painful They
were prisoners to the owl! The right
hand of each was as firmly held as if
caught in a steel-trap, every attempt
at release causing exquisite torture;
and all the while the boat was drifting
broadside to the sea away from the
ship, which had been hove to from the
first.
The sailors laughed, the officers
shouted their advice, and for a few
minutes the excitement was equal to
that which usually attends the cap
ture Of hundred-barrel whale. In
fact, it seemed as if it would be neces-
sary to lower a second boat, since this
strange enemy had captured the frstl
1t was only after Winchell, using
his left hand, had struck the bird a
stunning blow with a boat hatchet,
that the lads were able to unlock the
savage beak and claws.
On arriving on board it was found
that the boys hands and wrists were
badly hurt and they were disabled for
some time, The OWL measured five
feet across the wings and was in all
respects a magnificent specimen ofits
kind.-Golden Days,
The French Revenue.