The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-08-19

feet high. or maybe six feet two inches,
put TINS heron was eight feet eff he was
an men, and ! think sometimes maybe
ne was nine feet. or maybe nine feet
tnree Anyhow, when he lit the others
Qrled up their croakin' and squalin' and
stoo0 quiet as a polecat when he's max
one give whoop you could a-heard five
miles, and when he whooped the others
sorter backed away f'om him until they
FORMED succle bout ten yards across.
Al the middle of it was space and In
this space the king-pin stood up straight
and turned aroun' and aroun', stin as a
but steady. Evry now and then he let
OUT another whoop and ev'ry time he
Whooped the others bowed their heads
| away down until they bills most touched
was heron dance, and the big chief
was warmin' hisself up first SOS ne
could .!ln1 take a intrust in the proceedin's,.
The others hadder git up steam the
bes' they could. After this had KEEP up
for ten minutes, or maybe eleven the
chief kicked out one leg and brought it
around, and say, he made a ring that
| must a-been yard and a half wide
! Then he kicked out the other leg and
brought 1t around the same way Then ne
nopped up and down straight and hard
| 1lye times. That bird was so heavy that
| when he hit the sand l could hear the
pump les as plain as l see you. Then he
ike man holdin' out his elbows ard
pranced to the far end of the island
olners swung in behind walking two
and two and prancin ius' like hin IT.
made the iound O. the sand thraa timeSs
ms way. Then they stopped and give
one mighty holler that must a-sounded
! over IN the next country
| pay, been to dances in loggin' camps
anu dances In schackS where the wood
afconoI was common'r water: dances =
| SS ," weddin's, dances at Norwegian
| houses when the crop was in and the las
! winters beer bar'l was bust omen. I baen
70 french dances in Canady, and Dutch
canoes In Ashland and Merican dance
IN flneld and Chippewa dances up on
the res Vatior, but 1 never see no dance
IKE mat dance when them herons got
10 10 goln good an hard. They was TWEEN
~ couple fac1n each other, with the big
Doss oossin, and they went at ii like they
was out Tor fun. They was paired off
90; a gent to a lady as natchul as life
ana the lady that was with the kingrir
was bigger'n any other there This " 70.
AZ tne early fall. when the young herons
- aole to look out for theyselVee. ami
t ti,Til f popPers ana mommers has lots OF
LIN! me. Tor tooiishness.
wen, sir, they MISUNDERSTANDING
tpackeg' ana second-four- forwarG-and-
packed and all promenaded Then the
side tours forward-and-bacIted and ,b me
an proinenaded agin. Then they allie
named and sashayd, and sesashed. Then
- ciie ~ swu1g corners, the gent takin' hold
o. o., the Iadys elbow with his bill, gentle
like Then they balanced all. Then II
was ladies to the right and gents stand
STEADY, gents to the right and ladies
the center and gents bills-all-around,
making Succle. Say, when | see them
her9ns' eXry gent with his bill holdin'
to the tail of the gent in front O; him
| nearly rolled oun the boat Then 49,,
gents went to the center and the ladies'
Inade ring. Then they did a half a
G tt o.ner ngures and went through
the whole business agin. You never see
better time KEEP They hadn't no music
co Sc, cept what they made them
serves, but that was good enough They
oil
| even, one-two-three, one-two-three one
two-three, beatin' out the time. and saw
II was SO reg'lar that human folks could
blood arter awhile and when I noticed
myself L was beatin' foot on the boat.
1 as Ike l was in the thing for keeps.
me herons didn't have no sets and spells
IN between for res like we have. They
JUS went straight ahead for an hour and
haiI, or maybe three-quarters without
S Eeep i leT1 TT and began to think they
there and watched EN- till daylight did
appear. never see anythink better
b111mi l howsomever. glimpsed that
the Big Boss was gittin' res les. Things
was too slow to suit him and he sorter
faneied hisself as dancer, guess. ANY
now. without whoop o. warnin'. he jus
Jumped into the middle o, the island and
begin pirootin all by hisself Myl N.yI
but he was active bird. He spun roun'
Iys,. on one foot and then on t'other.
st,aiia,l ne :. spun he helt one leg. ont
s1nSin' in the air.. Then he put ono foot
before tother and sorter wriggled across.
MA kin 2 track Ike a snakes. Tken he
thsowed his longs neck back, caught noIt
/ of his left leg below tn knee and spun
that way. Then he put his head between
his knees. brought it up, laid it over his
tail and give EN- whirl. Then he hop
ped up In the ali, turned a INTERCHANGEABLE
lit on his beck, spread out his wings
helt his legs straight up and worked his
neck ag'inst the hard ground l didn't
know what this move was until l see that
ne begin to revolve by means OF his
neck holt and git faster and faster. l
guess that We're his prize play. Pretty
soon he was gittin' round with consid-
able speed.
Then. he got swlfter and awifter until in
a mint ur two. ur maybe three the
lines O. him begin to blur. A minute
after that he was like big gray top JUS
spinnin' ard spinnin'. The whir O. him
went out over the lake like the huzzin
of forty million, or maybe fifty million
bees, and the sand flew like rain. 1t hit
some o en- in. the eyes and 1t drifted on
the backs o. the others. They shook it
off sorter impatient but more Of it come
Say, you never see a fight like that
fight He was UP d'reckly, standin' two
went back and forrerds like Black Eds
knife. They was more force to it, though
So many of EN- was on the sand and
Strikin' at him that they mixed up with
each other and they couldn't get at him
to onct. He made a dozen passes with
his bill and cleared a space for hisseli
on the back at the same time and he had
to stay and the thing through. The
fog O. sand settled right away, but its
Heron plumes was hyin' thicker n gnats
on a June eYenin'. 1t was jus big
gray jumpin' strilin'. heavin' mass to
but 1 could see the old king pin mighty
plain, because he was taller and that
head O his went stabbin' so fas that it
was in a flicker all the time: hTe others
ken awful nOiEa rl1tfPrip and
squakin' and whocpin' 10 each other. but
lie never said word. He was JUS as
dumb as a Leech lake Injun when you
git him down ard hoP him and smash
him good and hard. and therer can't be
nothin' dumber n that. Now, a heron
en- hit blow like the downstroke O. o.
| give him a chanst he'll sink his bill inter
you a good three inches. and this Teller
could lunge worse n any heron l ever
hearn tell Of in fifteen minits. or maybe
twenty. / could see that the ring he was
clearin' for hisself was gittin' bigger.
They was dead or hurt birds all around
him. but he never let up for a mint:
Slowly but shorely he was beatin' EN- of
in front, and | notice that he was bachin'
! an inch at a time. | didn't know what
he was up to at first. but when he was
island see he was maxim for a place
where it went off inter the water sudden
! and deep. 1t was his idee to git the lake
! behind him SOS they ladder come at him
| in front. He'd been bad hurried by herons
! gittin' at his back Mos O. his tail feath-
| ers was broke er pulled out, and they
| was some blood on his shoulders. but
my he was game.
'He got the edge o. the lake under
| him for awhile and then he got faster
| with his bill. He knocked 'em over like
| they was tamarack poles and sometimes
| one of EN- would lay still. I dunno how
/ long the fight lasted. and I'm a pretty
| good jedge o. time when theys row In.
| I seen lots of EN- in the camp, but this
90