The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1904-01-19
OSTRICHES IN ARIZONA
W. B. Campbell Tells the Home
Folks of One Days Visit.

Mr.. Fred Campbell, writing from
PhUeniz. ArZIna, gives suTn an in
teresting account If the O,Iricn
that we puu.ish it to share II wi b
the readers OF the R-pubi can:
'Lybbe and | went cut to see the
ostriches one day, last week Tue
| farm is about miles out and here
are over 1000 ustr ches on il hut they
bring about 90 of them into = ii ld in
the suou, bs uring January and r, b.
ruary for the benefit ot tourists.
| "a group of signt-seers we TAX
/ irg I h. m in as we came out and il
was amusing to hear the d ffervnt
opinions expressed. Ole fellow
thought they mad a gait like a camel
and another one said they put him in
mind of a fuli-ripged ship Coming in O
port, while a woman thought tn V
would be good species of fowl 10
! cultivate in Kansas as Iht ir long
necks and legs W. uld always rnah
them to keep their heads ab We
water.
They certainly are an odd-lnokins
lconglomeration of legs, feathers and
n,cK, with the curiosity of a woman,
a he digestive powers of ,at, tn
neck OF a giraffe and tn kick al a
mule. As We appro Ached tn ercin--
ure iry Came cr"waing up to tn
ce from all parts IL he lie u al
Sc med to be very glad tn see ,is. b /,
The attendant dispelled the Illus ~.
Inform n" Us that The mUtIv, was
only cur iosity.
They are great big fellows weigh
IL q 800 pou, ds apiece and their n. =
Il. !, d. minded me of lor of colts
tro ting ar"u.d in Fl, Id. A
they appr, ach you they have tn.
b ,-,dth of beam of a horse. hut
do not look nearly 90 large from a
slue view. Their legs mus b Ihr.r
or three and a h .lf feet in leng' h
and neck about the sam. so u at
with the combined length added 10
TO Z e widths of the b idy they have
tAeir head elevated several
alb We that of a man. Thry have "A
lead about as large as woman's
two fists, impres>iug one as being
mostly eyes and bill, and with an i'm
mence capacity for swa lowing.
believe one If them could swal ow
small base bali. Their eyes arr
about the size of those of a deer. hut
ith a iferrnt exprs ssior. They
have a rather "f,xyn expressiu i.
And the kr, per tells me they are
trea :heruus, says he has nur~ed them
fron n the time they were a chick and
then had them turn around and XII, K
him.
Their legs are entirely nude OF
fea ther- and the part | suppose ",
would call the drum stick" i "a
,rge a. IA ge eiZ d ham One of
the pc, ul arities viii first strikes "A
person ls The CT thu hav, but on,
oe, a great big long one with Just
| title spur like : thumb on the inside
Th have a powerful kick and hav.
oe.n known to break four incn cedar
posts out at the farm. They are
said to be much more dangerous
engine of warfare than a mule as
tn kick forward and are able tn
get the target within range Of
their eye and are also proficient in
the use OF both feet at once.
Tney have a gre 1t p~nchant for
buttons and { you get close enough
clothes. This fancy is not confined
to buttons, however, and they will
pick at any object in view. one of
| them even tried to swallow my fist
They have no teeth and their bill
cannot hurt much so held it up ami
| let him try, he wrestled away for
awhile and su -ce, ded in scraping a
little bark off but finally gave up in
disgust
While ostriches thr We in Arizona
| hardly think they could be culti-
waited in the neighboring ate OF
| Utah, as they are a monog inous
bird. They pair off and sp.' d their
entire life with one N te. The aver
| ge &c is about so years. The male
bud assists in Matching the eggs, he
sitting on them at n ght VIII lee the
| female bird sits on them during tn
/ day. The N lie bird also builds he
n SITS. The eggs are nearly a. large
ueIby hat aid a ri ting" CON
sis "f ten or a dozen. God egg-
cannot he bought hut the shells oi
bad ones bring sl.00 a piece for sou
venirs."