The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1905-10-31

Hravess and chseriest Minstrel Of All
American Hlrds.


The song sparrow Is the singer Of the
yeag, Neither winter cold nor summer
heat has power to check his tunefui de-
sires. In the February fields. when the
snow stiii lies banked deep against the
confning fences. the song sparrow vol
ces the promise OF spring before tae
robin and the biuebird dare
In August when every other bird
voice is stiled and the earth is baked
and the green is parched. the song
sparrow sings Of coming autumn rains
In no month OF the year is he wholly
silent, and though storm and hunger
may force him to long journeys he has
song ready for each new resting
place. The search for a sweet and per-
feet optimism ends with the song spar.
row
TIE tiro is nothing to the eye arl
everything to the ear He dresses in
drabs and browns, with streagings OF
and bay and ash, with white enoagn
below to make prominent an identi-
flying brown pa' on he breast.
The arrow gave the FROST
bound pii. OF the 2nmouth Colony
the first sylabIed hope that somewhere
beyond the awful winter lay the spring.
He has been giving the same word OF
hope to every Northern farming house,
hold for nearly three centuries. lie Is
the true herald OF the spring, notwith-
standing the fact that the robin and the
bluebird have that honor OF men.
The robin and the bluebird are cou.
spicuously beautiful; the song sparrow
is an ugly duckEng, and while he pipes
his spring song for a week before the
others come, the ones in the hne rail-
ment. as is the way OF things in this
world, get the credit OF the welcome.
The song sparrow ought to have won
some songs in return for his music. but
most of the poets have been neglected..
The song sparrow Is known to the peo-
pie OF the country as the ground olrd,"
Poets as a rule are not ornithologists,
and It is probable that when they have
caught the sparrows melody and have
been moved 20 questioning they hayo
Geen stopped from 'Tinglng by tho
earthly name Of the songster Ground
bird, indeedl The poet would have
none Of it, for poets must soar, Not
all the human singers. however. have
neglected the bird, though none Of
them has given 1t any length Of lines.
George Parsons Lathrop, who did
much more in prose than in poetry, was
nevertheless moved out Of mis- won't to
sing When he heard the spring song
sparrow at his garden gate.
Glimmers grey the leafless thieket
Close beside my garden gate.
Where, so light, from post to wicket,
Hops the sparrow. blithe, sedate;
Who, with meekly folded wing.
Comes to sun himself and sing.
/ Mr.. Larnrop caught the manner OF
the sparrow and drew his proper pis.
ture. Let not every one. however looh
for the song sparrow at his garden
gate. The birds presence there de-
peads altogether on the garden. Tie
4 song sparrow shuns no man save ths
man who makes artificial his surrounds
ings. 1t is the oid-fashioned garden
with tangles here and there that the
song sparrow loves. He does not dis
pse the fruit garden, and though like
the soaring lark, he prefers to make
his nest on the ground, he will on occa-
sion place It in the currant bosh or in
some thicket which the hand Of the
sardener has spared.
The song sparrow is one Of the few
American birds that are htly named
The scientists have el1ssed the bird.
properly and have given them prob
ably correct naming IN Latin, but the
people in naming the fowls Of the aii
have played havoc With truth, Some
OF our so-called thrdshes are mol
rhrushes at alij our robin isn't a robin
our nighthawk isn't a hawk, but oul
song sparrow, praise be. is both a spar
row and a songster-
T.. Schuyler Mathews. IN his fFiel'
Book of Wild Birds and Their Music,
declares that the song sparrow "de
votes himself to pure. simple melody
and Is in consequence the best expon
ent Of the song motive among an IN
Uembers OF the feathered tribe"
Nr Mathews has made transcript
ticu OF the song OF the sparrow an'
has set IL down in notes so that mai
may play 1t upon his Interpreting III
struments He hnds a Swing and ac
cent 20 these few tones whioh perfect
iy express an exultant feeling. some
thing akin 10 that so eloquently give
in the first bars Of siegmund's Low
song IN the Nibelungep Lied"
John Burroughs interprets the son
sparrow's music thus; "swee-e-l
swee-et. swee-e-t. bitter" and then h
says that this is a simple but Drofoun
summing Up Of life.
And so II may be, but II shakes one
faith even in Burroughs 70 know tha
be can find a suggestion OF bitterness q
the music OF The song sparrow Cal
eago Evening Post