The Mercur miner. [volume] (Mercur, Utah) 1895-1913, 1905-11-08
BY
ROWLAND
THOMAS.

H"'N'H INNING SHY anu many
weeks went by before | caught more
than distant glimpse Of one.
tranquil hunted them with painful
] devotion. Eut lie was child of the
/ cities. lost I'm the mountains as puppy
/ would have been. when cock cruwcd
/ near "a camping place his face would
brighten hopefully aud ne would 20
/ creeping with the uoisclcssucss Of q
| young elephant Back and forth he
/ crushed Iu the brush. pulling branches
I aside with excessive caution aud pcep-
m- urhud junm
80 as. thn hird would flush from a
tro. and shoot away i'm blur OF co..
/ oul light Then tranquil would
/ >r"ieHun mp with nervous jerk. ANA
/ cry triumphant.
There, SENIOR I have found him,
There Dee goes. Look. Look" pointing
up 10 the tree where he had been.
ON these occasions Justin always lay
on the grass and laughed.
! Justin was woodland philosopher,
ana has discovered that town-brcd folk
aud wild chickens had been sent into
the world for his amusement. lie
never deigned to take any further part
in the pursuit
When IT came to stalking n deer or
running down pig he was all eager
ness and skill. and would lead me for
hours without n thought of rest. but
chickens were beneath him. Occasion
ally, however, as we rode along. a crow
would cav somewhere above us. Then
Justin was full of excitement.
Look, senorw he would shout. point
ing up to the empty sky. Il have found
him. There! There"
In spite of Justin's testing my desire
to see "A wild cock face to face only in
creased with repeated failure.
l never tried to shoot one after that
first experience. | would as soon have
thought of shooting at a monkey. But
wanted to have one for my OWE, TO
look at, and draw pictures OF and show
to my poor friends who lived down in
the plains through the hot season and
complained Of prickly heat. | even
dreamed of presenting one TO my
friend, the captain, and letting him
create a new and lusty race OF fowls. II
breed which would meet the hawk in
his own element and laugh at woven
wire fences.
At last, up in n little mountain vii
lage, my opportunity came. Tranquil
announced, with the respectful elation
lie sometimes permitted himself. that
man had a wild rooster Would the
senior like TO come TO see il?
The senior was willing, so we went
down the narrow grass-grown street
together, stepping carefully over the
babies and pigs that We're basking in
the sun.
In the yard OF a little tublcdowr
shack We found a rusty brown bird
tied TO a post by bit Of Irvine about
his leg. The old man. his owner. scat
tered few kernels of corn. aud the
poor dingy thing pccked at them in a
half hearted way. A hen came bust
ling up and he peckcd pocviShly at her
once or twice, and then hoped back
TO his post and stood there, duh and
round shouldered, like a sulky boy who
had decided that the corn was not OF
much Importance. anyway, and had
put his hands in his pockets.
| was slow To believe that this could
be n brother Of the swift bright bird
which had doomed out of Il treetop that
cred that II was. The long, slender
body, the powerful wings. the sharp
heavy bill, were the product Of genera
tons of wild life, And under the dus
and rustiness Of the feathers there
were still traces Of the green and golC
of the forest. The changes were du'
only 10 a changed mode Of life.
"rhe man says" explained Tranquil
that he has had this rooster for lon.
time, and It Is dirty. lie says he vii
catch "A clean one for the senior. If hl
pleases."
or course The senior pleased, and on
bright morning we set out. The OLE
man, our guide, marched in front mos
> Importantly, for II is not every da.
: that one has n chance 10 show seno
what a clever man one IS at catching
wild chickens, and the old man knew
that his grandchildren would tell thei
children about this expedition.
! Under his arm he carried a red fight
, ing cock. II struck me as bit odd {
, carry such an animal on a huntin
trip, One feels no surprise In the Phi
ippines In meeting people with rooster
under their arms; IL Is quite the usua
thing. tranquil followed the old maj
! respectfully hopeful. Then came Jus
tin. smiling, and brought up the real
a mile or so from the village IN
P wall Of the forest rose. dark and I'm
p peuetrabe. But al one point a streaI
. came down from the hills, ana Their
% the field extended into the woods for
, little way making a sort OF room, coo
e ana shadowy, and carpeted with shor
a thick turf
- Here the old man halted and waite
an we an stood about ham. Then 4
@ drew from the pocket Of his blouse
4 bundle Of twine wound on four poin
j. cd sticks. Justin stopped smiling
@ Anything In the nature of a trap, an!
@ thing which matched mans WI
against the instinct OF the wild crea
y ures. interested Justin.