New-York tribune., 1905-04-16


expand the stimulating
ozone quickened the pulses
of men made weary by the fierce race for wealth.
Bill Roddy the guide had made a kettleful of
bean soup, which served in wooden bowls. a
pigeon pot-pie the piece de resistance, while
odorous Mocha added its benedction to the feast.
And now the hunting party lay around the camp
fire on hemloCk bOughs smoking and looking at the
stars, while envy and all uncharitabeness fell from
them as apple-blossoms fall from orchard.
Mother Nature had laid her benefcent hand on the
foreheads of the group. and great content fell
upon the men, which deepened by the lyric
tenor of Stenger he sang 20 Holy Peace, and
the cawing of belated crow as it flew over the
camp.
There flies the wisest of American BIRDS said
Crispel " His scent is as strong that of the con-
dor for he recognize the Odor of rare beeisteak
from distance of two miles. He knows the differ
ence between man and a scarecrow, for have seen
an old crow sit on a scarecrow's head and deliver
lecture natural history. In Oratory the crow can
give points the Cabrd, that great gossip of the
American woods Besides these indications of in
telligence, the knows something about the
science of numbers.
\ chorus of expressions of disbelief arose, and
Hale said:
oh come now Crispell! We are willing to admit
that crow has an excellent nose; that you can't
fool him with a scarecrow; and that he can talk the
legs off an iron pot but when you say he can count
well, we willing to give YOU fair chance.
How many figures a crow count:
Gentlemen" replied Crispel there seems to
be some doubt about the truth of my statements;
but in the Ramapo Mountains in New Jersey, where
l used to live there flock of crows everyone OF
which could count three"
nurmur of incredulity arose, which Crispell
quoted with of his hand, and continued
In the spring, as the corn began to sprout
up through the ground, army of crows flew down
in our corn-feld and pulled up the sprouts to get
at the kernels of corn beneath. We tried in vain
to frighten them away with scarecrows, and killed
many of them with poisoned meat We also
learned by experience that crow could accurately
calculate the distance that a shotgun can
carry load of BIB shot. Father driven to
despair by the terrible birds, which descended on
us like the locusts of Egypt. But after a weeks
hard thinking he devised a scheme to get rid of
them.
You must understand that when a APP
peared with a gun in his hand the crows would all
fly up in black cloud and settle in the high trees
where they set up cawing of diabolic derison. We
built sort of shack in the middle of the field big
enough to conceal four When it was finished
a man walked across the field to the shack in full
view of the crows. He was followed few minutes
later bv another man. and still the crows kept up
their cries of ridicule The third man followed in
due time and when the fourth had entered the
shack the crows were still jawing away. One by
one at brief intervals, the men then came out of
the shack, leaving the fourth man behind. When
the third had disappeared a convention was
held among the crows, which evidently resulted in
the conclusion that the coast was clear, for the
whole flock of two hundred
flew down into the corn-feld. (-oS