The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-09-11
the tribes.

W WIN as soine farmers imagine,
he told the writer "The old birds
feed their young on worms, bugs
and insects. 1t is such food they are
after when they 60 into the freshly
titled fields. In hunting for these
they naturally damage the corn to
certain extent. My pet would not
touch grain of any kind think he
would have starved before eating
| corn.
I" shed tears when lost that bird.
| called him Jackey. / got him by
climbing to the top of tall pine tree
and carrying him down in my arms.
| put him in Il box about two feet
square, with sieve across the front.
After keeping him there about one
week / let him out for walk. Very
soon he was so tame that l gave him
entire freedom. He slept in the trees
in summer and in the chicken house
with the hens in winter.
"When hungry he would come into
the house. Get hold of my wifc's skirt
and pull and yell and flap his wings
till she fed him We gave him every
thing we had on our table excepting
the grains He was a great lover Of
meat of any kind. When he got a
piece he would grab it as savagcly as
a dog, fly up in small tree in the
yard, hold the meat in one Of his claws
and tear off pieces with his bill, all
the time making noise cnought to
awaken the dead. He was also very
fond Of grasshoppers. and would
sypcnd hours some days gathering
them an storing them up for hard
times.
"Whcn he got more food than he
could eat at one time he would take
the surplus out in the yard and hide
it under some leaves; and woe to the
dog or eat that would try to get
what he had deposited.
"Hc would never hide anything
while anvnne was watching him. IF
YOU would turn your hack. or nr"'
not to l"ok for moment he would
drop whatever he had, quickly put
a covering over il. and then run off
about twenty feet where YOU could see
him and commence to die and scratch
to make YOU believe that he was hid
in'c il there.
"If T started to 90 where he had
hiAAcr anything .]ackey would try
in every way in his powcd t" lead me
in the opposite direction
"He was great boy for taking
walks. He would follow me through
the fields the same as a dog, or some
times perch on my head or shoulder.
He seemed to know when Sunday
came and would bother me more then
than on any other day He wanted
to keep me busy. As soon as he saw
that I had nothing to do, he would
get hold Of my trousers and try to
pull me along with him for tramp.
"Jacky was never quiet for mo-
ment except when asleep, and that
was only in the middle Of the night.
Hc was first man up and last man to
bed.
ga crow, as far rs my observation
goes. is a natural born thief. Jackey
would steal anything he could get
hold Of. carry it off and hide it. He
was. especially fond Of anything
bright, such as sewing materials.
shears, thimbles. needles, papers Of
pins, silver spoons and jewelry Of all
sorts
"Our barn was burned by lightning
that year and this gave Jackey lots
of business. He would work all day
picking nails out of the ashes and
carrying them off to the woods close
by where he would stack them in piles
and cover them with leaves.
"One day while walking through
the woods I went without knowing it
to the spot where some Of these nails
were hidden. Just as I was about to
tread on one of his precious stores,
Jackey hoped down at my feet and
began to pick mp nails rs fast as he
could, carrying them away to place
of safety.
"Had Jackey lived think I could
have taught him lots Of tricks, fon
he was very intelligent. Unfortu-
nately my pet came to an mtimeis
end just as he began to be most in
teresting. He had been fighting with
the hens one day and they pulled
out all the feathers in one of his