New-York tribune., 1909-05-30
INTELLIGENCE OF KEY
Il Parrot Whose Remarks were AI-
yaus Suited to the Occasion.

| Mrs A. 7, Andrea of No. 421 West 11Sth street
| IS mourning the loss Of key, an ageu anu ie'io ~
] ahIe parrot key was known to be slXty-ANe Se0'
| old His age when he immgrated TO this country =
| IN the care of sailorman from South America .
| ,,,lrovyn Rut the family whom he oelonseU
before he came into the possession OF MIS-. Aiu'e >
| GRANDPARENTS had had him for twenty-five yeais
F. fortv wears Ikey lived with some branch OF MS
| onu, Family Mother passed him to daughter anu
daughter to granddaughter and sometimes ne WouIu I
tlo an excursion to some cousin to stay Tor
/ five ten years.
and during a long life his extremely actlVe oIain
had gathered up immense store OF hiIo" ieu7
His sixtv-fye years had been passed enurey III po
lite society," and this had made of him suPeI!cIaIS
a rather tame and conventional type IN ulst stic'io
to the Iurd and rowdy character or the traui'ioI
sauor trained parrot. Ikey may have known anu
,,eod had language at early period OF his exist
ence but for sixty-fve years he had been d IauleS
narrot and conducted himself as such. On 'iy
o,,s rrovocation would he revert TO bad naDils AZ
times he would have fits of shreking loudly ana
the onlv way to quiet him was to throw the cover
ovar his cage This always filled the bird Win I'M
a.,,rab b,o dis4ust He yelled because he felt
rood and he considered 1t low trick 10 cover hli
IN in the DAYTIME SO that he could not enjoy hmseir.
He would drop into instant silence ana theL AiO
,,do- his tnIlv cover could be heard murmuring IN
mufied tones soft with fear Of punishment: Oh'
hell! Oh. hell! oh. hel!'
If was this fitting Of his remarks to the clrcuin-
sta which uA'N"N4N-
and smoke his thoughts After the cloth was thrown
oar his cage for example. he would sulk In silence
FOR q while Then. in subdued and plaintive tones
would be heard from under the cover lNey DC
good key be good now. II.
He was an adept at modifying his voice to SUIT
co,dftions When he wanted anything 1t was al
vavs soft and pleading As night came on ne
voud be heard calling with rising inhectloh "''t
a lingering cadence the last syllable, So-lheI
ether - And then, in drowsy tones, flkey tired
10 ante
dasired TO retire for the night II mother did not
come however his voice would grow more raucouS
until II became vicious screen. Inc p'Fu Ai'e"
bie rights and II they were neglected made the
,yboIo house uncomfortable. He knew perrecty
y.ra+ punishment was for and would wheedle ana
promise anything escape the consequences OF MS
vIllany. His most solemn promises however, were
teri, worthless He was treacherous. and con-
cea led bad character behind his poilsheG exterior
He loved TO have his head scratched. When any
,oer1ber Of the family near his cage nc Wou4d
nsinuatingly suggest this pleasing operAtloi'
Scratch head Scratch head" he would say
ducling his green poll 10 suit the action Ikey
got headache" The family learned to use a pencil
instead Of a finger for this task, FOR good reasons
When he got enough key would strike DO" uhe
lightning and either break the pencil or bury ms
beak in a finger II It were not Withdrawn quickly
enough.
The wav in which Tley would pick up phrases
used by the humans and apply them properly to
his own case would have caused him TO be re-
tained had he pecked a hundred fingers. me "''"s
he loathed most on earth was a bath. This was
given him by placing his cage on the ground In
the back ward and drenching him well from a
common garden sprnklIng pot One day ne sat
the picture OF misery. huddIed into the smallest
possible compass, as to escape as much as pos
sible the detested fluid when friend whom he
knew appeared. Instantly key rose up ana yeHed
at the top OF his voice, Bring 'brella! Bring
'brellar'
Doubtless ne had heard members OF the family
paUse at the door sight OF cloudy skies and call
back to some one within, Bring an umbrella! An
other instance showed keys memory association OF
IDEAS recognition Of color and affection During one
OF his long visits branch Of the family he was
the particular pet Of woman named Ella, whom
he loved very much. Ella was a brunette and
babituallv wore red waists. After he came to
Mrs Andrea's home, the first time he saw her
in red waist he called in the sweetest, most
nuteIlke tone ELLA? EI-la?" He never forgot
this as long as he lived For years he called Ella
with the utmost sweetness every time he saw a
woman in q red waist.
Several of keys later years were passed in
New Haven In a house directly opposite the medi-
cal college of Yale University. Here he became
one of the most vicious OF Yale rooters. When