Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1909-08-26

about my dearest foe now. 1 nVlleu
him to put up at the ranch. and hay-
ing some business in Tegucigalpa, and
as my friend didn't seem to be IN
hurry, asked him If he couldn't stay
for a few weeks and look after things.
He said he could and would, so
packed some things on mule and
rode away.
Il stayed in the capital city longer
than / expected, and it was good
three months before | got back to the
ranch. My friend had gone, leaving
word that business had. called him
away, but everything seemed all righf
about the place. however, for l had
good native overseer who kept every
thing going The only change l notee
was in the parrot. Just as soon as h'
clapped his little beady eyes upon M
he astonished nae by bursting on
with:
Robert the Devil Robert thu
Devil You're a devil Of a fellow.
Carambo!'
He seemed very proud and pleased
with this performance, and encOred
himself again and again l laughed,
for | saw that my friend had put up
a joke on me; but after time that
cry got dead tiresome The blamed
parrot was so proud of his accom-
plishment that be hardly took any
rest. Finally, after listening to that
yell for days, I got mad and weary,
and concluded that the poll and /
had better part company. He was
young yet, and doubtless had lots OF
friends in the woods where he had
come from. So l took him out Of his
cage and manumitted him. He flew
up on a tree near the house and be-
gan to articulate again, so I threw
stones at him, until finally he set sail
for keeps and disappeared from view.
We'll, l enjoyed a quiet life after
that for some weeks. and was begin
ming to forget all about the parrot.
when one morning was awakened
by deuce Of racket; there was a
regular chorus outside:
Robert the DEVIL Robert the
Devil You're a devil of a fellow
Carambol'
Il stuck my head out of the win
dow, and saw a big, bare tree nearby
was simply green with parrots, all
yelling that Internal cry in chorus.
OWNED the matter at once-that par
rot of mine had returned to It's
Aaunts, and, instead OF warbling its
native wood-notes wild, it had repeat
ed that cry until it was picked up by
all its friends. 1t sounded like a sort
of college yell now when produced in
chorus
Good Lord. it was awful At.
tracted by the novelty of the thing,
more and more parrots came around
and, as the days passed by, they too
learned the cry, and, moreover, taught
it to others. I'll be hanged If it didn't
come to be like a university exten.
sion movement, with my ranch as the
center of intellectual culture.
Now and then / wouid go out and
shoot some of the birds, and had the
satisfaction of seeing some of them
bite the dust in the very midst of per
forming their stunt But what could
one man do against such multitudes
Why, new disciples focked from
everywhere, and the screening thai
arose was something maddening, tC
say nothing of the wearisomeness o.
having to listen to the constant prac
ticing going on before the blamed
birds got letter perfect in their parts
We'll, l couldn't stand it. I hat
to quit. l tell you. the woods were
filed with that strident cry. and it..
spreading around over a wider are.
every day. I shouldn't wonder If tina
ridiculous yell is now echoing from
one end of Central America to tn,
other. Go back again to hear itY
guess mott You see, the parrots viii
never forget it, and there's nobody t,
teach the wild ones anything new
All the young. parrots will catch on
and so in future will the unborn thou
sands. No. there's no silencing tina
cry now; it's bound to ring down tn
grooves Of time forever
DO hear the south a-callin'? Ye,
do; but 1 hear them blamed parrot
a-callin' still louder, and that's tn
reason why 1 stay away"