The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-12-21
THE BUzZARD is a
RARE Old BIRD.
PECULIAR TO The S0UTH-S0UTHERH.
Err TELLS OF A SeAVEHGER OF
AIR and HIS APPETITE.
Failing to Find Any Of This Species in
Montana He Inquiries, Learns and then
Tells Something Of the Big Black war
mint"

ltllS ouilclhiIS VI tlG DlS DioVh Vol
mint"
"I've been in this country about
three months now and haven't seen
buZzard vet" remarked q man from
the south this morning as he looked
out of his hotel window, meditatively
across the fat, lumpy back Of old
Jumbo.
Haven't seen q whatHn asked his
roommate, who halls from q of the
far northern states.
"Buzzard, man. buzzard Never
heard of a buzzard ?"
"That's one on me. What kind OF
an animal is it?"
mo animal at all. It's a big black
bird that builds its pest at the top OF
tall trees and lives on scavenger'"
"Nothing like that in this country.
Tell me about it,"
"Well, a buzzsrd is as indispensable to
the warn southern countries ass snow
shoe is to the far northern trapper. He
can't sing and he is not progressing
at all in appearance, but the southern
people think 80 much of him forhis vo-
raclous appetite that it is a $40 fine in
almost every state of the south to kill
or rob her buzzardness' nest, which is
u ually perched far back into the woods
Oh the tOpmost limb Of some giant tree.
"A Rare Old Bird.n
"I didn't realize it before, but know
now that the buzzard il indeed a rare
old bird. ASS boy I recall on many 8
hot summer afternoon locating the last
resting place of faithful "Old Beck,n
The iong-earned family mule. or "Old
Mooley," the cud mouthed family COW,
who had kicked the bucket, by the
swarm of these big, black, hungry birds
swishiHg their way to the nearest tree
top. Actually 1t makes me hOmesick
to think of the vsrmint.' I q see even
now one after another, representing
every family of his kind within a "a.
dious of five or 10 miles, GRACEFUL sail
ing through the air, some almost as
high up as Ralph Johnstone flew above
he Statue of Liberty, preparing TO
pounce upon the cold remains of the
animals that had laid down life's bur-
dens and were resting in the by.way
Places .
"The buzzard, if anything, can "trip
the light fantastic with his broad
wings far away into the plue when he
gets a Whit of a departed creature be-
low. 1t is said that the higher they
fly the keener is the sense OF their OIL
:sctory nerve. Once almost out of
sight you can see him begin to circle
slowly and then, apparently knowing
that his feast dan never make IN cutlery
from the ~piercings of his peeked bill, he
folds his wings,.as it were, and swoosh.
es to the ground with the %self-conf.
dence of a nag rushing into d clover
patch when the gate is left open; upon
iightin he looses his gracefulness. In.
stead of walking msjestically to his
open-air banquet board he lopes along
IN q most ungainly fashion and pro.
ceeds wiihhis repast after the manner
of an i~llraised glutton.
HIs Awkard Gait.
$50 we'll known is the buzzard's awk.
ward that down south the negroes In
their long, winter night country dan.
ces have a speciality known as DE Buzz
zard LOPEZ I have watched the dar
kies at their old-fashioned reels many
times and have greatly enjoyed hear
ing a big black fellow calling the fig
gers.'
"'Git yer pardners fer de Mex ker'
tyllum.'
"All at once the negroes would scam
per to the floor, when, suddenly, q
Young buck would bend his knees and
rxclaim, Use gwine ter glib you De
Buzzard LOPEZ This announcement
would be followed by one of the most
grotesque eyrations you ever saw and,
shortly, every negro Oh the floor would
join in 'lopinpI'
you know. since ] have come t.
hiuk about 1t, l believe the bu2zard
is responsible for the scarcity of negro
es in this country. Down south the
colored race, that is, the more ignorant
class, believes that there is q great
deal of virtue in buzzard's grease fol
rheumatic and other miseries,' as
they call it."
"You have told me something about
a bird that I have never seen and one
[ scarcely knew existed" replied the
roommate. But I can understand
very easily now why such a varmiDt
is not needed in this country. He
would freeze to DEATH This high eli
mate does the work out here"
Not a Magpie.
The southern man having discover
ed that he had sprung a subject rather
new TO the native Of The northwest,
decided that he would do a little quiz
zing for bis own amusement,
"Are there any buzzards in this coun-
try?n be asked a Montana-born young
man.
"Buzzards? Buzzards? Lomme see.
Sure, sure, there are buzzards out here.
I've seen lots of 'em. They live on
carbon"
What kind kind Of looking things
are they ?" asked the southerner, know
ing that he had a good pupil.
20, it's a bird 0 fcourse. It's a bird"
"How large a bird?"
"Lemme gee. well, 7 should say It's
a little larger than a robin and a little
smaller than a crow.
The quizzer laughed to himself,
docs he sing?"
mo, I lever heard n sing, but
when a drove of them get together
they chatter like the mischief"
The man from the land of "De Buzz
gard Lopez laughed out loud and ex-
planned to the Montana friend that he
was thinking of a maybe.
No need for bugzards in the north
west, The South Carolina specie with
his nnintad uinus The RED. headed.