Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-03-03
THE LEVEE WALKER.
A Bird Highly Regarded BY the Rice
Planters Of Texas.

naQTI L DeeIl lOIB III lChdo, oehiN'
a northern man, but long enough, be-
ing Of a somewhat inquiring mind, to
learn that the burrowing crawflsh Is a
prolific and ubiquitous preempter or
the moist soil Of the Texas coast
country. Wherever ditch or pud-
die of water with any showing OF
bank to it Is found on the borders of
1t will this industrious crawfish dig
its nest and honeycomb the ground
with it's excavations
And then one day 1 was travelling
down Metagorda way, along with my
gun, inclined for some sport with
snipe and shore birds. The train was
speeding along between endless
stretches of rice prairie. Gridironing
the fields were embankments raised
to control the speed Of water over the
growing rice and to divide the fields
into working sections. l noticed the
frequent rising from the levees and
canal borders of flocks Of large birds,
most of them pure white, and L fell
to wondering what variety Of bird they
might be, and inwardly resolved to
get off at the next station and secure
a specimen or two. Then 1 asked
fellow passenger whether he could tell
me what the birds were.
Them birds?' said he, and he was
plainly native. Them birds is
levee walkers, captain, and If you was
thinkin' o. drappin' off some'rs along
the line and takin' shot at 'em you
better TELEGRAPH your folks to come af-
ter you with a box
1T came to me then that perhaps
l had better qualify that resolution
Of mine somewhat. The native went
on to further elucidation.
The levee walker was in reality a
heron, and one not uncommon In
Texas but not seen in any large num-
bers in the coast country until the
prairies were put under cultivation 10
rice. When the irrigation canals
and bitches were dug in the prairles
to supply the water necessary Tor rice
cultivation, what miles and miles of
nesting banks they offered the burroW-
ing crawfish for occupancy. The
crawfish was not slow in taking ad-
vantage of the new field. and In time
in some districts it threatened havoc
to the levee banks.
Then the rice planters noticed thal
birds of a kind new to them some OF
them white and some OF them plulsh
gray. but all long legged and OF great
speed of wing, began to gather In the
rice fields along the levees. At first
the rice farmers regarded them with
disfavor, believing them to be still
another tribe of winged destroyers or
rice. several of which were already
I'm discouraging evidence, and they
went out against them with guns ana
destructive devices.
I'm spite of this warfare on them
these big birds persisted in hoVerlnB
about the fields and in marching with
much StatelincSS of tread up ana Gown
the leveeS in ever increasing NUMBERS
After ii while then the discovery was
made that the hOneycombing ana
tunnelling crawfish had met with an
obstacle somehow
I'm fact it was plain that the m
roads of the pests had received a de-
cided check. and then the revelation
came that the big levee walking BIRD
instead of being a devourer or the
rice crop was simply putting In It's
time crawiishing and that the num-
ber of the destructive burrowers one
of these birds managed to surprise
during days walking of a levee was
beyond belief. From that time II De-
came an unwritten law of the rice
belt that the man behind the gun that
was levelled at a levee walker had best
lose no time in getting away from that
particular corner Of Texas ana stay
away
IAN scein' like it appears that
srtch is III. feeln' through here.
said the native who had enlightened
me in these matters. seems to me ef
I was YOU. Captain, | wouldn't drop
off nowheres along the line an go 10
gunnin' fer none of EN-.
II said I wouldn't. and tabled my
resolution by unanimous vote. But
| found great consolation later on
among the snipe and shore birds.