El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-28
The Herald's Daily
ShortStOry

OF view ne was suspicious anu WOulu
not touch it.
Next morning the snow, after falling
all night, drew off with the sunrise,
leaving the hills all glittering white IN
a fresh and deeper mantle Both raw
ems were awake before dawn and very
hungry; for birds require lot of food
to keep them going, much more than
larger animals do by comparison.
The old cock raven set of at once,
with a mighty rustic of wings, for the
lOwlands, deciding that there was
nothing alive on the mOOrS to die, or
TO help to die. His first find was a
doe red deer in a sheltered pine wood
She had got into a deep drift of snow,
and was unable to &c out again. The
raven perched on the bare branch Of a
tree nearby, and waited for her TO
freeze. He was used to this kind OF
waiting, by the way.
Unfortunately, however. the deer
could not freeze She continued her
struggles to get out, and that kept her
warm. However, to make things worse,
an old villain OF gray crow found
her, and called half a dozen of his fell
lows, and they sat around on the trees.
waiting also. Then a black carrion crow
lOafed up and was Joined by his mate
Then the raven decided that he mad
better Drecipitate matters before more
birds appeared to join in the feast The
thing was, how to STAY so large
beast.
her defenceless head with his big pick
axe shaped beak; and even as he did so,
silently as little boys stealing apples
leave when the farmer comes in sight
all that company of gathered bandits
slipped away.
There came a short sharp report, and
a rifle bullet spat the snow up directly
under the ravens breast; and the bird
looking up, beheid to MS horror,
hundred yards away, three keepers,
who were looking for exhausted deer
in order to feed them Those keepers
never got Glance for second shot
Our raven went away Quickly-mar-
VelOuSly quickly for so heavy a bird
and did not return.
His next discovery Of note was a
dead dog. Most unfortunately, how
ever, he was not the first on the field.
An old thief of a carriOn crow was al
ready at Work-burying the dog, shall
we say? Now the carrion crow is a
birds black character and pluck; but
il is no match for its larger robber
relative. This one found that out by
the time he had interviewed the raven
four good stabbing pecks in that time,
and went away in a hurry.
In five minutes, however, he was
back again, with pack OF gray crows
who are like black carrion crows,
only wOrse-at his heels; and after a
pretty severe argument, during which
beaks and claws were freely used on
both sides. the raven was forced to
beat retreat and leave the doggy
feast, after all
The next day was even worse than
the previous ones. The raven looked
almost hopeless, as he set out for the
lowlands in a raging snow storm at
dawn. He knew that it would be hard
er than ever to obtain food, but luck
favored him for the first time. He had
not taken so wing beats when he met
a collie dog looking for some lost
sheep. The dog found the sheep in
snowdrift. helped to dig them out, and
took them home all by himself.
But one sheep he did not find; that
one WAS about 100 yards further on,
and already dead The old ravens quick
eyes detected one leg sticking up out Of
the snow. and upon that sheep the two
black birds of i'll omen fed royalty till
the thaw came two days later, and
they were able to proceed with egg
sitting in peace.