The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-06-29
EVENING STORY
A Study in Monogamy.
BY LANE OSBORN,

him in his blunt, quaint way that he
was strongly OF the opinion that he
-Philip-was q lazy, loafing. WORTH
less specimen of humanity, and utter
ly unworthy of being named James
Devridge's sole heir. as had been that
distinguished mans original inten-
tons.
On the charge of never having done
anything in life that he had not been
made to do, Philip mentioned the fact.
not at all boastfully but only in self
defense, that he had brought down
various prizes for his amateur pho
Biography.
Eyes, but what value has 1t BEEN!
pictures OF pretty girls and horses or
something of that Sort" muttered the
graphs of birds that would do to illus
trate this book I've been working
over. they might count for some-
thing
"Give me a chance" challenged the
nephew. What sort Of pictures do
you want?"
Read the manuscript and find
out" was the uncle's answer. 1.-The
book is a study of homogeneous habits
among the birds of eastern North
America. 1t is not a popular work
at all. I doubt if you can make head
or tail of it. 1t requires a scientific
point Of view. and that you don't pos
sess.''
"I'I try it, said the nephew, and
the day after work at college was
over he started off to a little cabin
in the northern mountain country of
New England. where his uncle had in
years past done considerable observa-
ton of bird life, there to get the pho
tographs the uncle had assured him
he couldn't get. Philip was perfectly
confident of his lenses and his cam
eras and his photography. The thing
sort of pictures to take. For the first
three days of his stay in the woods
country he read the duplicate manu-
script his uncle had given him. Frank
ly he was not very much encouraged.
Then he yearned for a let-up of his
solitude, and with characteristic blunt
ness asked the old countryman who
drove the stage that passed his door
twice day whether there were any
nice girls in the neighborhood. There
Is only one good-looker," said the old
man, who seemed to have made care
full observations, land she's queer.
You wouldn't like her and she would
MT have anything to do with you,
neither. She lives alone in the gum
mer in a shack in the woods next to
yours. She's awful queer. But she
do be good looking"
Flows she queer?" queried Philip.
Powerful Queer-that's how queer.
She sometimes sets a whole day at a
time under a bush in the gully, and one
day seen her setting way up in the
tip-top of tree. Well, she was there
when I went down in the morning and
still there when I come home in the
afternoon. Don't know how she got
there, but there she was. And she goes
around with opera glasses, just as If
she thought there was show going
on, and she whistles and chirrups to
herself, and-well, there's no doubt
-
man with a significant tapping Of the
side Of his own head, as If to indi-
cate where the weakness lay.
Philip needed no further proof. He
believed the old man had exaggerated
the matter, but he had no doubt of the
he was still reading his uncle's manu-
script, hoping to find clue as to what
his photographs should be-he saw
the strange young lady, sitting not In
the top of one of her own trees, but
in the top of one of the trees very near
to his own shack. He looked at her
from the safety, of his shack and then
assuming a perfectly confident air and
a cheerful whistle, ventured out and
began to walk noisily about the tree.
"Oh, please tread softly" said the
strange young lady. II think they are
settling here in this tree. If you dis
turb them they may go off again.
Please go away. won't you?" Philip
withdrew and did not return till later
in the day, when the young lady de-
scended very quietly.
II think they are located" she told
him. They are in the next tree-two
thrushes. I watched them in my own
trees and then they came over here.
can watch them beautifully from this
other tree that was sitting in. hope
you don't mind"
why, please, were you watching
just those thrushes?" he asked her.
and she told him that if he would let
her stay and eat lunch with him in his
shack instead of having to tramp back
the half mile to her own, she would
take lime to tell him. 1t was in his
little cabin dininS-room over a rustic
sort Of luncheon that Philip prepared
for them-coffee. smoky of aroma, but
delicious to the appetite, sharpened
by woods air, sliced ham, dry biscuits
and cheese-that the girl explained.
well, you see. am making study
of monogamy among birds-that is, I
want to get little data that will be
of some value in establishing the fact
that thrushes either are or are not
monogamous0hati is, that they do or
don't mate for life. Last year I worked
hard all summer. I studied the birds
from the tree tops and from under the
hedges. No one knows how long sat
silently so as not to disturb them. and
I trapped some of them long enough
to fasten little bracelets on their an
kles. I knew that il the same birds
came back to these trees this year and
mated with the same mates, then I
would have some small facts to con-
tribute to this great study. And now
two Of the birds with my bracelets
have come back and think they are
the mates of last year. Once they get
settled for nesting I can get closer to
| them and find our. You know. James
DeEridge, the greatest of all bird sf,I-
dents and one of the greatest scient-
ests Of the day. has made a special
study of this. I read everything he
writes. and heard him lecture once.
He said that he didn't have anywhere
n near enough data on the subject of
monosamy and that any one who
would seriously go about it to collect
it might feel that she was making a
real contribution to science. So 1
made up my mind to do it. That is