The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-02-06
THE KINGBIRD IS INDICATED
Examination of Its Diet Shows 1t To Be
An Eater of Obnoxious Insects.
a light broke in upon my soul
1t was this carol of a bird

y light broke IN upon my soul
Ii was this carol of a bird;
1t ceaSed--and then it came again,
The sweetest song ear ever heard.
Nearly all birds are the friends and
helpers of man; very few are pests or
enemies.
Yet man is continually making war
upon certain birds; and, ignorantly, he
frequently makes war upon those which
are really most friendly and useful.
Consider the kingbird, as an example.
lie has been INDICATED.
81 hang the long squirrel rife upon the
hooks above the mantel; set the rusty
double-harreled shotgun in the corner be
hind the door; put the old hOrSe-piStol IN
the tupmoSt bureau drawer or in the bot
tom of the old hair-covered trunk. Let
the search and the pursuit cease let the
hlithe and courageous varlet go his way.
He has been vIndicated.
The kingbird-or bee martin, as he is
slanderously called in the south-has
been proved innocent of wrong doing, has
proved one of mans best friends.
FOR years and years, this sprIghtlV and
pugnaeIous little bird has been looked
upon as an undesirable citizen. Muck
rakeTs have been assiduous in their at
tacks upon his character. OF course,
they had to admit, he was cheerful and
plucLy; of course he drove away from
the chicllen-yards hawks, owls, crows,
, dAO Ollltl Ni1lBtti 4ANA tlAtAS. Nliat hAtcilN
come with evil intent-all to the adj
vantage of the farmer. But, then, he de
Voured the farmer : bees; and that was
an objectionable sin in the sight Of the
farmer and his household. His one vice
more than offset all his virtues. SO he
was declared a meddlesOme malefaetor
operating in restraint of honest in
dustTy and interfering with the rights
of union labor. Public opinion, the tTi-
bunal of final hearing; and all the police
powers of its governmental the per
sons of bewhiskered adults, bTonZed
turned loose upon him, to take him dead
or alive. Poor, pugnacious little king
bird
And now, at this late date, it trans
pires that he is not guilty of the charge
upon which he was convicted. lie has
come forTard-under compulslo1' 1t
must be admitted-and submitted the
contents of his tiny stomach to examin-
alton and analysis. And with what re-
suit? Why, the scientific ornjthologists
have examined the contents of his stom-
ach hundreds of times; and only a few
times did thew find any dead bees-and
the dead bees they did find were nearly
all dTones.
The kinob;rd has been vindirated,
Say! Wouldn t it be a great thing if
we humans had a feathered giant TO Cob
BILE up the human drOnes? Would VIC
turn out to hunt him down, armed with
Elunderbusses, harquebusses ard other
forms of ancient and modern firearms
! trow mott Nay, verify! We d protect
him w law; and arrange that his tribe
might increase.
But the ornitho'ogistS found some
ether things in Mr.. Kingbird 5 tiny
tummy; BEETLES, bugs, grssshoppers, flies
and cataDllars-all enemies of the
farmer So one more undertaking mis-
apprehension Is gone; one more worthy
citizen. falsely and foolishly charged
with high crimes and misdemeaHors, has
been proved innocent
The lingbird has been vindicated.-
ChicagO journal of Commerce.