The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1930-07-18

I'm the vast sandy deserts
where nothing grows, what car
flocks Of these birds find to live
upon?" inquired Ernest.
! THAT would indeed be hard K
! say, if the deserts were utterly
! barren and unfruitful." returned
/ /; but over these sandy wastes
! a beneficient Providence scatters
! plants of wild melons, which alb
! sorb and reain every drop of mois.
| ture, and which quench the thirst
as well as satisfy the hunger OF
the ostriches and other inhabit-
ants of the wilds. These melons,
however, do not constitute his
entire diet; he feeds freely on
grasses, dates, and hard grain,
when he can obtain them"
Does the ostrich utter any
cry?"
"The voice of the ostrich is a
deep, hollow, rumbling sound, so
much resembling the 0 a of the
lion as to be occasionally mistak-
en- for it. But what does Jack
mean by waving his cap and beck
oning in that excited fashion,
What has the boy found?"
He ran a little way toward us,
shouting:
Eggs, father Ostriches' eggs!
a huge nest full-do come quicki"
We all FASTENED to the spot,
and in a slight hollow of the
ground beheld more than twenty
eggs, as large as an infants
head.
The idea of carrying more than
two away with us was preposter-
Gus, although the boys, forgetting
what the weight would be, seri-
ously contemplated clearing the
| nest.
They were satisfied when a
kind of landmark had been set
up, so that if we returned we
might easily find the nest.
AS each egg weighed abouE
three pounds, the boys soon found
the burden considerable, even
when tied into a handkerchief
and carried like a basket. To re-
lieve them, cut a strong elastic
heath stick, and ~suspending an
egg in its sling at each end, laid
the bent stick over Jacks Shout
der, and like a Dutch dairy-maid
with her milk pals, he stepped
merrily along without any incon-
venience.
We presently reached a marshy
place, surrounding a little pool
evidently fed by the stream which
Knips had discovered. The soft
ground was trodden and marked
by the footsteps of many differ
ent sorts of animals; we saw
tracks of buffaloes, antelopes, on
ayers or quaggas, but no trace of t
any kind of serpent; hitherto our {
Journey in search of monster rep
had been signalized by very G
satisfactory failure. "
By this brook we sat down to d
rest and take some food; Fangs
presently disappeared, and Jack j
to his pet discovered him a
snaWing at something which he I
dug from the marsh. i dipped e
t in water to clear off the mud. a
md to my surprise found a queer
living creature, no bigger F
han half an apple, in my hand. m
t was a small tortoise. tC
"A tortoise, | declared" cried n,
What a long way from the to
How came it here, I wonder?" OF
Perhaps there has been a tor th
Disc shower" remarked Ernest. or
One reads of frog showers in di
time of the ancient Romans" be
"Hullo, Professor! you're out tn
IT once" said /. "This is nothing ha
ut a mud-tortoise, which lives tn
wet, marshy ground and fresh sh
They are useful in gardens, TT
IT although they like a few let va
Ice leaves now and then. they ro'
Ill destroy numbers Of snails, ed
'ubs, and worms" fri
Resuming our journey, we ar Su
we'd al a charming valley. YER Pc
mt, fruitful, and shaded by ths
jumps of graceful trees. dt af- Ing
us the greatest delight ont
q refreshment to pass along ms
is cool and lovely vale, which OF
agreed to call Glen Verdant.
In the distance we could see sue
rds OF antelopes or b~uffaloes PTS
9ding; but as our dogs contin- OF
lily ranged a long way ahead OF fell
they were quickly startled, hea
vanished up one or other OF rea
: narrow gorges which opened cei'
OF the valley.
following the imperceptfble VII
ldlngs of the vale, we were 70
'pr1sed. on quitting IT for the the
open ground, to find our enc
YES In a country we were al 1
dy acquainted with. and not wo1
from Jackal Cave, as we INV
the place where Fangs nad OF
captured In cubhood. aKn
- ri