MAGPIE. 221 



Upon them still living, till their flesh was raw and bleed- 

 ing. They were even so bold and familiar as to alight on 

 the men's arms^ and eat flesh out of their hands.* 



To the party of Lewis and Clark the Magpies were 

 also very familiar and voracious, so that they penetrated 

 into their tents, and without ceremony, like the Harpies 

 of Virgil, snatched the meat even from the dishes, pre- 

 ferring the chance of any death to that of pining hunger. 

 They were also frequent attendants on the hunters, and 

 while these were engaged in dressing and skinning their 

 game, the Pies would venture to seize the meat sus- 

 pended within a foot or two of their heads. 



Impelled by hunger, this species does not refuse to feed 

 on carrion, but their usual familiar visits to the backs of 

 cattle have a beneficial tendency, as they rid them of the 

 larvae which burrow and nestle in the skin ; they also eat 

 various kinds of grain, acorns, seeds, fruits, and other 

 vegetable substances, and are greedy of worms, and in- 

 sects of all kinds. 



The Pie is also easily domesticated, and taught to imi- 

 tate the human voice, articulating words with distinctness 

 and emphasis. One which I saw, thus familiarized, was 

 very fond of accosting passengers by ivliat ? what ? what ? 

 and hearing the inmates where he dwelt energetically 

 pronounce oaths, he became an adept at profane language. 

 He is readily accustomed to the sight of man, being very 

 familiar in the house, of which, in time, he makes him- 

 self the master; not fearing even the cats, with whom he 

 has been known to live securely, and even pass upon 

 them various tricks. 



He is extremely restless, active, and capricious on the 

 ground, over which he leaps with antic gait, and con- 



* Pike's Journal, p. 170. 



18* 



