A HERMIT'S WILD FRIENDS 



Several years ago I had occasion to pass 

 Crow every night a spot in the woods where dead 



horses are buried. The crows would gather 

 there nightly, but always had a sentinel out. 

 The sentinel took up a position in a tall oak 

 on a hill where he could overlook all the ap- 

 proaches. When everything was quiet the 

 sentinel called out, " Caw-caw-caw," which 

 means " All is well." If a man approaches, 

 the danger-signal is, " Cur-cur-cur," some- 

 times repeated, and it means " Look out 

 there." It is uttered rapidly. 



I noticed one night that the crow in the tree, 

 as soon as he saw me, called out, " Caw-caw," 

 and in a short time repeated the call. He had 

 told his mates that the hermit was coming. 

 My path passed within fifty feet of the crows, 

 but they did not fly away. They had long 

 ago found that I was not to be feared. Some- 

 times I had company, and the sentinel would 

 then give the danger-call, " Cur-cur-cur," and 

 the crows would fly away before we got in 

 sight. I had this experience throughout the 

 summer, so there could be no mistake. 

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