THE FARMERS* REGISTER. 



305 



THE USE OF AN OWL IN KILLING CHOWS. 



From the Frankfort (Ify.) Commonwealtli. 

 A man oupht not to be hooted at, if lio does It'll 

 n siory aboiii an owl, providt-il the anecilole tends 

 to ihi: promoiion of the ijreat inierests ol' airricnl- 

 liire. Anil we may as well promise here, that we 

 do not mean to talk ahout otie of those liiile 

 ecreerhinir ihinjis, tint sits on the eaves of houses 

 durinir the livelong night, watching lor mice, and 

 uttering the most piercing lamentations all the 

 while. No, indeed : we are alludinij to one ol 

 those whapping big fellows ihai sometimes raises 

 a wir-whoop right over your liead as you are rid- 

 inu through the dirk woods, and makes you leel, 

 (or a moment, as if your scalp was gone. Speak 

 of your hair standing on end, at tales of ghosts, 

 'and all that sort o!" stuH ! Those are mere fire- 

 side afi'^irs, and don't last much longer than you 

 are toasting your shins. But if you wish to know 

 eometliing of a shock that will drive through your 

 bones into the marrow, just go by yourself throuijh 

 n beech flat of a dark night, with your niind 

 running upon Indians, robbers, and other such 

 eweet (ancles, until you .'eel as if you hadn't half 

 an inch of breath lelt any how — then, let one of 

 those night eagles thunder — whoohoo, whoo- 

 hoo, whoo-hoo-ash into your hiss, and, by gra- 

 cious ! you'll think that you've become an eternal 

 fixture in ihe shades. It does to laugh at when 

 you get home, but for the moment it is capitally 

 horrific. There are many people who never saw 

 one of those big owls, or heard one either, and 

 we will therefore lor their benefit saj', he is a 

 large bird with a huge head, a profusion of rusty 

 leathers, a round gray eye, that seems to look 

 everlastingly ahead and right throitgh any thing 

 that is before it, has very lormidahle talons, and, 

 in a word, is the king of all things that fly in Ihe 

 dark. He is carnivorous in his appetnes, and 

 walks iiilo young rabbiis, pariridL^es, and that 

 kind of fry, wiih remarkable unction, lie does 

 not make friends of many lit'ing things, which 

 probably arises from his habits of midnight as- 

 Baseinaiion, and skulking when the rest of the 

 world is in motion. He moves like a shadow, 

 not making the least noise in his flight, and he is, 

 upon the whole, a most excellent pattern for a 

 cut-ihroit. Yet, with all his a(Jvania(res of size, 

 position and profession, he is not sulicred lo be 

 the sole marauder upon the great common of the 

 poultry yard, lor he has an enemy ol a most 

 determined and implacable character. The enemy 

 is not, as might be supposed, armeii with weafjons 

 of war equal to himself, nor with the same awlul 

 voice, nor even with the same fierceness ol eye^ 

 yet he makes up wiih combination and vigilance 

 what he wants in sirength, and just let an owl 

 show hiinsell' in the light o( the sun, and (onh- 

 wnh a legion of crows will be upon hin), making 

 such a clatier about his ears that he will find the 

 very day hideous, and ignominiously fly belore ilie 

 ((lack regiments ihat are charging upon him. And 

 this brings us to our story. 



A faraier living in this county, has been so ex- 

 ceedingly annoyed with crows that he was willing 

 to hunt them by militia companies — to ofl'er re- 

 wards (or their heads, to poison them, or to kill 

 them o(l by a legislative tax. Year by year was 

 he molested by these depredators, which would tear 

 up hiscorn by tlie acre, pick out the eyes of his 

 Vol. IX. -22 



lambs, fly o(f with his young chickens, and annoy 

 him in every conceivable way. It was in vain 

 that he took Ins tJiun u[)on his shoulder and went 

 in pnrsuii, no camion ihal he could devise would 

 bring him in shooting iHslance. The rascals 

 would caw at him, and caw at him, and sniA^ 

 to see how he "larded the lean earth,'' as no 

 walked along of a hot day, vainly (()llovving on 

 their provoking ban'ers. Neither he nor his 

 man of straw in the field was the least terror to 

 the evildoers, and they plundered with perfect 

 impunity. Our l*>anklin larmer _meditated long 

 and deeply upon the manner in which he should 

 redress his wrongs, and like a true philosopher, he 

 sat himself diligently to the study of the nature of 

 crows. He soon (bund out all their sysiem of 

 sentinels, their notes of alarm, their sounds of 

 encouragement, &c., but (rom these he could gain 

 no knowledge that would avail him. 



While, however, he was one day watching a 

 large flock, his attention was arrested by an un- 

 usual commotion among the black scoundrels, and 

 Ibrthwith they all darted in one direction. He be- 

 held in his surprise a simultaneous attack upon a 

 large owl which had imprudently ventured forth 

 into the light, and such another battle he never did 

 see, until at last the owl, like himseli; was lairly 

 vanquished by the crows, and made a precipitate 

 retreat. Our (armer was too interested a specta- 

 tor of the combat not to reflect much upon its 

 character and result, and all at once it occurred 

 10 him, that, if by any means he could get posses- 

 sion of an owl, he could make him decoy the 

 crows within a reasonable distance. Luckily for 

 him, he was soon enabled, by a successlul shot, 

 to break the wing of one oi" the largest of the 

 tribe, and he lost no time in i)utting his scheme in 

 operation. 



Accordingly, at early dawn he sallied forth with 

 dire intent, and surchargeil wii^ the spirit of ex- 

 termination and venom. He selected a tree near 

 10 his lence, but cons()icuous in ihe field. A lad 

 was sent up the tre to put the owl upon his 

 perch and (he (firmer ensconced himself in !ha 

 corner of one of the jtanels. Scarcely wore these 

 things completed, belore a distant and well known 

 caw broke upon his ear, and anon the air was 

 darkened with a flig'.it of crows, all making, like 

 ihe Cuirassiers upon the Scotch Grays, a turioua 

 onslaught upon the wounded enemy. "Ha, ha, 

 cried the farmer; I've got you at last !" and bang 

 went his gun, and down tumbled a couple of 

 crows. But the fire of the <iuij had no eflfect 

 upon thi". rest. They still ccminued in furious 

 .age to fly at 'he owl, and ever and anon the 

 larmer would fire away, and at every crack he 

 brought 'em. Faith but it was a goodly eight 

 to see how soon the owl get imo the hang of' 

 Ihe game. For. at each dreary pause, while the 

 larmer was reloading— the sagacious captive 

 would ruffle his feathers and sna[) his bills toge- 

 ther, and maniliist to his enemies the most airgra- 

 vaiiiig and insulting behavior. This would ex- 

 asperate them beyond bounds, and at him they 

 would come again-^bang would go the gun, and 

 at every crack the owl lairly chuckled with delight, 

 ifiving one of those knowing winks, which was 

 as much aa to say "don't we nick 'em." The 

 slaughter was continued until the larmer desisted, 

 li-om mere weariness. He then went home like 

 a conqueror with his heaps of elain, and gave hia 



