Silverspot 



Crows are, as you must know, our most in- 

 telligent birds — ' Wise as an old crow ' did 

 not become a saying without good reason. 

 Crows know the value of organization, and are 

 as well drilled as soldiers — very much better 

 than some soldiers, in fact, for crows are al- 

 ways on duty, always at war, and always de- 

 pendent on each other for life and safety. 

 Their leaders not only are the oldest and wisest 

 of the band, but also the strongest and bravest, 

 for they must be ready at any time with sheer 

 force to put down an upstart or a rebel. The 

 rank and file are the youngsters and the crows 

 without special gifts. 



Old Silverspot was the leader of a large band 

 of crows that made their headquarters near 

 Toronto, Canada, in Castle Frank, which is a 

 pine-clad hill on the northeast edge of the city. 

 This band numbered about two hundred, and 

 for reasons that I never understood did not in- 

 crease. In mild winters they stayed along the 

 Niagara River ; in cold winters they went much 

 farther south. But each year in the last week 

 of February Old Silverspot would muster his 

 followers and boldly cross the forty miles of 



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