Crows 261 



ward, when a shot startled me and the crow fell 

 dead. I was about sixty rods away, but the crows 

 did not heed me in the least. Something which an 

 old hunter told me some years ago about shooting 

 crows from "a blind" now passed through my mind, 

 and I looked for a blind by the fence, near the 

 bird on the post. All that I could make out, 

 from where I was standing, was a heap of what 

 appeared to be cornstalks among the bushes. I 

 was thoroughly interested in the scene before me, 

 and seating myself upon a large stone, I took out my 

 field-glass and began a most careful study of the 

 situation. Just then two crows made a dive for the 

 owl, and one of them was shot. It was now all clear 

 to me, and I waited an hour for the " wing-hunter" 

 to come from his place of concealment. When he 

 did, I made his acquaintance, and soon he was telling 

 me "all" about crows and their wonderful intelli- 

 gence. The morning had netted him six crows, the 

 wings of which he disposed of to a New York firm 

 at fifty cents a pair, to be used later in the decoration 

 of hats for women. 



The bird on the post proved to be a mounted great 

 horned owl, and the heap of cornstalks covered the 

 framework of a "blind." With the consent of the 

 owner, I soon began my own study of crows from this 



