Whiskey John in Colorado 



187 



aspect, and will steal anything in sight they can possibly pack off. One 

 once carried away an "Out-o' -sight" mouse-trap with a dead mouse in it — I 

 presume he ate the mouse, but he forgot to bring back the trap. Around 

 a camp or cabin they will become so tame as to eat from one's hand, and 



WHISKEY JOHN PROSPECTING 



pay regular visits to mines to feed on the refuse thrown out from the board- 

 ing houses. It is amusing to watch one pick up a mouthful or two and 

 swallow it, then take as much into its bill as it possibly can, look sidewise 

 at you with an expression that seems to say, "What are you going to do 

 about it?" then fly away with its load. I am sure birds must hide a great 

 deal of what they carry away, for they soon come back for more, and it 

 does not seem as if they could possibly eat it all. 



A friend is living with his wife at a mine in the heavy timber, and the 

 birds are quite numerous, and several are very tame. I took a number of 

 pictures of the bird taking bread from my friend's hand; and others were 

 taken by setting the camera on the ground, sprinkling crumbs at the desired 

 spot and inducing the bird to come there. But do not think for a minute 

 that, because the birds are so tame, it is easy to get good pictures of 

 them. You see your bird in a tree, throw out a few crumbs as an induce- 

 ment to him to come down; he hops onto another limb closer to you, then 

 to the roof of the house, perhaps, then to the ground, cocks his head to 

 one side and takes a look at you, hops about and picks up a crumb or two 

 but is perhaps too far back for a picture; then two or three hops bring him 

 up right close to the camera, for which he cares nothing, then off again in 



