-THE LOON. 



Vol. 1. FEBRUARY. 1889. No. 2. 



— A Tame Plover. — 

 By E. B. Webster, Cresco, la. 



In the early fall of 1886 while I was employed as fore- 

 man of a country printing office, a little urchin timidly 

 opened the door one morning and, edging in, asked where 

 Webster was and said he had a, bird for him, at the same 

 time pulling out from under his coat a Golden Plover in 

 a badly ruffled condition and if possible more frightened 

 than its captor. After I had paid him his price, he set 

 the bird down and made for the door, eyeing the machin- 

 ery meanwhile and, judging from the retreating footsteps, 

 evidently feeling greatly relieved. But to return to the 

 bird. He stood there in the center of the floor motion- 

 less as a sentinel and scarcely struggled when I picked him 

 up After carefully examining him and finding that he 

 was J eriectly sound, I set him down on the floor and re- 

 sumed my work. It appeared that the boys had sighted 

 him in a field and, as he was apparently only two-thirds 

 grown and not well acquainted with the use of his wings, 

 had literally run him down. That he was very shy and 

 could run with amazing swiftness was readily to be seen 



