The Coming of the Dawn 



tacit agreement that it was poultry- 

 wise, in that particular part of Dixie, 

 to have as many sentinels on duty as 

 possible through the dark time. May- 

 be the rivalry for the honor of heading 

 the various establishments in that 

 region was for some reason or other 

 especially keen. 



I was told by a lady, upon the occa- 

 sion of a visit to Belgium some years 

 ago, that the women who go to the 

 fairs or markets in Flanders to select 

 male birds for breeding purposes base 

 their choice wholly upon the relative 

 strength of lung power — ergo con- 

 stitution — as evidenced by the crow- 

 ing of the cocks in competition, the 

 birds with the most vociferous, long- 

 distance voices being universally 

 sought. Anyway, if you ever go to 

 Augusta and hear one long drawn-out 

 call in the far distance, answered first 

 by one and then by another bird until 

 about fourteen thousand join the 

 swelling chorus, the challenge passing 

 [71] 



