GATHERED BY THE WAY 
From my boyhood I have seen the yearly meet- 
ing of the crows in September or October, on a high 
grassy hill or a wooded ridge. Apparently, all the 
crows from a large area assemble at these times; 
you may see them coming, singly or in loose bands, 
from all directions to the rendezvous, till there are 
hundreds of them together. They make black an 
acre or two of ground. At intervals they all rise in 
the air, and wheel about, all cawing at once. Then 
to the ground again, or to the tree-tops, as the case 
may be; then, rising again, they send forth the 
voice of the multitude. What does it all mean? I 
notice that this rally is always preliminary to their 
going into winter quarters. It would be interesting 
to know just the nature of the communication that 
takes place between them. Not long afterwards, 
or early in October, they may be seen morning 
and evening going to and from their rookeries. 
The matter seems to be settled in these September 
gatherings of the clan. Was the spot agreed upon 
beforehand and notice served upon all the members 
of the tribe? Our “school-of-the-woods” professors 
would probably infer something of the kind. I sus- 
pect it is all brought about as naturally as any other 
aggregation of animals. A few crows meet on the 
hill; they attract others and still others. The rising 
of a body of them in the air, the circling and caw- 
ing, may be an instinctive act to advertise the meet- 
ring to all the crows within sight or hearing. At any 
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