RECREATION. 



Volume XXI. 



JULY, 1904 

 G. 0. SHIELDS (COQUINA), Editor and Manager 



Number 1 



A QUESTION OF IDENTIFICATION. 



LOUIS T. MCKIM. 



Jack stood on one leg in about 2 

 inches of warm water which covered 

 the bottom of the tub. It was the 

 only damp spot on the premises, 

 and the day was sultry. He in- 

 tended to sleep there until the horses 

 came home from work and then he 

 could take a fresh water bath after 

 they had finished drinking. He slept 

 quite undisturbed, for the children 

 found it too hot to play with him and 

 the pig, lacking the energy necessary 

 for a spirited fight, had been van- 

 quished by a few sturdy blows and 

 now lay on the shady side of the tub 

 grunting lazily. The afternoon wore 

 slowly away with no change any- 

 where, except as Jack changed feet or 

 his companion turned from one side 

 to the other. 



Jack was a 5-year-old sandhill 

 crane, and was the pet of the family. 

 He had been captured when a wee, 

 fuzzy fellow. After a few days he 

 had been contented to cast in his lot 

 with the hens and ducks and had never 

 shown any inclination to change. 

 When a year old his owner, John 

 Knolton, had cruelly suspected him, 

 and had clipped his wings. John was, 

 however, thoroughly ashamed of his 

 lack of confidence, and never again re- 

 peated the operation. When any of 

 Jack's friends flew by he would 

 stretch his long neck and utter a few 

 calls. On several occasions he had 

 even visited them as they lit on the 

 surrounding fields ; but farther than 

 this he never seemed to show any in- 



terest in wild life. He was good 

 company to John Knolton in the fields 

 as he followed the plow or harrow and 

 picked bugs from the freshly turned 

 earth. The children loved Jack, and 

 he pecked them all quite impartially 

 and ran away from them when he 

 grew tired. Even Mrs. Knolton her- 

 self, busy with her work, liked to see 

 him about the yard, and though she 

 threatened him direfully when he 

 walked across her clean floors with 

 muddy feet, she forgot it all when he 

 went with her after the cows. 



Mr. Knolton at last came home, and 

 Jack got out of the barrel, flopped his 

 wings, struck a blow or 2 at the pig, 

 and stuck his head into the cool fresh 

 water as it fell from the pail. 



"Well, Jack," said his master, "I 

 saw lots of big fellows like you to- 

 day. If I had had my gun we should 

 have crane for supper." 



Jack was busy with his toilet, and 

 paid no attention to this bloodthirsty 

 remark. 



"I say, Jack, old fellow," went on 

 Knolton, hitting Jack a friendly slap 

 on the head. "Do you hear that, you 

 rascal? Crane for supper, Jack." 



Jack paid not the least heed but in- 

 terrupted his bath to catch a grass- 

 hopper and then went on with his 

 work as if crane 3 times a day did 

 not affect him. His master put away 

 his team and went in to tea. 



At the supper table Mr. Knolton 

 told of the great number of cranes 

 about, and the bacon seemed twice as 



