CAROLINA PARROT. 385 



it ; but I persisted in bringing it along. When at night I 

 encamped in the woods I placed it on the baggage beside me, 

 where it usually sat with great composure, dozing, and gazing 

 at the fire till morning. In this manner I carried it upwards 

 of a thousand miles in my pocket, where it was exposed all 

 day to the jolting of the horse, but regularly liberated at 

 meal times and in the evening, at which it always expressed 

 great satisfaction. In passing through the Chickasaw and 

 Chactaw nations, the Indians wherever I stopped to feed, 

 collected around me, men, women, and children, laughing, 

 and seeming wonderfully amused with the novelty of my 

 companion. The Ohickasaws called it in their language 

 " Kelinky ; " but when they heard me call it Poll, they soon 

 repeated the name ; and, wherever I chanced to stop among 

 these people, we soon became familiar with each other through 

 the medium of Poll. On arriving at Mr Dunbar's, below 

 Natchez, I procured a cage, and placed it under the piazza, 

 where by its call it soon attracted the passing flocks ; such is 

 the attachment they have for each other. Numerous parties 

 frequently alighted on the trees immediately above, keeping 

 up a constant conversation with the prisoner. One of these 

 I wounded slightly in the wing, and the pleasure Poll expressed 

 on meeting with this new companion was really amusing. 

 She crept close up to it as it hung on the side of the cage ; 

 chattered to it in a low tone of voice, as if sympathising in its 

 misfortune ; scratched about its head and neck with her 

 bill ; and both at night nestled as close as possible to each 

 other, sometimes Poll's head being thrust among the plumage 

 of the other. On the death of this companion, she appeared 

 restless and inconsolable for several days. On reaching New 

 Orleans, I placed a looking glass beside the place where she 

 usually sat, and the instant she perceived her image, all her 

 former fondness seemed to return, so that she could scarcely 

 absent herself from it a moment. It was evident that she 

 was completely deceived. Always when evening drew on, 



and often during the day, she laid her head close to that of 

 vol. 1. 2 b 



