10 lizGIin OLS s AUDUBON ABU Agi 
try within his accustomed range—and his naturally social disposition 
(did you ever see them dance?) leads him to “make himself rather 
too plenty in and around the house.” 
But he is a “great bird” and certainly the most efficient insect 
destroyer | know—a desideratum. He will unearth cut worms, pick 
up the curlicues when shaken on canvas—in fact our roses nearly all 
escaped the harmful touch of this insect during the past season—and 
to the crane I give most of the credit. The boys have just told me 
that in budding some small seedling apples today that they had dis- 
covered some colonies of canker worms, and that the crane ate them 
all in short order, and started off to search for more “on his own 
hook.” But I will tell you what I most fear in this bird—the eyes of 
children. One poke of his sword-like beak might destroy an eye. In- 
deed I have heard of such an accident happening in the South. The 
Indians were in the habit of domesticating them, and upon the whole 
I do not consider them to be more dangerous than tamed deer—they 
are only cross when frequently irritated. (Vol. 9, p. 279). 
It is possible that Dr. Kennicott knew about the Indians and the 
Sandhill Cranes from his personal recollection since he lived in Louisiana 
at a time when the Creeks, Choctows and other tribes still occupied their 
ancestral villages in the southern United States. John Kennicott’s articles 
were republished in several western newspapers, which were always on 
the lookout for unusual occurrences. (Pers. comm., Donald Zochert). 
A few years later, in 1854, Robert Kennicott wrote to his friend 
and scientific mentar, Spencer F. Baird, assistant secretary of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, one of whose specialties was ornithology. After telling 
about the habits of the great flocks of wild Whooping and Sandhill cranes 
that nested in the sloughs and swamps of the prairie, he described his ex- 
periences with domesticated cranes, one of which was certainly the bird 
about which John Kennicott had written: 
I have had several tame cranes (and a number of younger ones 
which I could not raise.) One I kept for several years. He was very 
intelligent and followed me like a dog. Whenever he saw anyone hoe- 
ing or digging he ran to them to get insects they might uncover. He 
was very fond of mice and snakes which he swallowed whole. He had 
a habit of picking up bits of string or straw and rubbed them over its 
back. (What was that for?) In roosting he placed the whole length 
of the tarsus on the ground and let his body down flat then turning 
his long neck, laid his head on his shoulders. He often lay some in 
the sun in the daytime. We got him to dance by waving up and 
down a handkerchief. He would go to the close (clothes) line when 
the wind was blowing and balance to the flapping of a shirt occasion- 
ally giving a loud “Karrouck.” When angry his note was different. 
... Well! (If) Ihave bored you with a long story which you already 
