The Marion Daily Mirror

HISTORY FOR BOYS
The Life and Story of a Gay Old Owl.

HOOTED HIMSELF TO DEATH.

Farmer Who Tired of the Noise Bided His Time, and the Bird While Skirmishing For Food Fell and Hooted Never Again.

By M. QUAD.

[Copyright, 1910, by Associated Literary Press.]

An owl had his nest in a tree.
And a happy old codger was he.
His plumage was gray,
And sly was his way.
And his wife she was cheery to see.

The gray or woods owl is to be found all over North America, and yet there are tens of thousands of people who never saw or heard the hoot of one. One must go to the country to find him, and though now and then his hoot may be heard at night, it is a rare thing to catch sight of him by day. He was created for night work. While other birds sleep he is flying about in search of prey. By day, unless the weather is very cloudy, he is as helpless as if born without eyes. At night he can see farther and hear better than any other bird or animal that lives. If man had the sight of an owl at night he would have no need of gas or electricity. The finest print could be read anywhere at midnight.

This owl had a habit 'twas queer,
And his wife she protested until
She saw 'twas in vain
To say it again
And get a new peck from his bill.

Naturalists have asked each other the question, "Why does an owl hoot at night?" but none of them can find a sensible answer. As long as night is the time when he searches for his food, why make a noise and drive him away? Every bird on its perch hears that hoot to realize the danger. So do the rabbits and field mice and frogs. An owl may hoot to call his mate, but why should he call when he knows she can find her way back to the nest without trouble? The lion roars as night comes on, but that is to tell all other animals that he is big Injun and that he can hunt them out, no matter where they flee, but an owl hasn't that vanity. A French naturalist says that it is because he is in love with his own voice, the same as most public speakers, and we may let it go at that.

He'd a voice like a horn in a fog,
And he'd bellow away like a frog.
He'd hoot half the night
And give folks a fright
And keep the old farmer agog.

On a still night an owl's hoot can be heard two miles. If a man had a voice in comparison he could speak to another twenty-five miles distant and cut down the profits of the telephone companies. The owl has no songs. When he gets ready to hoot he just gets a good brace with his feet, throws his head back and lets her go and hangs on to the "o-o-o-o-o" as long as possible. The appetite of the owl has a wide range. He preys on every sort of bird, rats, rabbits, mice, chickens, grubs, frogs, fish, crabs, birds' and hens' eggs. He can't break into a bon-

coop like a fox or coon, but woe to the hen that's left outside after sun-down. He has been known to carry off a rooster weighing five pounds.

However, let's get back to the hoot:

"Your hoot it will give you away,"
His wife she often would say.
"They will come with a gun,
And you will be done,
And you won't be hooting so gay."

It was very sensible advice the old lady gave him, but like many another husband he thought he knew it all and couldn't be told anything. He didn't seem to realize nor care that every time his hoot was heard Uncle Reuben would sit up in bed and exclaim to his wife: "By gosh, but that old hooter is around after more chickens: I'm a-going to blow his old head off if it takes my last cent for powder!"

"I will hoot till they hear me a mile.
I will hoot the long night to beguile.
I'm the bird with a hoot
And another to boot,
And I see but a hunter to smile."

The only wild animal that preys on the owl is the fox, and he seldom finds the old bird on the ground and off his guard. When he does and the owl has a chance, there is sure to be a good fight. A Canadian naturalist saw a fight between an owl and a fox in which reynard was so used up that he backed out and was captured by the man. He had lost one eye and received a dozen bad wounds. In the New York zoo a few years ago an owl struck the hand of an attendant with such force as to drive his bill clear through the palm. The old bird can never be tamed, and a young one brought up in captivity is no good anyhow. All he will do is to sit and look wise when there is nothing to be wise about. The ancients accepted the owl as an emblem of wisdom, but he has less brains than a gosling.

So his hooting went on as before,
And he whooped up the country galore,
Ih-o-o-o, hoot-hoot w-h-o-o!
As he rested or flew,
And then he just hooted some more.

The nest of the owl is usually far up a tree and well hidden. The squirrel alone might prey on the eggs, but both owls never leave the tree at the same time. If Mr. Squirrel should appear it would be a whack on the head that would penetrate his skull. If not disturbed the birds will use the same tree for many years.

One night as he went for a hen
On the fence he alighted, and then,
To show he was game,
He whooped up the same
And hooted defiance at men.

He looked around him after hooting, but there was no old hen in sight—nothing but a gander that had been wandering about and doing some thinking. He was too big to tackle and too tough to eat even if he dropped dead of heart disease. The owl must go elsewhere for his dinner, and he shook himself, fluttered his wings and hooted out:

"Oh, where is that Reuben so bold
Who has threatened my life, I am told?
He dare not appear,
For me he doth fear.
H-o-o-o-hoot, but the evening is cold!"

Game old bird, but Uncle Reuben had been laying for him for many long nights, and this was to be the last of the drama. Too bad, too, because Mrs. Owl and two little fellows were waiting at home for a feast, and they would never see him more.

Yes, the farmer was there on the spot,
And his gun was loaded with shot.
He took a long aim,
And down owly came,
And any more hoots there were not.