HE;0RECHnrSUin5AY " JOURNAL, ' rOinXAND," SUNDAY. MORNING, MAUClI 8
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. Jingle.
, ' By Joel Stacy.. v
There once was a knowing raccoon
Who didn't-believe In tho moon.
"Every month don't you see f
' "There's a new one." said he. '
"No real moon could wear out so soon!'
' . r .7, TIIREK LITTLE RULES,, : ' v
Three little rules we all should keev
To malts life happy- and bright -Vi
Smile in the morning; smile at Boon; , .' .
t And keep on jHnJHng at .night!. . ; ,
. ' . Stella. George Stera.
fffi- PIGEONS OF PEKING Alfred D? Sheffield
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"JiL" CJu'ni's? hate made pigeon-flying the
rfemyi, f. Camo that if Is because they
ill any kind of "playing tor- keeps."
Ev.'n 4 i.i kite-flying, they fix little hooks
.')-' - "if'r kite-strings and try to pull in
.. leach o(b'.r' kites, and count it fair to keep any kite
' Uhat drop Into (h :.lr yards. They will tell you that
a kite or a Etrang pigeon that comes to your place,
it given up, takes away your "family luck." So you
'must tear the kite and keep 'the pigeon. But when
you seo the town dandles sauntering out wilh their
ifans and bird-cages to watch the noon kite-flying,
criticising the flocks nod their tactics, and arguing
the fine points of decoying, you guess that "family
luck" has tcry little to do with their game.
. To decoy sfange 'pigeons, pigeon-keepers must
first train their flocks to "fly In spirals" that is, to
rise steadily In circles without straying far from the
home roof. Pigeons naturally fly together In circles.
Even wild pigeons wheel about in flocks before strag
gling oil to the fields. Chineea,jnake their birds
i.-.-f . for circling by keeping them shut up In a
Yrifjtfcr house built on the ground around the dove
'. cote; and they cure their birds of straggling by pelt
ing them, with pebbles when they try to alight any
;trher except on one spot the ridge-pole of the roof
faring their wicker house. The 'flock must alight here
la a.' bunch, and Immediately walk down to the
eaves. This is done to bring any strange pigeon
aaong teem down within sight of the grain, which
is then scattered on the floor of the wicker house.
Pigeons are fed only after .flying, for unless hungry
they are lazy and unmanageable.
In Peking, flocks are sent up at sunrise, at noon,
and just before sundown. Neighboring flocks always
foin and their keepers .then try each to draw apart
Lis Cock with call-birds, so as to bring with It any
unwary pigeons from the other flocks. If a stranger
is brought to the roof, tho keeper coaxes it down with
his own birds by throwing millet Into the wicker
cage.
No one ever demands back a pigeon (lost in this
tray. Two friends will sometimes "play live pigeon."
that .to, five back each other's birds that may be
captured from tho flotk during the game; but the
rule ia to "play dead pigeon," or, as boys say, "for
keeps." '.'
TIIC CAPTURE AND RECAPTURE OF "MU WHA
. , "' , fOLV
t Every morning, when the crows were all back from
the cemetery pines, and the sun rose upon the polished
liouGetops that stretched unbrokenly for miles to the
Ifuet-black city walls, "Little American" had watched
"smalf clouds of white-winged pigeons circling high
overhead so high, sometimes, that he would not
have found them but for the faint singing of the reed
"whistles at heir tails.
Mu Wha Tou was one of Little American's first ten
i'geons, , They were all tientses white with black
tails, and each with a black spot like a watermelon
Seed Oq. Us forehead. On all of them, as high-bred
jvigeons must have it, the white and black met in
regular lines (without a straggling black feather
among ,the white or a white among the black), ex
rept.on Mu Wha Tou, whose name, meaning "She
p i'ctTc-1iE3ad "was given her for some rings uf Mack
ca ller neck. These rings, which grew out myste
riously, some weeks after Little American had bought
tier,' Very much cheapened her in the eyes of LI Loo,
tho old- gatekeeper, who had charge of the flock, and
svhb'.' -taught Little American the secrets of pfgeon
fceeplng. But the rings caused no loss of caste with
the other pigeons or with Little American, and be
'was. sorely .-grieved when on her very first flight
Ehe was decoyed into captivity, by his sly old neigh
bor Kao Chun.
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:;ov:, dollv; IT'S time tou begaH to talk.
T'VH SEEN A WAS. DOLL NO OLDKRTHak vnrr ,
A n FHE SLIY8 'PAFA- AND 'MAMA.' EVEN
;(CAN EriiAK, .VW A LUAltf OF SUGAE."
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Li LOO, STEPPING TP NOISELESSLY AS A CAT,
The enemie8.of the pigeons arts three the weasnl,
the hawk, and the cat. Of these the weasel is dead
liest, for Jt can work Into a pigeon-house by tho
merest crack, and its rule Is to kill all. The hawk
i3 a gallant robber, for he takes but one, and that
by fair strategy in the open sky.
The slyest enemies of the pigeons, however, and
those they most dread, are the cats. They will spring
into a pigeons-house at sundown, when the pigoons
have gone to their cells to be shut in for the night.
When this happens the flock is stampeded and num
bers are lost, for pigeons are blind in the dark, and
cannot be called down.
So when, one dark night, several months after the
flight of Mu Wha Tou, Little American was wakened
by tho sudden acreech of a pigeon-whistle passing
overhead in the darkness, and saw from his window
a red glow over Kao Chun's roof, he knew that some
est had scared out hia rival's flock at roosting-time,
and that Kao Chun was trying the "fire decoy"
burning corn-stalks soaked in oil to draw down his
panic-stricken birds. He kn'ew, too, that after a night
flying, Mu Wha Tou might be tempted to alight with
his flock again. .
The rule is that after three algntlngs a strange
pigeon will never be drawn down again, and Mu
Wha Tou had twice been brought to roof by .Little
American's pigeons without being taken. The first
time nhe had followed them to' the' eaves, and had
just poked over her head and drooped her wings to
join tho birds feeding in the wicker cage, when pne
of Kao Chun's call-birds, cleverly thrown over the
house, etartled her up and led her to its home. The
second time she alighted wa3 by a misleading flurry
at the splitting of the two flocks. .This time she
knew her niiptake, and could not be coaxed from the
ridge-pole. .'jjri A v
But there was now a chance that by morning she
would be scared and hungry enough to alight on the
ground if she saw pigeons feeding in the open court
in front of the wicker house speclally if she saw
red corn; for sorghum-fed pigeons are giattonous
after red porn. ' "v . r
At daylight Little American saw by the waving
trees that it, was a morning pf west wind. The yel
iow edge or a great dust-cloud was moving np the,
sky, threatening a day of closed windows and lamp-
"ni - Aireaay me copper SKy was njtly for flvtnr
Little
American's flock struggled up in slantiur lir.
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clea.whlrllng high Into the air when It stemmed the .
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NADDED HER FROM THE GROUND.
wind,
turn.
nnd dipping to the very housetops on the
The whistles sounded out only at the dipping, be
cause in the teeth of the wind they bcame choked;
but they sounded enough to call back some of .Kao
Chun's stragglers, which could be see'n rising and
falling in the storm, as they cut their way toward
the flock. Little American would not stop for these,
and chased his flock back from the roof again and
again, until he saw, as they mounted from a long
sweep behind the great temple, that a new tientse
was among his birds, one with the long wings and
spotted neck of Mu Wha Tou.
LI Loo knew her at once. He had climbed the
wall to watch for her, and now ran for the corn
bag, shouting to Little American to hold back the
call-birds until the flock should careen directlv over
the brick -paved yard by the pigeon-house. On they
came, laboring ovter the housetops, keeping together
in perfect order, but whipping their half-shut wings
unwillingly, and turning down their hungry little
eyes as they drew close overhead. This was the
moment. Little American chased out the call-birds
just as Li Loo threw a handful of big red kernels
dancing upon the pavement. The greedy call-birds
flung themselves upon it, and the flock, Mu Wha Tou
and all, dropped straight between the houses to the
ground. Mu Wha Tou stood a-tiptoe as she touched
ground, as if scared to find herself there, and ready
to spring into the air at a movement. No one moved,
however, so she began warily to snatch up the kernels
within ( reach.
Li Loo held his hands together without stirring, and
Little American, now saw some new-fledged squabs
poking out their heads from his big sleeves. He kept
his eyes on a little heap of corn, around which ha
had scattered the handful which the flock were eat
ing. The birds, quickly pecking up every stray corn, now
began to draw Into a close circle around this little
pile, Mu Wha Tou even forgetting to look up at LI
Loo, who quietly set the young pigeons loose upon the
ground. Seeing the corn, the eager squabs ran squeal
ing and 'shaking' their wings among the other birds.
Then Little American saw what waa to h
Squabs lways spread their wings when they squeal
to toe fed. Even when they can nick tin for thfim-
'selves, they begin by squealing and fanning at tho
other pigeons. So these squabs pushed among the
unneeomg leeaers, ciujnsny Bnaning their Billy fans
over their heads. In a moment Mu Wha Tou was
"hooded" between two of them, and as If blindfolded;
whereupon Li - Loo, stepping up behind the three,
noiselessly as a cat, nabbed her from the ground.
Little American was eo happy at the "babv-Die-eon
trick" that he gave Mu Wha Tou as a present to Li
Loo, who clipped "out her speckled feathers, and
glued in proper white feathers so neatly that no one
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the" black feathers grew out again. ' - " "
I
di cti DEER ON SNOWSHOES d
... ' - '- BJ WILLIAM J. LONG" - - . '- .
The title sounds queer, I know; but if you ever
have the chance to examine a caribou's feet you will
see what Is meant 4a a moment In the first place,
tho hoof Is very large, ,and ti'e: cleft between the
halves very deep, so that the feet spread widely
when the caribou's weight Is on them. Tho hoof of
a large bull that I saw once on the Renous Barrens
measured five and one-half inches across; and when
(with far less force-than the caribou's weight would
have exercised) I pulled apart the halves, the spread
was nearly ten'inches.
Beslds this, the carlbou'9 ankle-joint Is exceeding
ly flexible, so that the large,, dew-claws, which are
five or six inches above the hoof and behind, bend
down easily and rest on the snow, spreading like the
hoofs when they touch. This gives to the caribou
a broad supporting surface on which to travel very
much wider than that cf his great cousin, the moose.
The "Soap-Babblers'" First Reception
By MEREDITH NUGENT
HE "Soap-Bubblers'" reception was a suc
cess from the start.
The Soap-Bubblers but recently or
ganized, with Phil Thompson as Head
Oubbler. Harry Baker as Chief Cornucopia,
the minor Bubblers occupying minor odd-titled pogl
tions, as well as Bubblers occupying no positions at
all had resolved that the ancient and honorablo
amusement of blowing soap-bubbles was sadly in need
of, reformation; and, further, that it was their mis
sion to cform it.
Thus it came to pass that on this late blustery
winter evening the Interior of Masonic Hall presented
such a scene of brilliancy as had rarely been equaled
within Its historic wall3.
The magician's wand had hardly fallen when there
arose forty-seven large bubbles from, forty-seven
golden cornucopias, held in the hands of forty-seven
rosy-cheeked boys and girls standing by twenty-four
little oblong tables. A cry of delight swept round
the hall, and forty-seven more bubbles arose, and
still another shower of the iridescent spheres glit
tered in the'surroundlng brilliancy before the Bub
blers settled down to the business of the Evening.
For this occasion every member had promised to
perform at least one bubble trick, and lo perform it
well. Eddie Stark showed a top spinning within a
bubble, and Minnie Sargent seated opposite a beau
tiful rose within another. Freddie Wilder did fully
as well at the table allotted to him, while "Little Vic
tor" cleverly dropped all sorts of objects through
some beautiful bubbles blown by Frank Burt.
Then Phil, the Head Bubbler, stepped on the plat
form and was uproariously greeted. . He announced
he would show the Bubblers how to make large bub
bles without blowing them!
, Ti,ir-.u v '-yy
FIRST KITTEN EVER INSIDE
Tne -pandemonium increased when six Bubblers,
with Harry Baker leading, formed in procession, and
walked on to the platform, carrying , between them
two large galvanlzed-lron pans (each measuring nine
feet in circumference), five children's wooden hoops,
a number of copper and "brass rings, two shining
palls full of soap and water already mixed, and
think of It! not a pipe, tube, or cornucopia of any
'kind!'- -'-- ;
After a few words explanatory of the evolution of
the soap-bubble from the clay-pipe stage to its pres
ent one, Phil dipped a wire ring into the solution, and,
gently sweeping it before him, cast oft a bubble fully
twice the bIzo of fats' head. Every Bubbler boy gave
a cry of satisfaction at this, and it looked as though
all the Bubblers might fling their golden cornucopias
on to the stage, wthen the master of the soap and
water tossed oft five large bubbles in succession, not
only from the same ring, but from the same film!
Almost immediately Phil's assistants there were
five of them followed his example, and from that
time on the stage was continually "aglow with the
brilliant spheres. . . v
Harry Baker now came forward" with the club's
two kittens, and set them n a dry block of wood
resting In the centre of one of the large nine-foot ,v
pans-rhow filled with soapy water, - Before the ani-
It is Indeed a kind of natural snowshoe, not unlike)
that which grows on the grouse's foot every winter:
to;heli him ovfer the snow, v "'"'' ' T ; '
The result of this, wise provision on the part of
nature Is to give the caribou an enormous advantage;
over me rest or nis iamuy. wane aeer ana moot
are half prisoners in their yards, unable" to leave tha
paths which they have made in the snow, the caribou
wanders where he will, kept from sinking too deep
by his widespreading snowshoes. -
There is another curious thing about a caribou's
hoofs. The edges, In winter, are sharp and convex,1
like a bell's rim, so that he can travel on the Ice with
out 'slipping. He likes this kind of traveling, and 1
often seen trotting far out on the northern lakes, tm
pure fun apparently, for there is nothing to eat on the
Ice, and he drinks no water in winter, contenting him
self 'with, a little snow when he la thirsty.
m
mals could move, Phil quickly lifted a hoop from the)
pan, and in a twinkling covered both kittens over
with a glorious bubble. "First kittens ever Inside of
a soap-bubble!" Harry Baker announced, just as the)
little kits started to v:de about within the iridescent,
dome. Phil sphered them over a second and even a third,
time,, when the pussies, excited by their uproariou
surroundings, offered decided objections to being imx
prisoned any more. Then Bubblers and audience were
treated to an exhibition of what were perhaps the
largest bubbles that have ever been made. Harry
Baker was especially fortunate, and, at the end of
a very exciting contest with Phil, succeeded in spher
ing the pan oyer from brim to brim! Realiie, if you
please, that this bubble measured over nine feet in,
clrcumfererice! ( '
Phil now turned his attention to the hoops and
rings again, and drew forth storms of applause by
Borne wonderful "film tricks." One in particular,
the giant letter S, was especially brilliant. It looked
like a serpentine tongue of flame, and the manner in
which Phil whirled the flashing light above his head
fairly thrilled the audience.
"Leroy Kimball!" now shouted out Harry Baker,
"Leroy Kimball!" And a minute later there walked ,
on to the stage the youngest, shortest, and Jolliest
Bubbler in the club. Everybody knew Roy, and as)
the little fellow blushingly stepped on to the square
block of wood set fast in the middle of the big pan,
he was greeted with loud cheers and cries of "What
are you going to do there, Roy?"
, Phil promptly began to answer this volley of ques
tions by lowering a hoop over the little Bubbler until
it lay Immersed in the pan of soap mixture. "Oh!"
cried the Bubblers in unison, "Phil's going to put
Roy In a soap-bubble!" And the excited audience
OF A SOAP BUBBLE.
, rose to their tiptoes.
Amid a profound silence Phil started to lift thai
hoop; but after raising It a short distance, the flimi
broke with a peculiar noise, sounding like "w-h-e-e-p."j
"W-h-e-ep" went the film again, "w-h-e-e-pj
w-h-e-ep." , '
Suddenly there was a swish, a flashing gleam ofi
silvery light, and Leroy Kimball, the jolliest of the
Bubblers, looked smilingly upon the. audience fromj
within a soap-film house! . "
A FIGURATIVE TALE,
, By Grace Fraser. '
Once an Elfin, 1-drous "cute,
, Came un-2 my cottage door;
There he jplayed wi-3-d and lute.
As no elf had played be4. ' .
"If-5 pleased thee, lady fair.
Speak," said he.
"thy mu-6 grand!
' - " Ni-7-ts like this are rare'
- Thusr as with 8-ender hand ,
On the youth be-9, I spoke".
( ; - l loh, o-y fate!)-awoket V-
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i - Copyright, bv Century Ccb