CANNIBALS IN COURT
Dodo's birthday and a disappointment came together on the eighth, and
the disappointment took the shape of a rainy day. Not an early morning
shower, with promise of warmth and clear weather; for it was one of the
cold, northeasterly storms that are very trying at any time of the year,
but doubly so when they come in July, and seem, for the time, to turn
summer into autumn.
Dodo, Nat, Rap, and Olive stood under the shelter of the porch, the
children vainly hoping that it might clear up before nine o'clock--the
hour the train left--and Olive racking her brain for something that
would soothe their feelings. "We might ask mammy to let us go into the
kitchen and make candy," she said. "The weather is too damp and sticky
for molasses candy, but butter-scotch will harden if we put it in the
dairy." Even this did not seem to be very tempting to little people who
had expected to go to the real Owl woods, and Quick barked and yelped as
if he, too, felt cheated out of an expected excursion.
Presently the Doctor came out and saw the forlorn group, which, being
quite heedless of the sharp slant of the rain, was rather wet and limp.
"Poor little bird-hunters!" he said--rather too cheerfully, they
thought--"you look as unhappy as the party of astronomers who went all
the way to Africa to photograph an eclipse of the sun, and when the time
came were so excited that they forgot to open the camera, and so took no
pictures. Come into the hall and I will tell you about a plan I have.
Catching cold isn't a nice game for a birthday party.
"You expected to hear something about the cannibal birds to-day, and see
the woods where a great many of them live and make their nests, didn't
you?"
"Yes," said Dodo; "we wanted to know why they are cannibals, and see
where the wicked things live that eat little Chickens and song birds."
"Very well. Now do you know that though all Hawks and Owls sometimes eat
other birds and help themselves to poultry from the barnyards, yet at
the same time most of them are the farmer's best friends?"
"No," said Rap; "I thought they were all bad, evil birds, and that the
Government often gave money to people for killing them; besides, I am
sure that a Hawk took eleven of our little Chickens this very spring!"
"The Wise Men have been looking up the records of these cannibals--or
Birds of Prey, as they are usually called--and find that very few of
them--only two or three kinds, perhaps--should be condemned to death.
The others belong to the secret guild of the Wise Watchers who, sitting
silently in the shadows of the woods, or perching in the trees around
the edges of fields, wait for rats, mice, moles, rabbits, gophers,
beetles, cutworms, and many other creatures which destroy vegetable
life. The Wise Watchers kill these hurtful creatures, and so become the
guardians of the fields."
"Oh, do tell us which ones do this and which took Rap's Chickens," said
Dodo, forgetting her disappointment for the time.
"I am going to make a play for you. Some of the Owls and Hawks shall
speak for themselves, and tell you about their own habits and customs.
In fact, the most familiar of these cannibals shall have a hearing this
morning in the wonder room. The American Eagle is to be the judge, and I
think that, as you cannot go to the woods, you will like to come into my
room to hear what they have to say."
"Birds talking about themselves in the wonder room!" said Dodo in a
puzzled way.
"What is a hearing?" asked Nat.
"I know what a hearing is," said Rap. "It is where people are accused of
doing something wrong and they go down to the courthouse, and the judge
hears what they have to say about it; and, if he thinks they have done
the things, he binds them over for trial. They often have hearings down
in the town hall in the East Village."
"You are quite right, my boy; and at this hearing of ours, as the birds
are stuffed and cannot speak, I shall speak for them. Even if they could
talk, we could not understand them, unless we borrowed Tommy-Anne's
magic spectacles. Now, if you will come into the study, you will find
them all ready."
The children did not wait to be asked twice; Nat and Dodo rushed along
the hall, followed by Rap.
In the study two tables were put together, making a sort of platform at
the end of the room. On this platform a dozen stuffed birds sat in
solemn silence. The Owls were on one side, with a row of Hawks facing
them on the other. A big Golden Eagle was at the foot, and a
White-headed American Eagle held the place of honor at the head, on a
pile of books. Each bird was mounted on a wooden perch; and, as they
were all set up in very natural positions, the effect was quite
startling to the children.
[Illustration: Golden Eagle.]
"Where did all these big birds come from?" asked Nat. "They were not in
the glass cases."
"No, they were in the attic. You must excuse them if their feathers look
a little shabby, for it is a long time since they flew about in the
woods, and took a bath or plumed themselves."
"The judge ought to wear spectacles! May I cut him a pair out of paper?"
asked Dodo. "See how wise he looks," she said, as she put the
make-believe glasses on the Eagle's nose.
"Order!" called the Doctor, rapping on the table with his knuckles. "The
American Eagle makes the first speech, which I will translate to you."
The Eagle looked very fierce as he sat there. His head, neck, and tail
were white, but the rest of his body was dark brown. The upper part of
his great yellow beak was hooked; his yellow feet were bare and scaly;
and his four sharp claws, or talons as they are often called, were
black. He was nearly three feet tall, and if he had spread his powerful
wings he would have measured seven feet from tip to tip.
The Golden Eagle, who sat at the foot of the table, was about the same
size and an equally handsome bird. He held his golden-brown head proudly
erect, and his black wings folded tightly. He too had some white
feathers in the tail, though none on the head; his hooked beak was
black, and he wore dark leggings almost down to his powerful claws.
These two Eagles, though not exactly friends, are not enemies; for the
Bald-headed one ranges over all of North America, especially in open
places near the water, while his Golden brother keeps more to the
western parts, and loves the loneliness of cold northern mountains.
"We Birds of Prey," said the Eagle, "who bow to no one and even sleep
sitting erect--we, whose females are larger than the males for the
better protection of our nests, are accused of eating not only our
smaller brethren, but also four-footed animals which are of service to
man. I deny that we do this as a tribe, except when we are pressed for
food, and Heart of Nature says to us all, 'Take what ye need to eat!'
"Now, you are all in honor bound to speak the truth at this hearing, and
you shall be heard first, Brothers of the Darkness--you, with strange
voices and feathered eye-circles--you, who have three eyelids and whose
eggs are whiter even than moonlight.
"Brother Screech Owl, whose day is my night, tell us about yourself--how
and where you live."
[Illustration: Screech Owl.]
There were two Screech Owls perched side by side on one stump. They were
not ten inches long, and had feathery ear-tufts standing up like horns
an inch long. One Owl was mottled gray and black; the other was
rusty-red; and the toes of both peeped out of holes in their thin
stockings. The gray one gave a little quavering wail and said:
"I am everywhere a well-known Owl; though I say it myself, I am a good,
hard-working Citizen, and in this the Wise Men agree.
"My family are also distinguished by two other odd habits. Having two
sets of eyelids, an inner and an outer, we can close one or both at
will. The inner one is a thin skin that we blink with, and draw across
our eyes in the day-time when the light annoys us, just as House People
pull down a curtain to shut out the sun. The outer lids we close only in
sleep, when we put up the shutters after a night's work, and at last in
death--for birds alone among all animals are able to close their own
eyes when they die. The other habit is the trick of turning our heads
entirely round from front to back, without wringing our necks or choking
to death. This we do to enable us to see in every direction, as we
cannot roll our eyes about as freely as most birds do.
"Come to think of it, I am very fond of eating one bird that, so the
Wise Men say, is as bad as a mouse for mischief. I eat English Sparrows!
"One thing I wish the Wise Men would tell me. Why am I, without season
or reason, sometimes rusty-red and sometimes mottled gray? It confuses
my brain so that I hardly know my own face in the pond."
"Acquitted!" said Judge Eagle. "Long-eared Owl, what have you to say?"
The Long-eared Owl was about fifteen inches high. He had, as his name
implied, long ear-tufts that stood up very straight over his yellow
eyes, and thick tawny stockings on his feet and legs. He was finely
mottled above with brown, black, and dark orange, had long brown streaks
on his buff breast, and dark-brown bands on his wings and tail. He gave
a hoot and spoke very quickly.
"I'm a good Citizen, too. I do not eat many birds, and those I do eat
are not the useful ones who kill insects; moles, mice, rats, and beetles
are my daily food. But House People do not know this, and limit me until
I am almost discouraged; for though I am a Night Owl I do not live in
such wild places as some of my brethren, and so I am more easily caught.
I live and nest anywhere I like, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. I
rear my young equally well in an old Crow's nest in a high, tree, or one
I build for myself in a bush. I mean well and am a Wise Watcher. I know
my voice frightens House People, but let them pity me and point their
guns at something else."
"Short and to the point! Acquitted!" said the Eagle. "Snowy Owl, it is
your turn." This beautiful white Owl, marked here and there with black
bars and spots, had a smooth round head like a snowball, great yellow
eyes, and thickly feathered feet; his bill and claws were black, but you
could hardly see them for the thickness of the feathers in which they
were muffled up. He winked with each eye, clicked Iris bill once or
twice, and thus began:
[Illustration: Snowy Owl.]
"I'm a very good-looking bird, as you see--fatally beautiful, in fact;
for House People shoot me, not on account of my sins, but because I can
be stuffed and sold for an ornament. I do not stay long enough in the
parts of the country where they live, to do much harm, even were I a
wicked Owl. My home is in Arctic regions, where my feather-lined nest
rests on the ground, and even in winter I come into the United States
only when driven by snowstorms from the North.
"At home I live chiefly on lemmings, which are a sort of clumsy,
short-tailed field-mice, not good for anything but to be eaten. When I
go visiting I may take a little feathered game, but oftener I live on my
favorite mice, or go a-fishing in creeks that are not frozen; for I am a
day Owl, and can see quite well in the sunlight. You never see me except
in winter, for I am a thing of cold and snow, whose acquaintance you can
seldom cultivate; but if you knew me well you would find me gentle,
kind, and willing to be friends with you--if you do not believe me, ask
the Wise Men."
"Acquitted! You see we are proving our innocence," said the Eagle
proudly. But he hesitated a moment before calling upon the Great Horned
Owl, as if he himself doubted the honesty of this savage bird.
He was large, nearly two feet high, with very long ear-tufts and great
staring yellow eyes in the middle of his large flat face. He was mottled
on the back and wings with buff and black, had on a white cravat, and
his vest was barred with black, white, and buff; his sharp black talons
were almost hidden by feathers, but not so much so as the Snowy Owl's.
[Illustration: Great Horned Owl]
"None of you like me because you are afraid of me, and so you would
rather condemn me than not," began the Horned Owl fiercely. "But I am
not afraid of anything or anybody. I am a liberal parent and heap my
nest up with food, like all the Owl and Hawk Brotherhood. If I wish a
Hen or a Goose or a Turkey I take it, though I may only care to eat the
head; for I am very dainty, and any one is welcome to what I leave. I
also like wild game--Ruffed Grouse particularly; but I eat rabbits and
rats enough too, I warrant you. I could give you a long list of the
evil-minded rodents I kill in every one of the States where I live; but
I won't, for you might think I wished to prove myself no cannibal. I
don't care what you think of me; for I am able to take care of myself,
and quite independent.
"I do not even have to build my own nest. In February, when I need a
home, there is always an old Crow's or Hawk's nest ready for me; and as
for my young, they are hardy and need no pampering! Whooo-ooo-hooo--ooo!
Hands off, Bird and House People! The Great Horned Owl knows how to use
both beak and claws!"
"Bound over for trial," said the Eagle, "and you are lucky not to be
committed for contempt of court."
"He is a very cross bird to talk so, even if he does some good,"
whispered Dodo to Rap; for the Doctor had given the Owl's hoot so
cleverly it all seemed real to the children. Then Judge Eagle spoke
again:
"Now for my brothers whose keen eyes can look at the sun himself--you
who strike with the claws and rend with the beak in open daylight--it is
your turn to speak. Marsh Hawk, where and how do you live?"
The Marsh Hawk was nineteen inches in length, with a long tail, pointed
wings, and Owl-like face. At first glance he seemed to be a bluish-gray
bird, but on close inspection one could see that his under parts were
white, mottled with brown, and there was also a large white patch on his
rump. He spoke very clearly and said:
"I roam all over North America, wherever there is open country and free
flying, and make my nest on the ground wherever I find tufted grass or
reeds to hide it. Marsh lands please me best, and so I am called the
Marsh Hawk. The voices of the Hawk Brotherhood are like the voices of
the winds, far-reaching, but not to be put in words. Mine is one of the
softest of the cries of the Wise Watchers. Some brothers take their
pastime in the skies, but I keep near the ground, in search of the
things I harry--mice and other small gnawing animals, insects, lizards,
and frogs. Sometimes I take a stray Chicken or some other bird, but very
few compared to the countless rodents I destroy. House People do not
realize that those gnawers are the greatest enemies that the Wise
Watchers keep in check. Day and night these vermin gnaw at the grain,
the roots of things, the fruits, the tree bark, even the eggs and young
of useful birds. I am their chief Harrier; by chance only, not choice,
am I a cannibal."
[Illustration: Marsh Hawk.]
"A very honest statement," said the Eagle. "Acquitted! Sharp-shinned
Hawk, it is your turn."
This little Hawk, only a foot long, was bluish-gray above and had a
black tail barred with ashy; his white breast was banded with
reddish-brown, and he had a keen, fierce eye.
"I have very little to say for myself," he began. "Everywhere in North
America I am a cannibal. I know I am small, but I can kill a bird bigger
than myself, and I have a big brother who is a regular Chicken and Hen
Hawk. I hide my nest in the lengths of thick evergreens, or on a rocky
ledge, and all the year round I take my own wherever I find it. I prefer
to prey on birds--Dove or Sparrow, Robin or Thrush, song bird or
Croaker--all are alike to me. I consider myself a true sportsman, and I
do not like such tame game as mice or frogs. I pounce or dart according
to my pleasure; I can fly faster than any one of you, and few small
birds escape my clutches. Sometimes in winter I make my home near a
colony of English Sparrows and eat them all for a change, just to see
how it feels to be of some use to House People; but in spite of this I
am a bold, bad bird, and as every one knows it I may as well say that I
take pride in my reputation, and do not intend to reform!"
[Illustration: Sharp-Shinned Hawk.]
"Guilty!" said the Eagle solemnly. "Red-shouldered Hawk next."
The Red-shouldered Hawk held up his head proudly and returned the
Eagle's gaze without flinching. He was a fine muscular bird, standing a
little under two feet high, with deep rusty-red shoulders and
reddish-brown back, while his head, neck, and under parts were spotted
and cross-barred with rusty and white. He had a black tail crossed by
half a dozen white bars.
[Illustration: Red-Shouldered Hawk.]
"I am a Hawk of eastern North America, living from the great plains to
the Atlantic coast, going northward to the British lands and southward
to the warm-watered Gulf of Mexico. I am often called Hen Hawk by those
who speak without thinking, but in truth I am not much of a bird-thief,
for a good reason. I am a thoughtful bird, with the deliberate flight of
a Night Owl, rather than the dash of my daylight brethren. I clear the
fields of mice and other gnawers, besides spiders, grasshoppers, and
snails; while as a frog-lover, I am a veritable Frenchman.
"I am a faithful Hawk besides, and when I am protected will nest for a
lifetime in the same woodland, if there is a marsh or spring near by to
furnish my daily frogs. I am faithful also to my mate through life. I
help her build the nest and rear our young. If House People are kind to
me, I can be a gentle friend to them, even in the trials of captivity;
but if I suspect a stranger, he must look at me only at long range,
heavy though my flight appears.
"So I say boldly that I am a useful bird and a good Citizen. If you
think a Hawk has stolen a pet Hen, look well before you shoot; and if he
has rusty-red shoulders count yourself mistaken--and let him go."
"A true account," said the Eagle; "you stand acquitted. Sparrow Hawk,
your turn."
This charming little Hawk, about the size of a Shrike, had all the
beauty of shape and color of a song bird, combined with Hawk-like dash.
His wings were narrow and pointed. His back was reddish-brown with a few
black bars, and there was a broad one on the end of his tail; his wings
were partly bluish. Underneath he was white, shading to cream color and
spotted with black. His head was bluish with black markings on the sides
and a red spot on the top. He was not at all embarrassed at being in
such grand company, for he was used to the best society, having come of
noble ancestry in the Hawk line.
"You all know me," he said in a clear voice. "Since Sparrow-killing is
ordered by the Wise Men, you should think well of me--especially you
House People, who love song birds. I will tell you a secret--I am
thinking of eating no birds but English Sparrows in future!"
[Illustration: Sparrow Hawk.]
"So you _have_ been eating other birds?" said Dodo.
"Y-e-s, I have, but not many more than the Shrike takes, and mostly
seed-eaters--hardly ever an insect-eating song bird. Do you know how
many bad insects I eat?" The little Hawk rattled off a long list,
beginning with grasshoppers and ending with beetles; but he spoke so
fast that the children could not remember half the names he mentioned.
"Where do I live? All over North America, though I leave the colder
parts in winter, for I like to be comfortable. I make my nest in some
snug hole that a Woodpecker has kindly left. Sometimes, for a joke, I
kill Sparrows and take their nest! Or make myself a home in a
dove-cote--only I never seem to stay there long, for the Doves tell
tales about me. I can sing a little, too; I have a high soprano voice
and I----"
"That will do," interrupted the Eagle. "For a small bird you are a great
talker. But you are acquitted! Who comes next? Brother Osprey?"
The children recognized the Fish Hawk they had seen the first day they
went to the sea-shore.
"The Osprey is a fisherman like myself, so we need not question him
about his habits," continued the Eagle, who had his own private reasons
for not caring to hear all the Osprey might say, remembering that he had
sometimes stolen fish the Osprey had caught; "but I should like to tell
the House Children that he is one of the long-lived birds who mate for
life after the manner of true Eagles, many of whom have lived a hundred
years, and also very industrious. Golden Eagle, what is your bill of
fare?"
"The food of a wild bird of the mountains, far from the homes of men. I
seize Wild Ducks and other game birds, hares, rabbits, fawns--yes, and
young calves also, if House People make their dwellings near me and
bring cattle into my fortress; but if they keep away from me, I never
molest them."
"Humph!" said the Bald Eagle; "you and I are somewhat alike, for though
I chiefly fish for a living I also kill the young of large animals, and
even eat carrion when game is scarce. But as it is unusual for a judge
to condemn himself, I think I must go free; and as there are not very
many of either of us, it really doesn't matter much."
"How many did you condemn as really bad cannibals?" asked Nat, speaking
to the Eagle. "The Sharp-shinned Hawk, and the Great Horned Owl are
held over for further trial!" answered Judge Eagle. "These two are the
only ones who have been brought before this court, though accusations
have been made against that big brother of his whom the Sharpshin spoke
of, and also against a still bigger relative he did not mention. The
names of these two offenders are Cooper's Hawk and the Goshawk, who will
both be brought to the bar of justice at our next session. This court is
now adjourned!"
[Illustration: Bald Eagle]
After the children had spent some time in looking at the Hawks and Owls,
Nat asked, "What are the 'game birds,' uncle, that those cannibals
sometimes eat?"
"That is not an easy question to answer, my boy; but as we are coming to
these birds next, you will learn about them separately. Game birds as a
whole are those chiefly useful as food, and the hunting of them is the
occupation of sportsmen. These birds may belong to the working guilds,
and all have habits interesting to bird-lovers; but as regards their
value to the world, it is mostly in the shape of food for House People."
"Then it isn't wrong for people to kill these birds for food?"
"No, not if it is done fairly, in a true sportsmanlike spirit, and not
with traps or snares, or in the nesting season, when no bird should be
molested. The true sportsman never shoots a bird out of season, or a
song bird at any time, and it is owing to his care that laws are made to
stop the pot-hunters."
"Are the game birds tree birds, or what?" asked Dodo.
"There are many kinds," said the Doctor. "Some of them have cooing notes
and build their nests in trees; these belong to the Pigeon family. Some
scratch about and feed on the ground, where they also nest, like our
barnyard poultry. Others run along the banks of rivers or on the
sea-beaches, where they wade in shallow water to pick up their food,
like Snipes and Plovers; while others swim with their webbed, feet and
take their food from deep water, like Geese and Ducks. There are a few
game birds in this glass case--some Pigeons and Grouse; suppose we
finish the morning in their company?
"We will call Pigeons the Birds that Coo; and Grouse are some of the
Birds that Scratch, so called because they all have much the same habit
as our domestic fowls of scratching the ground for food and to raise a
dust in which they take a sort of bath. See, this Cooer is called the
Passenger Pigeon."