Owl Carver

“ Owl Carver had said, Many times the people do not want to listen to the shaman. The truer his words, the less they hear him.
The warning had disturbed Gray Cloud. But he never saw the people refuse to listen to Owl Carver. And he did not lose his determination to become a shaman himself.
No one could gain such a great reward without risk. A warrior must kill an enemy at great peril to himself to gain the right to wear the eagle feather that marked him as a brave. A hunter had to kill an animal that could kill him before the tribe would consider him a man. ”

“ White Bear breathed in the familiar smells of campfire smoke and roasting meat, of leather and freshly cut wood and tobacco [188] smoke. His delighted eyes took in quillwork and beadwork and paint, blankets and ribbons, bodies clad in fringed buckskin, warm brown faces, dark, friendly eyes.
Murmuring greetings, he searched the crowd for specially loved faces.
"Where is Owl Carver?" he asked. After such a long time the Sauk language came awkwardly to his lips.
Three Horses said, "Owl Carver visits the camps of the Fox and the Kickapoo, to invite them to Black Hawk's council." ”

“ Or would an evil spirit come and kill him?
Whatever might come, he could only sit and wait for it in the way that Owl Carver had taught him.
He turned his back on the unknown depths of the cave and seated himself at its entrance, pulling the bearskin cloak around him for warmth. He dipped his fingers into a pouch at his belt and took out the bits of dried mushroom Owl Carver had given him from a medicine bag decorated with a beadwork owl. The sacred mushrooms [7] grew somewhere far to the south and were traded up the Great River. ”

“ Kill him!” cried Sparrow Hawk, and at that instant they all flew at him. Owl’s big eyes popped open and his feathers stood on end. So large did he appear and so terrible did the snap of his bill seem that, for the minute, his enemies stopped half way in their flight, and then, before they could collect their scattered wits, Owl darted noiselessly into his house.
It is very easy for us to understand now how all the scandals about Owl were started and why he lives such a hermit’s life. We know, too, why Flicker and Sparrow Hawk cannot get along together since the former saved Owl’s life. ”

“ Now right down in his heart he knew that they were wicked plans, but he tried to make excuses to himself.
“Hooty the Owl is a robber,” said he. “Everybody is afraid of him. He lives on other people, and so far as I know he does no good in the world. He is big and fierce, and no one loves him. The Green Forest would be better off without him. If those eggs hatch, there will be little Owls to be fed, and they will grow up into big fierce Owls, like their father and mother. So if I show Farmer Brown's boy that nest and he takes those eggs, I will be doing a kindness to my neighbors.” ”

“ But also there are marvelous sights, unknown to early-sleeping birds, which he enjoys all by himself. For at night his queer eyes are wonderfully strong and bright. All day long he sits in his hollow tree, but when the other feathered folk are drowsing upon their roosts, or are snugly rolled up in their little nests, with their heads tucked under their downy wings, old Mr. Owl puts on his round spectacles and goes a-prowling up and down the world through the woods and meadows (like Haroun-al-Rashid in the streets of Bagdad) , spying all sorts of queer doings. ”

“ Tom and Ted aren’t there, and Jan is trying to make the big white bird let go of Trouble, only it won’t let go.”
“It must be a big white owl!” exclaimed Uncle Ben, as he started to run, for he now heard the cries of Jan and the screams of Baby William. “I’ve heard of big white owls hurting people, but I thought owls only flew around at night. They can’t see very well in daylight.”
“Oh, it isn’t an owl!” exclaimed Lola, who was running as fast as she could to keep up with Uncle Ben. “I’ve seen owls, and they have big eyes. This bird has big wings and a big, long neck, and it swims in the lake.” ”

“ Owl never found out the trick, nor suspected the innocent little Honey Bird, whom indeed he scarcely ever saw, because it was a sunset-sleeping bird, while he was a wistful, lonely, sad night-prowler. Up and down, up and down the world he goes, still looking for the betel-nut of the Princess Putri Balan, which he will never find. And as he flies in the moonlight he glances ever longingly at the beautiful lady in the moon, and sobs "Hoo-hoo! Hoo-hoo!" in grief and despair. For after all these centuries he begins to fear that she will never be his wife. ”

“ It is unnatural history to assert, as Mr. Gray does, that the barn-owls ever mope or mourn or are melancholy. Neither are they grave monks nor anchorites nor pillared saints. A boding bird or a dolorous! Nonsense, they are none of these. They issue forth as very devils, and like another spirit of the night, sail about seeking whom they may devour. The barn-owl is the "screech" owl of bird literature; the brown owl the true hooting owl. This species is found in heavily-timbered districts, and it particularly loves the dark and sombre gloom of resinous pine woods. ”

“ But he was a wise and far-seeing parent, who dreaded what their fate would be, should he and his mate one day meet the doom all owls are liable to. Perhaps one morning a yokel would climb to their hiding-hole and carry them off to kill them. True, the good Curé, whose house sheltered them, had forbidden their being molested; but he was an old man now, and nobody cared much what he said; then, with a ladder, it was so easy to reach the nest! The old owl always spoke like a philosopher; the future did not terrify him, and he seemed quite resigned to the cruel lot men mete out to his species. ”

“ They have also fierce combats now and then with an invading hawk, and will drive him off from their territories by a posse comitatus. They are also extremely tenacious of their domains, and will suffer no other bird to inhabit the grove or its vicinity. There was a very ancient and respectable old bachelor owl, that had long had his lodgings in a corner of the grove, but has been fairly ejected by the rooks; and has retired, disgusted with the world, to a neighbouring wood, where he leads the life of a hermit, and makes nightly complaints of his ill-treatment. ”

“ But he had spotted this tree as being one place where they came from, and he was just going to learn them to go biting policemen.
As I walked back to the house I reflected that every one has his troubles—troubles that other people couldn't imagine existed, and yet very real ones. It made me feel better about mine. And I thought how poor Hattie would have probably called this owl matter "queer," and how unjust it was of her or any one to use such a word just because a thing seemed a bit unusual or hard to understand.
When I reached home I found to my regret that my brother Talbot was present. ”

“ Standing in my garden in Bedford Park, Croydon, an evening or two since, I saw a white owl fly to a sparrow’s nest lodged on a water-spout under the roof of the house, and as though that visit was not successful, he repeated it, and then went to a nest on the next house, in the same way. It was too dark for me to see if he succeeded in his marauding expedition against the poor sparrows. Is it a common occurrence for an owl to go robbing nests? ”

“ The back and upper plumage are pale grey. The tail is buff, and there is a good deal of buff scattered about the rest of the plumage; it is on this account that the bird is called flammea.
The barn owl is, I believe, common in all parts of India, but it is not often seen owing to its strictly nocturnal habits. It ventures not forth into the dazzling light of day as does that noisy little clown, the spotted owlet (Athene brama) . Should it happen to be abroad in daylight the crows make its life a burden. Friend Corvus is a very conservative individual. ”

“ Sometimes his wife would sigh and tell how tired she was of sitting still, and how glad she would be when the eggs were hatched and she could go more with him. When she began to speak of that, the Great Horned Owl would get ready for another flight and go off saying: "It is too bad. I am so sorry for you. But then, one would never have young Owlets if one didn't stick to the nest." He was always proud of his children, and he thought himself a very good husband. Perhaps he was; still he had never taken his place on the nest while his wife went hunting. ”

“ Woodpecker's wing feathers are certainly excellent," said his wife, who was always glad to see him well dressed. "I am sure that the strongest wind will never part them. I don't see how the Owls can stand it to wear their feathers unhooked so that some of the air passes through their wings each time they flap them. It must make flying hard."
"Well, if you were an Owl you would understand," chuckled the Crow. "If their great wings were like ours, the noise of their flying would scare every creature [Pg 192] within hearing, and there would not be much fun in hunting." ”

“ He was naturally much vexed with the owl, and had no sooner delivered over the duck to the housekeeper, than he flew in the owl's face and, venting an abundance of reproaches, would have torn the very eyes out of the White Owl's head in his passion.
"Softly, Peepi," said the Gray Eagle, stepping in between them. "Don't be in such a huff, my little brother, or show so revengeful a temper. Do you not know that we are to forgive our enemies? White Owl, you may go; but let this be a lesson to you, not to play the tyrant over those who may chance to be weaker than yourself." ”

“ This widely distributed species is found throughout South America; and in its habits and sepulchral voice, as well as in its pretty reddish buff, grey, and white plumage, is identical with the European bird. D’Orbigny expressed astonishment that this Owl, which is never seen in uninhabited places, invariably appears to keep company with man wherever a settlement is formed, even in the most lonely and isolated spots. ”

“ Their beaks are completely curved, or raptorial; they have the power of turning the outer toe either [Pg 222] backwards or forwards; they fly weakly, and near the ground; but, from their soft plumage, stealthily, stretching out their hind legs that they may balance their large and heavy heads. Their sense of hearing is very acute: they not only look, but listen for prey.
The Owl is a bird of mystery and gloom, and a special favourite with plaintive poets. We find him with Ariel:—
"There I couch when Owls do cry." ”

“ He took from his spinning wheel a thread some yard and a half long, and holding it in his teeth made fast a large loop at one end. He then placed the thread in my left hand.
“This loop,” he said, “you must throw over the head of the Great Horned Owl with your left hand. When you have done so, he will follow you; you must lead him into the river Tarn, and hold him there until he drowns; and thus you will get rid of the black hair in the middle of your head, and be cured forever. But the owl, though he is blind by day, has very sharp ears. You must not let him hear your voice.” ”

“ When aroused, however, she draws herself up, her head and feet become visible, and she presents such a figure as one of those given on the two plates allotted to this species in this work. The Short-eared Owl has many remarkable attitudes, and most of these differing from any of those in which the bird is figured in ornithological works. His wings are seldom kept close to his body, but rather in a drooping position, and either resting on the perch on which he sits, or, as the case may be, trailing on the ground; while his head is generally sunk deeply between his shoulders. ”

“ NE dark night Master Owl left his hollow tree and went prowling about the world as usual upon his hopeless hunt for the Princess's betel-nut. As soon as he was out of hearing a long, lean, hungry Rat crept to the house and stole the dainties which the lonely old bachelor had stored away for the morrow's dinner. The thief dragged them away to his own hole and had a splendid feast with his wife and little ones. But the Owl returned sooner than the Rat had expected, and by the crumbs which he had dropped upon the way tracked him to the hole. ”

“ The strange, melancholy expression of the bird’s face, its peculiarly awkward, long legs, and its odd habit of bowing, hissing, and swaying back and forth, all make it an object of great curiosity.
The Barn Owl can see perfectly by day, though it is chiefly nocturnal. It preys upon rats, mice, and shrews principally, and is almost altogether beneficial in its food-habits. All Owls have the habit of throwing up wads of indigestible matter, such as the bones and fur of the mice they have eaten. ”

“ That was just what they wished to do, the policemen declared; and when she protested, they said there was nothing sweet about owls. They said she mightn't know it, but owls flew about and attacked people viciously at night. And when she asked in what way and what people, they said, crossly:
"They bite! They bite us. How would you like to go on duty here at night and get all tore up by a owl?" ”

“ Mathew laments the slaughter of Owls in the neighbourhood of Taunton. In this lamentation I quite agree; but Mr. Mathew is wrong in stating that his friends the Owls are without protection. If he will look at the Wild Birds Protection Act of 1872 he will see that the word "Owl" does occur in the Schedule, and as there is no specific limitation, both the Barn Owl and the Brown Owl—indeed all the British Owls—enjoy the protection of the Act. The two Bird Acts are very little known, and I am glad to see that you have reprinted the Act of 1872 with that of 1876.—Cecil Smith (Bishop's Lydeard) . ”