We need to think back 200 years as to what habitats were present - the
Indian villages were in the broad valleys where they cultivated their farm
gardens, and also did a lot of burning as well.  Probably there was a lot
of wet tall grass prairie through which invaders would be sneaking through
for a surprise attack, therefore, the bird might very well be a SEDGE WREN
(or Marsh Wren, but I favor the Sedge) - they pop up and do a lot of
distinctive scolding when disturbed, and perhaps Daniel Boone and the
Indians were making reference to the TYPE of scolding call which would
suggest something coming through the reeds and tall grasses.

--On Monday, August 10, 2009 8:49 AM -0400 Bill Whan
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> My first idea was the Carolina wren as well. One problem is that both it
> and the waterthrush were unlikely in Ohio north of Chillicothe at the
> time. Wilson (1828) said the wren was rare as far north as Pennsylvania
> (he investigated Ohio along Lake Erie and the Ohio River, but not in the
> interior); Ohio's first ornithologist Kirtland (1838) wrote: "The Great
> Carolina Wren was common at Cincinnati the last winter. I have not seen
> it north of that city." Since that time, though this species has proven
> vulnerable to hard winters, it's inclined to nest farther north than two
> hundred years ago. Right now, it seems the Columbus-area population was
> thumped by the -13 degrees F temperatures this past winter, for example.
>       Of the waterthrush (and most ornithologists of the time lumped the
> Louisiana and northern waterthrushes), Wilson said pretty much the same
> thing: rare in PA, but common further south; he also paradoxically says
> it passed through PA on its way north (undoubtedly the confused sister
> species). Kirtland says a few stay to nest in Ohio, but most passed to
> the north in migration--again confusing the two. The waterthrush's song
> does sound spookier than the wren's, I'll admit. It looks like either of
> these species would be decidedly uncommon between Chillicothe and the
> Lake at the time. But the text Bob quotes does say this bird was "not
> often seen," and "uncommon." You have to hope a bird of ill omen would
> not be seen every day!
> Bill Whan
> Columbus
>
> Scott Moody wrote:
>> From:    "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
>>
>> Bob Evans,
>> Geologist, etc.
>> Hopewell Township, Muskingum County
>>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Subject: Daniel Boone's Ohio bird riddle
>>
>> The old English vernacular "sparrow" just means a small bird so which
>> little bird would start singing a lot when disturbed?  And be inhabiting
>> clearings, not woodlands, but cleared areas that would be devoted to
>> maize, beans, pumpkins, etc.?  Certainly not a Louisiana Waterthrush; I
>> would instead suggest the Carolina Wren
>>
>> Scott Moody
>> Ohio University
>>
>
> from Bob Evans:
> ...Daniel Boone spent considerable time in Ohio, mostly either fighting
> the "Indians," (Miami and Shawnee) or as their captive.  A couple
> chapters describe customs he observed while a prisoner of the Shawnee.
> Ultimately his bravery and backwoods skills resulted in his being adopted
> by a prominent Shawnee widow. "He often accompanied them in their
> hunting excursions, wandering with them over the extent of forest between
> Chillicothe and lake Erie."
>
> One passage that is relevant here is, "There is in that country a
> sparrow, of an uncommon species, and not often seen. This bird is called
> in the Shawnese dialect by a name importing "kind messenger," which
> they deem always a true omen, whenever it appears, of bad news. They are
> exceedingly intimidated whenever this bird sings near them; and were it
> to perch and sing over their war-camp, the whole party would instantly
> disperse in consternation and dismay."
>
> I wonder what it is, or was? Does anybody know? Maybe it is extinct. I
> suppose it may not even be a sparrow, given that this is a mid-nineteenth
> century account of incidents from 1778, but it was probably a small brown
> bird, thus a "sparrow." It was "uncommon" but certainly
> well-known among the Shawnee. It had a song of sufficient clarity and
> duration to be regarded as a message of warning. We're not talking
> Henslow's here. It lived in the primordial forests of Ohio, and would
> at least sometimes perch in the trees, and so it could be "over their
> war-camp."
>
> This passage certainly illustrates that both the native Americans and
> Daniel Boone were familiar with bird song and bird identification, which
> I think is pretty cool.
>
> My favorite candidate is Louisiana waterthrush. Any other thoughts or
> suggestions?
>

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