Ed Power’s Talking Crow
Ed Power’s Famous Talking Crow
What The Talking Crow Said [1905]
“Hello, Hello!” Screeches The Bird, And A Little Girl Tells A Tale
A quaint little figure stood lost in admiration in front of Ed Power’s talking crow at the fair grounds. She was ill-clad and through the loop holes of her garments her tender flesh showed blue.
The bird has a limited vocabulary of “Hello,” with which he greeted the little girl when she approached. That was sufficient to rivet her attention.
“What is it?” asked another little girl, sidling up and looking with all her eyes.
“It’s a neagle.”
“It don’t look like a eagle I saw in a Fourth of July parade.”
“That one was stuffed. This one’s alive.”
“Oh!”
“This one can talk, too.”
“It can? What can it say?”
Then the imagination of the little ragamuffin ran riot. Waving her hand toward the sky, as if to evoke confirmation of her words from an unknown source, the novelist of the slums began her narration:
“When I come here the neagle said, Hello, little girl, and I said hello. Ain’t it cold, he said, and I said you betcher life it’s cold, and he said I want to get out and I said I dassent let you out, and he said darn it all, and I said you mustn’t talk that way, and he said I talk as I darn please unless you gimme some popcorn, and I said I didn’t have no nickel to get any popcorn, and he said go way, please, and I said that I wouldn’t and he said I bet I kin beat them horses around the track, and I said I’ll bet you can’t, and he said you ain’t got no nickel, and I said how do you know I aint.”
“Oh!” said the other little girl who was listening with all her ears.
“And he laughed real loud, and I said you mean thing, and he laughed again, and he said you bet if I was loose I’d have lots of nickels, and I said I wisht you was loose, and he said darn it all, and heshed up jes’ as you come.”
“Oh!” said the other little girl.
“Hello! Hello!” screeched the crow.
The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on October 1, 1905.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/348679304/?terms=%22ed%20power%22&match=1
Crow Has New Word [1912]
At the corner of Woody and West Main streets is a cage which contains a black crow and a white crow. The former is an accomplished linguist and for some years has been delighting the passersby with his “Hello” and “Mama.” Yesterday he uncorked a new one and he was just as delighted with the addition to his vocabulary as were his many admirers. “Well, Well” was his greeting yesterday morning, and after he had pulled his new stunt he rolled his eyes and thrust his head through the wire netting so that the audience might scratch his neck. The audience consisted of “Mitch” and two other recruits. “I certainly am glad to see the old bird learning new tricks,” said “Mitch.” He has fooled me many a time on his ‘hello’ and I am glad that he has switched to ‘Well, Well.’
The above article appeared in “The Missoulian” on April 11, 1912.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/349059328
Who Knows About Crow? [1938]
Surprises are often found in the daily mail at the Missoula Chamber of Commerce, according to Marabeth Stein, acting secretary. Received today was a card from H. Kirschner in Savannah, Ga. It asked what Missoula merchant in 1909 kept a talking crow in his establishment. Anyone recalling the firm may call 2767.
The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on September 20, 1938
https://www.newspapers.com/image/349312603/?terms=talking%20crow&match=1
Powers Owned Crow [1938]
John Powers, who ran the Powers liquor store in 1909, was the owner of the talking crow about which a Savannah, Ga., resident is curious, the Chamber of Commerce has learned. It heard the information from two sources Tuesday.
The favorite expressions of the crow were “play ball,” and “hello” and “pappa.” The crow may have been an albino, said one of the chamber’s informers.
The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on September 21, 1938.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/349312848/?terms=talking%20crow&match=1
Remember The Powers Crow? [1938]
We remember the talking crow that used to sit in a cage outside the old liquor store at the corner of Main and Woody streets, but we can’t help wondering why anybody in Georgia should be interested in this creature at this late date. Talking crows must have gone out of fashion; we haven’t heard of one in many years, but they once were rather common. A crow is smarter than a parrot, we believe, and can talk just as well. And, we understand, it is not necessary to slit its tongue. So, if you have a crow, go ahead with its tutoring.
But what became of the Powers crow of long ago? Did the Republican party eat it?
The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on September 26, 1938.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/349314020/?terms=talking%20crow&match=1
Mr. Power’s crow was mentioned in a long Missoulian article about the Western Montana Fair in 1905:
“The talking crow owned by Ed Power amused everybody. A parrot would not have been in it. It is a courteous cuss, too. Every time a person went to the bar for a drink it would shout “hello.”
The excerpt above appeared in The Daily Missoulian on September 26, 1905.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/348679042
Majestic Bottling Company took over J. E. Power’s bottling business at 129 W. Cedar [Broadway] in 1923.
By 1938 the Missoulian was misspellling Mr. Power’s name.