A Corvid Dead in the Forest

The Death of a Crow

July 22, 2020

By Stan Olmstead

Recently I was walking in a Virginia forest and noticed a dead crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) resting below a tree. That isn’t particularly interesting, but I had to wonder if it had died of natural causes or was “murdered” by humans? We have been messing with the natural order of things for a long time, unless you think humans are part of the “natural order of things”? Well of course we are, but it is a little more complex than that compared to other species with our technology, agriculture, governments and the like but still the crow interested me? 

Earlier that morning I crawled from my sleeping bag, wet by the morning dew, dressed for the day's hike and for a short moment sat in a foldable chair with a cup of coffee and enjoyed the scenery of an abandoned farm where I had laid my sleeping bag for the "night's sleep", such as it was. 

My thoughts that morning as I looked out at the Virginia hills went to others before ourselves, in this area I suspect it to be the Tutelo-Saponi, a Siouan speaking people although pressured and in competition with the Catawaba, Cherokee, Powhatan and Shawnee.  The indigenes folks of the Americas whom arrived before us occupied various regions with “flux” due to their own competition were then drastically and radically displaced, subjugated and removed from this area of the mid-Appalachian highlands after centuries of occupation so we could conduct our business without interference by those unlike ourselves. We have done a lot of that since “we” came from across the Atlantic and took up residence!

 Well the crow was dead and had been for a while, decomposing with only the bones and feathers representing its former self! As I looked at it my thoughts went to all that has changed in this ecological paradise. So much change, without even a “by your leave”? The abandoned farm represented that change to me since those we refer to as Europeans entered, occupied and altered the land.

"We" removed the forests for farm, energy, crafts and communities. Posting the boundaries of our occupation and listing them at the county courthouse as proof of ownership. The indigenes folks had only a social ownership of the land and thought of the forests, fields and streams as life and kept that pseudo ownership with very fluid boundaries by occupation of village or tribe. It wasn’t absolute it changed through time so I suppose people from Europe or those that they brought with them could claim we now occupy so move aside “please,” we suggest you move west until we wish the west as well.

The forest was cut, burned, plowed, planted, fenced and cattle occupied where once was bear, turkey, deer and even bison had a stable niche. Then at last the farm would be sold to another similar to our-selves. The wild critters were staples for the indigenes and a decline in the numbers meant a decline in their affluence of life. Well things were obviously going to change since the Europeans were crossing the Atlantic and they wished to take the open land for themselves and for the commerce of capitalism. The forest and wildlife were to be subdued. Deer were killed for their meat, hides and to prevent competition with farms. As for the Indigenes, Oklahoma would work for awhile? Even the all mighty American chestnut couldn’t survive our introduction of foreign life. A tree that provided for humans, wildlife and livestock succumbed to a fungal blight where now only sprouting remnants of the tree remains in small leafy stems never to mature and provide the life-giving fruit so important to the ecosystem but is now considered functionally extinct.       

So here I am today looking at the dead crow after a pleasant morning with coffee and the most wonderful pastoral image and what do I do? I think of the injustice of human activity, not just the murder of the crow but the murder of the planet. For only briefly before this moment had I set aside the violence in America in our cities, suffering in our hospitals and homes and the violence in other nations and the insults we inflict on nature, the ignorance of our insult to the natural world and insult to others of our kind. America is pretty damn great until you begin thinking of our mistakes. Yep we sure seem to want to screw with things. Un-necessary wars, suppressing other citizens to maintain “our privilege”, fouling the environment with our pollution of noise and chemicals as well as alteration of the vegetation with our development and activities.

Enlightenment is hard to obtain but if an individual is enlightened it makes witnessing our activities even more difficult since you are aware there are other solutions that we fail to capitalize. Yep the crow is dead, I have no idea why as so many questions end, and I can only imagine that the species as smart as it will fare better than us? We are now in troubling times, but we have been there before, but this time the open spaces are gone, nature is less healthy and there are so many Homo sapiens competing with the natural world. I feel bad for the crow today, but I know it has a system that moves its kind forward and to tomorrow. We may not be as fortunate since we appear to just want to make changes for wealth and pleasure not logic? It would be nice if we were more educated with the necessary ethical understanding, with an educated mix of wisdom, knowledge and common sense, cared more deeply for the environment that sustains us and the health of the planet and ask for an economy that is with justice for all. 

I dedicate this note to a chance encounter with Lidia or by her trail name Sunflower. Sunflower, you were breath of fresh air during a morning of thought about ignorance and you provided hope. I thought you wise beyond your years?