GOLDEN EAGLE 103 



may live for years in cages, yet they never show any 

 disposition to meet their keepers on half-way friendly 

 terms, but remain combative and defiant to the last. 



These birds are fond of young pigs, lambs, rabbits 

 and chickens, and instances where young children have 

 been attacked are of frequent occurrence. Although 

 they prefer to capture and kill their prey. Golden Eagles 

 have been known, on rare occasions, from lack of an abun- 

 dance of fresh food and force of hunger, to feast on 

 putrid carcasses of cattle and horses. While this is the 

 exception with the Golden Eagle, it is of common occur- 

 rence with the Bald Eagle. As I have repeatedly seen 

 the latter perched on the cast-up carcasses of large fish 

 of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, I cannot 

 understand why the Golden Eagle, with all its power, 

 dignity, courage and clean habits was not selected as our 

 national emblem, instead of the Bald Eagle — a bird whose 

 every trait shows cowardice in the protection of its home 

 and its young, thieving indolence in procuring its food 

 and perverted and depraved taste and filthy habits in 

 selecting the character of that food. None of these traits 

 typify the character of this, the greatest of the Grea,t 

 Nations. 



