Si6 



THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 



of offs])riiis^". TIktc is sonic I'l niiidalidn fur all this. In his nioiiiitain home 

 the iiiajc'stic ili:.;ht of the l''.aj;le truly hefils the grandeur of the scene. 

 Cradled on a heetlint; cliff and schooleil in the clouds, it is little wonder 

 that the Eagle should ha\e l)econie for lis the syiiilji_)l of both prowess and 

 aspiration. E\en in cai)ti\ity there is something awful about his piercing 

 eve, and the unrest of the r(_i\al capti\-e appeals to all that is clii\'alrous in 

 our natures. 



rii.'h' h\ ri 



GOLDEN E.\GLETS. 



But the reputation of the Eagle race, quite as in the case of our own, 

 has been made bv a few indi\iduals, and their feats are a re\'elation of the 

 possibilities inliei'eiit in the breed rather than chapters from common life. 

 Ne\'er shall 1 forget the pained disappointment over my first Eagle's nest 

 in Ok'anogan Count\". The situation was romantic enough — a ledge of rock 

 some three hnnih"c(l and fift\- feet uji nn the side of the gulch, and se\'enty- 

 five feet clear of the talus below. At the time of my first visit, ]\Ia}- i8th, 

 the nest contained two eaglets alxnU si.\ weeks old. Armed with a stout 

 ])irc]ieii staff, I worked nn- wa\' i>\er to a secure footing within a dozen 

 feet of the nest. The remaining distance was a nasty bit of climbing, and 

 I preferred to await the first onslaught of the outraged parents where 

 there wnnld be some chance of defense. Inidge! The tire-eating birds 

 ai)])eared once or twice in the middle distance, but ]jaiil no more attention to 

 the jjeril of their off sirring than as if I had been a Magpie coveting the crumbs 

 from the ro_\al table. 



Three weeks later I re\-isited the nest and put the eaglets to flight. 

 One of the old birds came up and superintended tlie gliding downfall of the 

 less capable child, but seeing her safeh- u]»in the ground immediately went 

 awav niarmot-hunting in perfect unconcern. If there is one bird alxn-e 

 another of a gentle and unsuspecting nature, I judge the Golden Eagle to 

 he that bird, l^nit doubtless this also is a hasty generalization. 



On the clifts of the Eocene formaticTii near Fossil, \\'\oming, I once 



