THE OOLOGIST 



TRAPPING A GOLDEN EAGLE. 



A few years ago I spent the fall 

 months in Kansas on an uncle's ranch. 

 The country was rough rolling prairie. 

 Nearby was a large creek and along 

 this stream was considerable timber. 

 Squirrels (gray and fox) were abun- 

 dant. Quail very plentiful. Rabbits 

 (both common and jack) were plenty. 

 On the creek several varieties of ducks 

 were found. I was out about every 

 day and game dinners were of regular 

 occurrence. Immense flocks of larks, 

 longspurs and blackbirds were about, 

 but about all the summer residents 

 and small land migrants had gone. 

 Raptores were abundant and I shot 

 quite a number. 



Along early in November the Golden 

 Eagles appeared. Some days four or 

 five were about. Of course I wanted 

 one but they didn't stay about the tim- 

 ber much, but kept to the prairie 

 where it was impossible to stalk 

 them. 



. Near the house was quite a hill 

 about which eagles as well as other 

 raptores circled. At one place near 

 the base of this hill a gully started 

 and eventually found its way to the 

 big creek. Close to the head of this 

 gully near the base of the hill there 

 had been an old stack of hay or alf- 

 alfa and several small stakes were 

 still sticking in the ground. I found 

 that I could slip up the gully to with- 

 in one hundred feet of this spot so I 

 went over on the prairie, kicked out 

 a big jack rabbit, handed him a charge 

 of sixes and took him over and tied 

 him to one of the little stakes. Noth- 

 ing happened until the second morn- 

 ing, when I found the whole bait gone. 

 I went after another jack rabbit and 

 tied him to the stake. I watched quite 

 sharp that day, but nothing appeared 

 near the bait. Next morning I again 

 found my bait gone. I now concluded 

 I had a coyote to deal with, so I went 



to a nearby rar.ch and borrowed a 

 heavy steel trap. 



A good many pieces and chunks of 

 flint rocks lay arcund about the hills 

 and within two feet of the bait, lay a 

 chunk that weighed about fifteen 

 pounds. To avoid too much tramping 

 about, I took along a little board on 

 which I stood. I dug out a place for 

 the trap and carefully set and covered 

 it. I wired the chain to the end of the 

 rock and buried that end. All dirt I 

 put in a basket and what was left, I 

 carried away. It was a good job 

 and the brisk wind that blew all day 

 helped to carry off any scent; also to 

 smooth things over. 



Alter quartering about over the pra- 

 irie, I shot another jack which I tied 

 to the usual stake. Next morning I 

 found trap, stone and all gone. I soon 

 located it in a nearby cornfield and in 

 it was a big coyote with the handcuffs 

 on a front foot. He had eaten at the 

 bait a little and mutilated it, and I 

 ccncluded to leave it as it was and re- 

 set the trap. Before night I had taken 

 two crows out. 



Next morning returning from the 

 creek with a bunch of nice fat mall- 

 ards I saw an excited flock of crows 

 flying about over my trap. Pretty 

 soon I saw a big black bird at the 

 bait. I hadn't seen a buzzard for some 

 time, so I concluded I had old goldie 

 fast. I noticed however that it ap- 

 peared to be eating and did not flop 

 about as a trapped bird should. So I 

 got into the gully and sneaked up. 

 Crawling carefully up I peered over 

 and there not one hundred feet away 

 was a big golden eagle sitting broad- 

 side on. I had only one shell of BB 

 and this I sent into his shoulders ex- 

 pecting him to roll over. To my sur- 

 prise he sprang into the air instead. 

 In my second barrel I had a shell of 

 good old reliable sixes with which size 

 I have had most success killing things 



