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VOL. VI. 



ALBION, N. Y., SEP., 1889. 



NO. 9 



'Old Abe," Jr. 



Ill pcriisiufr nuiiiljur after iiuml)('r of 

 the Ooi.OGLsT I ,s('(j so nuiriy things 

 alxiul I'liids and Bird Pets that arc iii- 

 tcrrsliii^-, Ihat 1 am tempted to steal a 

 few moments from my work in wiitiug 

 a small artiele in regard to "Our Pet 

 {Ildliaeius Ledcocephalua) Old Ahe, Jr.," 

 named in honor of the grand old biid 

 earried through oui- late Civil War by 

 the gallant 8.th Wis. Inf. It may not 

 be very interesting to some of my read- 

 eis, to others it may be, as it fully shows 

 (as I have had ample time to ol)serve) 

 the. dift'ererit eliauges of eolor v> hieli the 

 Jiald Eagle passes through, and from 

 \vhieh so many eontroxersies arise in 

 regard to the many varieties of Eagles, 

 such as Golden Eagle, Blaek Eagle, 

 Gray Eagle, Bald Eagle, ete., ete., hut 

 ' whieh Dr. Elliott Cones setthis very 

 satisfactory, in "New England Bird 

 Life," page 138-4, vol. 2. From my 

 m)te book I take«the following record: 

 ^Old Abe, jr., was shot on the Des Moines 

 River, near E(hlyville, Iowa, March 29, 

 1887, by one, J. Willia^ms, a noted hunt- 

 er of that place. His left wing was 

 Ijrokeh at elbow joint, and was anij)U- 

 tatetl as soon as brought into town, 

 from which operatifju he nearly bled 

 to death. Two days later he had im- 

 ])roved so much that he was ])urehased 

 by the writer for the small sum of $1. 

 lie was undoul)trdly one year old at 

 that time, as he was then a very dark 

 gray with d;irk lirown eyes and dark, 

 horned-colored Inll. Also gray through 

 the season of '87, Ijut several shailes 

 , lighter by December, the same ycii'. 

 His hill and ej'i's have lu'comc nuicli 

 lighter, and his hqad almost white, l)ut 

 iH) signs of any white in his tail. The 

 This sea.ijon, ,'8!J, \u> hivid lias tuned 

 ■ almost ele;ir -white, his eyes and bill 



bright yellow, and at the i)resent tiiuc 

 he Is moulting and white feathers begin 

 to show in his tail. Think that next 

 si)ring he Viill eome out ■df/'.'ljicdt/cil 

 Bald Eagle. 



When I had had him al)i>ul six weeks 

 I ari-aiigcd for a visit to Minnc sota, and 

 something mu.vt be done with Abe. So 

 1 built a strong latli fem-c, aliout 2 rods 

 s(|uarc to keep him in, put in shelter 

 and pci'ch. \Vlien 1 let him out of the 

 big iio\ lie was in. I will never forget 

 the look in his eyes. They just fairly 

 si)arkled, would look skyward. Oh, so 

 longingly, then v.duld make a break to 

 go, and you can readily guess v.hat the 

 eonscr|uences were with one wing gone, 

 or [>art of it. Sexeral tini!';; lie made 

 the attemjJt, Imt allin\ain; but those 

 eyes said plainer than words, "Did I 

 po.ssess the whole earth-, I would give 

 it (pilckly to be po.ssessed of my lost 

 wing again." Well I tliought to c-at( h 

 him and put him in the yard prepared 

 for him, so took an old a])ron and 

 thought to throw it ov<'i' him jiimI then 

 grab him u)), Imt if some of my readei-s 

 ha<l se(>n the o'ltcome they would ha\i' 

 laughed in sj)ite of themselves Quick- 

 er than a Hash he was on his l)a,ck and 

 as the apron struck him, well, talk 

 about old ladies tearing cai'pct rugs, 

 tluy could have found them there in 

 less time than it to tell it. 



I then i)ut a stick down to him. which 

 he instantly grabbed- 1 raised him u]i 

 t)y this and put him over into the yard. 

 W^hile I Avas gone to Minnesota, he got 

 out, and as liovs sometimes say, "Took 

 in the Town," and like to have got 

 drowned in a r.ain-water liari-.d, but 

 was liclped out and maile bacl; liome to 

 the back corner of our lot where there 

 is a big ]dum trcH' which has a leaning 

 trunk, n\anaged to climb to th ■ top of 

 it wheic he could take in the scenes. 



