52 



THE OSPREY. 



the air. It suffers much from the piracy 

 of the Eag-le. In my youth old hunters 

 and trappers told me such strang-e tales 

 of altercations between these birds, they 

 were in my heart while awake, and flew 

 all about me while asleep. When Mich- 

 ig-an was almost an unbroken woodland, 

 nothing- more satisfied my youthful aspir- 

 ations, than to retire alone far into the 

 forests, and in the deep solitude study 

 the nature, habits and language of ani- 

 mals and birds in their native haunts 

 while unconscious of the presence of man. 

 Learning of Water-lily Lake in the wil- 

 derness, a day's journey from home, where 

 these strange birds were frequentl}' seen, 

 I sought it out, and there wigwamed in 

 ambush on the point of a narrow neck of 



SmON PO-KA-GON. 



land that ran far into the lake. To the 

 north, nearly one-half mile, stood a gi- 

 gantic pine, towering high above the 

 surrounding forests, on the top of which, 

 in plain sight, was an Osprey's nest, occu- 

 pied at the time; while to the south of 

 me was a similar tree in which was nest- 

 ing an Eagle. From this point I could 

 survey- the lake a long distance towards 

 the rising and setting sun. In order that 

 I might not be noticed I trimmed my 

 clothes with sprigs, cut from the ever- 

 greens about my hiding place. The first 

 night there, as I laid down upon hemlock 

 boughs for a bed, with only m3- blanket 

 wrapped around me, I was lulled to sleep 

 by the wild vespers of unnumbered Whip- 

 poor-wills, whose songs were mellowed by 

 the murmuring waves and the whisper- 



ing breeze, as it swept through the sway- 

 ing branches of the forest about me. I 

 slept as sweetly as an infant in the arms 

 of its mother, nor did I awake until the 

 curtain of night was lifted from the stage 

 of the woodland theater of the lake, when 

 all the troupe of the feathered warblers 

 of the wild opened their matinee of love 

 and gratitude free to all, chanting "re- 

 joice and praise him." An hour later, as 

 sunshine kissed the waves, lighting up 

 along the shore broad fields of white and 

 golden water lilies, which rose and fell 

 upon the heaving bosom of the lake, my 

 admiration was all at sea without a 

 shore. Entranced I stood, until Bluejays 

 screamed out a wild alarm. The concert 

 abruptly closed! The drama changed! 

 I heard a whizzing sound as when a 

 rocket rends the air, and looking up saw 

 an Osprey descending as a meteor from 

 heaven plunging headlong into the lake, 

 and while the water yet boiled and foamed 

 where it went down, it arose in triumph, 

 clutching in its talons a fish. Slowly 

 it flew landward, shaking its plumage 

 like a spaniel just out from the water, 

 causing a beautiful rainbow to encircle 

 it, until it entered the shade of the 

 woods. 



The following morning while listening 

 to the repeated woodland concert, and 

 again admiring the romantic scenery hung 

 by the Great Spirit on lake and land — 

 again the concert abruptly closed ! Again 

 the Osprey, in plain sight, plunged head- 

 long with a roar into the lake, snatch- 

 ing therefrom a silver eel, which snake- 

 like, writhed, convulsed and tried in 

 vain to free itself. While expecting to 

 see the rainbow of the previous morn- 

 ing repeated, I saw instead the pi- 

 rate Eagle, with half closed wings, 

 sweeping down like an infant cyclone 

 towards the Osprey, which sought escape 

 by rising in circles, higher and higher — 

 above the forests, above the highlands 

 surrounding the lake, above the fog clouds 

 that hung over it, while the Eagle gave 

 chase along its spiral trail but a few feet 

 in the rear, continuing to utter its savage 

 war cry. Eagerly I watched the strug- 

 gling flight, praying in my heart that the 

 Osprey might escape with her prize. I 

 saw the silver eel descending like an ar- 

 row shot from the skies, while the Eagle, 

 with folded w^ings, dropped like a falling 

 star, g-rasping it in mid-air, bearing it 



