EAGLES. 565 
When the young are large enough to provide for their wants they 
are driven from the paternal home; when they proceed to an un- 
occupied district of country, of which they take possession. 
The Eagle is, as we have before said, endowed with immense 
muscular vigour ; it is, therefore, able to carry off prey of considerable 
size. ‘In the mountains in which chamois are abundant they are the 
principal objects of the eagle’s pursuit, and it employs various strata- 
gems to get these animals into its power; for the bird will not venture 
to make its attack in front, as the chamois is well able to bid it 
defiance with its horns, provided its rear is protected. 
It is stated that a blow from an Eagle’s wing will deprive a kid of 
life ; it is not therefore surprising that its strength enables it to carry 
off young children. 
Many for a long period have refused to give credence to this fact; 
but the evidence of persons who are worthy of all confidence will not 
allow of any doubt being raised on the subject. We will, however, 
mention a few instances. 
In the Canton of Vaud two little girls, one three years old and the 
other five, were playing together in a meadow. An Eagle swooped 
down upon the eldest, and carried her off. All that immediately 
afterwards could be found upon a most active search was a shoe and 
stocking belonging to the child. Two months having elapsed, a 
shepherd discovered the remains of the little victim, horribly muti- 
lated, and lying upon a rock half a league from the meadow from 
which she was taken. 
In the Isle of Skye, in Scotland, a woman left her child in a field. 
An Eagle carried off the little one in its talons, and crossing over a 
broad lake, laid it upon a rock. Fortunately the robber was perceived 
by some shepherds, who came up in time to succour the infant. 
In Sweden a babe was carried away under somewhat similar 
circumstances. The mother, who was only a short distance off, 
heard the shrieks of the poor little thing; but it was impossible for 
her to rescue it. It was borne out of her sight, and the wretched 
woman went mad with grief. 
In the Canton of Geneva a boy of ten years old, who was robbing 
an Eagle’s nest, was seized by one of the birds, and borne to a point 
600 yards from the spot. He was rescued by his companions without 
having suffered further injury than some severe wounds inflicted by 
the bird’s talons. 
In the Faroe Isles an Eagle flew away with a child (which its 
mother had left for a few moments), and bore it off to its aerie. 
Maternal love inspired the unfortunate woman with such a degree 
