90 The Wilderness Hunter 



his shoulder, and down he came through the air, 

 tumbling 1 ovei and over. As he struck the ground 

 he threw himself on his back, and fought against 

 his death with the undaunted courage proper to his 

 brave and cruel nature. 



Indians greatly prize the feathers of this eagle. 

 With them they make their striking and beautiful 

 war bonnets, and bedeck the manes and tails of their 

 spirited war ponies. Every year the Grosventres 

 and Mandans from the Big Missouri come to the 

 neighborhood of my ranch to hunt. Though not 

 good marksmen they kill many whitetail deer, driv- 

 ing the bottoms for them in bands, on horseback; 

 and they catch many eagles. Sometimes they take 

 these alive by exposing a bait near which a hole is 

 dug, where one of them lies hidden for days, with 

 Indian patience, until an eagle lights on the bait 

 and is noosed. 



Even eagles are far less dangerous enemies to 

 antelope than are wolves and coyotes. These beasts 

 are always prowling round the bands to snap up the 

 sick or unwary ; and in spring they revel in carnage 

 of the kids and fawns. They are not swift enough 

 to overtake the grown animals by sheer speed; but 

 they are superior in endurance, and, especially in 

 winter, often run them down in fair chase. A 

 prong-buck is a plucky little beast, and when cor- 

 nered it often makes a gallant, though not a very 

 effectual, fight. 



