An Eagle's Kest. 115 



I'm blamed if he didn't grasp that fish in his great 

 claws, long before it reached the water, and flew across 

 the lake to a great rock, and devoured it. ISTow, I've 

 no doubt he'd been watching that fish-hawk from his 

 place, away up in the sky, to rob him of his lawful 

 spoils. I say, again, the eagle's a robber and a thief, 

 — usin' his strength to plunder; and I give him a 

 bullet whenever he comes within range of my rifle. 

 He's a solitary, and a selfish bird too. I have seen 

 their nests, and watched to see the old one bring food 

 for her young; but at such time I never saw the 

 father of the family. If there was one, he didn't think 

 much of his home or children, for I never saw him 

 about. May be he was away preparin' meals for his 

 wife ; but he didn't stay much about home, that's cer- 

 tain. I mind once, old Pete Meigs and I was up 

 among the Adirondacks, about the upper end of Long 

 Lake, and the hundred other little lakes that lay there 

 among the mountains. On one side of one of 'cm, 

 that I never heard the name of, is a high mountain, 

 around the point of which the lake bends, and where 

 the rocks rise high, away up in an almost a perpen- 

 dicular precipice, we saw one of their nests. It waa 

 built among the branches of a fir tree, that stretched 



