THE EAGLE. 99 



keeper made what haste he could to the spot, and found the 

 Eagle quite dead, and a wounded stoat struggling by its side. 

 On examining the body of the Eagle, he soon discovered the 

 cause of its fall. The stoat when in the air had contrived, 

 according to its usual custom in attacking rabbits, hares, rats, 

 and other small animals, to open an artery or vein, and kept 

 firm hold of the wound it had inflicted. 



Another such case occurred to a gentleman in America ; he, 

 like the gamekeeper, saw an Eagle seize its prey and fly off, 

 and soon afterwards rise spirally to an immense height till 

 nearly out of sight, and then fall to the earth like a stone. 

 As he approached, he saw a weasel running away from the 

 body, and, on further examination, found that the little animal 

 had got under the Eagle's wing, and sucked the blood until 

 the bird fell from exhaustion. Another case is on record, ol 

 one of these birds attacking a cat, when a battle actually took 

 place in the air, and lasted some minutes. The cat, aware, it 

 may be supposed, of her danger, clung with her claws to the 

 Eagle, and prevented him from letting her drop. At length, 

 tired of struggling, and impeded by the clinging of the cat, he 

 descended to the earth, where the fight still continued ; and 

 in the end some lookers-on captured both the combatants. A 

 cat, however, if once within the fair grasp of an Eagle on firm 

 ground, has but a poor chance. One, tempted probably by 

 some pieces of raw meat, was seen to make its way through 

 the lattice-work of a large hut, in which a fine Golden Eagle 

 had been long kept. In an instant the bird was observed to 

 pounce from its perch, and seize poor puss so rudely and 

 suddenly with its claw, that, notwithstanding the vivacious 

 nature of the cat species, she was killed in a moment, without 

 an appearance of struggling, or even quivering of her limbs. 

 The entire claw seemed to have been plunged in a moment 

 into the tenderest part of her body. Having secured his 

 victim beyond the power of escape, he remounted his perch 



pause and look about him, and then, again descending, 

 proceeded to tear the flesh from the bones, and devour tho 

 carcase at leisure. 



