244 MAKES A MISTAKE. 



" A peasant having observed an eagle soaring near to his 

 homestead in search of prey," so runs the story, " and having 

 no gun at hand, determined, nevertheless, on attempting his 

 capture. For this purpose he threw a sheep-skin, the woolly 

 side outwards, over his shoulders, and thus equipped, crawled 

 on all fours about the spot haunted by the bird; and his 

 wile had the desired effect, for no sooner did the eagle 

 perceive him, than imagining him a veritable sheep, down he 

 pounced upon his back. Being quite prepared for the onset, 

 the man at once embraced the eagle's outstretched wings 

 with his arms, and thus in triumph bore him home, where a 

 by-stander quickly knocked the enemy on the head. But the 

 poor fellow suffered severely for his ingenious, though adven- 

 turous ruse, for in his death-struggles the eagle not only 

 drove his talons through the sheep-skin, but deep into the 

 man's flesh, from whence, when life was extinct in the bird, 

 it was found impossible to extract them without having 

 recourse to the knife." 



A somewhat similar story to the foregoing was told me by 

 Dr. Willman. 



"During the autumn of 1846," said that gentleman, 

 " whilst residing with Mr. P. O. Andersson, at Kjeflinge- 

 Molla, in Scania, the innkeeper of that village, Holmberg, 

 purchased an eagle of a peasant who was on his way 

 to the town of Lund, where he had purposed taking 

 him for sale. On questioning the man as to the way in 

 which he became possessed of the bird, he stated, that 

 during the preceding day, which was cold and misty, and 

 whilst occupied in hewing timber in the forest, he was all 

 at once assailed on the back and shoulders by an unseen 

 enemy ; that on turning his head about he found it to be 



