GOLDEN EAGLE. I 7 



this species to the chase of hares, foxes, wolves, antelopes, and 

 other kinds of large game, in which it displayed all the docility 

 of the Falcon. The longevity of the Eagle is as remarkable as 

 its strength ; it is believed to subsist for a century, and is about 

 three years in gaining its complete growth and fixed plumage. 

 This bird was held in high estimation by the ancients on ac- 

 count of its extraordinary magnitude, courage, and sanguinary 

 habits. The Romans chose it as an emblem for their imperial 

 standard ; and from its aspiring flight and majestic soaring it 

 was fabled to hold communication with heaven and to be the 

 favorite messenger of Jove. The Tartars have a particular 

 esteem for the feathers of the tail, with which they supersti- 

 tiously think to plume invincible arrows. It is no less the 

 venerated War-Eagle of our Northern and Western aborigines ; 

 and the caudal feathers are extremely valued for talismanic 

 head-dresses and as sacred decorations for the Pipe of Peace. 



The Eagle appears to be more abundant around Hudson's 

 Bay than in the United States ; but they are not unfrequent in 

 the great plains of the Mississippi and Missouri, as appears 

 from the frequent use of the feathers by the natives. The 

 wilderness seems their favorite resort, and they neither crave 

 nor obtain any advantage from the society of man. Attached 

 to the mountains in which they are bred, it is a rare occurrence 

 to see the Eagle in this vicinity ; and, as with some other birds, 

 it would appear that the young only are found in the United 

 States, while the old remain in Labrador and the northern 

 regions. The lofty mountains of New Hampshire afford suit- 

 able situations for the eyry of the Eagle, over whose snow- clad 

 summits he is seen majestically soaring in solitude and gran- 

 deur. A young bird from this region, which I have seen in a 

 state of domestication, showed considerable docility. He had, 

 however, been brought up from the nest, in which he was found 

 in the month of August ; he appeared even playful, turning his 

 head about in a very antic manner, as if desirous to attract- 

 attention, — still, his glance was quick and fiery. When birds 

 were given to him, he plumed them very clean before he began 

 his meal, and picked the subject to a perfect skeleton. 



VOL. I. 2 



