A YOUNG MAK8H HAWK 143 



looking out upon tlie landscape. When we 

 brought him game he would advance to meet us 

 witli wings slightly lifted, and uttering a shrill 

 cry. Toss him a mouse or sparrow, and he 

 would seize it with one foot and hop off to his 

 cover, where he would bend above it, spread 

 his plumage, look this way and that, uttering 

 all the time the most exultant and satisfied 

 chuckle. 



About this time he began to practice striking 

 with his talons, as an Indian boy might begin 

 practicing with his bow and arrow. He would 

 strike at a dry leaf in the grass, or at a fallen 

 apple, or at some imaginary object. He was 

 learning the use of his weapons. His wings 

 also — he seemed to feel them sprouting from 

 his shoulder. He would lift them straight up 

 and hold them expanded, and they would seem 

 to quiver with excitement. Every hour in the 

 day he would do this. The pressure was be- 

 ginning to centre there. Then he would strike 

 playfully at a leaf or a bit of wood, and keep 

 his wings lifted. 



The next step was to spring into the air and 

 beat his wings. He seemed now to be thinking 

 entirely of his wings. They itched to be put 

 to use. 



A day or two later he would leap and fly 

 several feet. A pile of brush ten or twelve feet 

 below the bank was easily reached. Here he 

 would perch in true hawk fashion, to the be- 

 wilderment and scandal of all the robins and 

 catbirds in the vicinity. Here he would dart 



