84Q 



A very common method by which eagles are 

 destroyed is the following : In a place not far 

 from a nest, or a rock on which eagles repose at 

 night, or on the face of a hill which they are fre- 

 quently observed to scour in search of prey, a 

 pit is dug to the depth of a few feet, of sufficient 

 size to admit a man with ease. The pit is then 

 covered over with sticks and turf, the latter not 

 cut from the vicinity, since eagles, like other 

 cowards, are extremely wary and suspicious. A 

 small hole is left at one end of this pit, through 

 which projects the muzzle of a gun, while at the 

 other is left an opening large enough to admit a 

 featherless biped, who, on getting in, pulls after 

 him a bundle of heath to close it. A carcass of 

 a sheep or dog, or fish or fowl, having been pre- 

 viously left without, at the distance of twelve or 

 twenty yards, the lier-in-wait watches patiently 

 for the descent of the eagle, and, the moment he 

 has fairly settled on the bait, fires. In this man- 

 ner multitudes of eagles are every year destroyed 

 in some parts of Scotland. The head, claws 

 and quills, are kept by the shepherds to be pre- 

 sented to the factor at Martinmas or Whitsun- 

 day, for the premium of from half-a-crown to five 

 shillings, which is usually awarded on such occa- 

 sions. 



Not long since, the following regular engage- 

 ment took place between a shepherd and an 

 eagle upon the hills near Moifat : On the farm 

 of Gameshope, the eagle of which I speak had 

 frequently lifted lambs within twenty yards of 



