THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 19 



in close consultation on the singular case, and 

 continued to keep their eyes on the seemingly 

 distressed eagle, until he was nearly out of sight, 

 rising still higher and higher in the air. In a 

 short while, however, they were all convinced 

 that he was again seeking the earth, evidently 

 not as he ascended, in spiral curves : it was like 

 something falling, and with great rapidity. As 

 he approached the ground, they clearly saw he 

 was trembling in his fall like a shot bird. The 

 convulsive fluttering of his wings stopped the de- 

 scent but very little, until he fell at a small dis- 

 tance from the men and boys of the party, who 

 had naturally run forward, highly excited by 

 this strange occurrence. A large black-tailed 

 weasel or stoat, ran from under the body as they 

 came near, turned with the usual nonchalance 

 and impudence of the tribe, stood up upon its 

 hind legs, crossed its fore-paws over its nose, 

 surveyed its enemy a moment or two, (as they 

 often do when no dog is near,) and bounded 

 into a saugh bush. The king of the air was 

 dead ; and what was more surprising, he was 

 covered with his own blood. Upon further 

 examination, they found his throat cut ; and the 

 stoat has been suspected as the regicide unto 

 this day. This singular story I always looked 

 upon as too good to be true, until lately a friend 



