638 



HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



ing seen from above, and also guards it from being harried by 

 persons let down by ropes. To take an Eagle's nest is always a 

 task of extreme difficulty, and one which tries to the utmost the 

 nerves and endurance of the climber. It also makes considerable 





The Eagle. 



demands on his courage ; for, if the parent birds should discover 

 the intruder, they are sure to attack him, and may very probably 

 dash him to the ground. 



Should the bold cragsman succeed in reaching the nest, he does 

 not find it a very pleasant locality. The nostrils of the Eagle are 

 very useful for the purpose of respiration, but the bird has appar- 

 ently little or no olfactory sensibilities. The stench that arises 

 from an inhabited Eagle's nest is quite beyond the power of de- 

 scription, for the young Eagles themselves are not the sweetest 

 beings in the world, and their evil odor is supplemented by that 



