200 AUDUBON THE NATURALIST. 



"with, the swiftness of a meteor, it is thus unerring 

 in its aim. When it has soared high into the 

 air, its evolutions slowly performed in wide cir- 

 cuits, are most majestic; "becoming," says Au- 

 dubon, this monarch among birds. Its gyrations 

 are sometimes continued for hours. The nest 

 of this eagle, placed invariably high on some 

 rugged clilfs, must be pillaged at the risk of dire 

 peril to the invader, an instance of which oc- 

 curred during the revolutionary war. A com- 

 pany of soldiers were stationed near the high- 

 lands of the Hudson Kiver. A golden eagle 

 had placed her nest in a cleft of the rocks, mid- 

 way between the summit and the river. One 

 of the soldiers was let down by his companions, 

 suspended by a rope fastened round his bodv. 

 On reaching the nest, he found himself suddenly 

 attacked by the eagle. In self defence, he drew 

 the only weapon he had, his knife, and made 

 repeated passes at the bird, when accidently he 

 cut the rope almost off. It began to unravel ; 

 when the men above him, hastily drawing him 

 up, relieved -him from his perilous position, at 

 the moment he expected to be precipitated to 

 the bottom of the gulf But so powerful was 

 the effect of the terror experienced by the soldier 

 whilst in danger, that before the lapse of three 

 days, his hair became quite grey. 



