THE EAGLE. Ill 



white, while the rest of his plumage was of dark 

 brown, approaching the black. He was" not that 

 drooping, dingy, rough, and unwashed thing, that we 

 see in cages, and have pointed out to us, as the great 

 king of American birds. As we approached, he made 

 a desperate effort to fly away, failing in which, he faced 

 us with a look of defiance. There was a wild fierce- 

 ness, an intensity in his eye, that spoke of the rapacity, 

 as well as the courage of his nature. As we came 

 near him, he opened his great beak, and hissed like a 

 serpent, defiance at us. A blow on the head with a 

 pole, after a brief struggle, stilled him, and we drew 

 our noble captive into the boat. 



I am not sure that I felt precisely satisfied, for 

 having slaughtered that princely bird. Me, at least, 

 he had never harmed. He had slain, only to sustain 

 his own life, and had killed,, only to supply himself 

 with food. He was following only the instincts of his 

 nature ; but was not I, also, following mine ? This 

 was a question, which I left for settlement, to those 

 more cunning in casuistry than myself. In the mean- 

 time I retained his great quills, a few soft feathers of 

 his plumage, and one of his claws, as trophies, and 

 left his carcase to float on the scene of his own car- 



