THE EAGLE. 



[Continued from page 25.) 



has been known to destroy an animal 

 too large to be picked up by flying at 

 the animal fiercely as it stood upon the 

 edge of a steep place. The wings of 

 the bird frightened the animal so as to 

 drive it over the cliff to meet death 

 upon the rocks below. 



Eagles are sometimes caught by 

 placing a large cage on edge so it will 

 fall when a string is pulled. A live 

 hen and her chickens are tied to the 

 cage so they may run under when the 

 eagle comes at them. As they run 

 into the cage to escape the eagle, he 

 follows them, the string is pulled, and 

 the eagle finds himself alone in the 

 trap, for the hen and her chickens 

 easily get out between the bars which 

 are too close together to allow him to 

 do the same. 



An eagle once attacked a weasel. 

 This little animal is very fierce, and 

 will not give up its life easily. Find- 

 ing itself in the grasp of the bird, the 

 weasel turned and fastened its teeth 

 in the throat of the eagle. It was 

 lucky for the eagle that the weasel 

 did not cut his throat, but the little an- 

 imal never let go. Its teeth were 

 locked into the flesh of the eagle so 

 they could not be torn open. Years 

 afterwards the eagle was shot, and it 

 had on its neck a queer locket, the 

 skull of the weasel hanging there by 

 the teeth. Sometimes the weasel cuts 

 a vital part in the bird that picks it up, 

 and then the weasel enjoys the life- 

 blood of his enemy. 



We have a gold coin that is named 

 after the eagle. It is worth ten dol- 

 lars. In fact it is ten dollars in gold. 

 The first one was made in 1792. Half- 

 eagles, quarter-eagles, and double- 

 eagles have also been made of gold at 

 our nation's mints. 



In some countries besides America 

 it has been the national bird. When 

 the army of Rome first tried to land in 

 England the men feared the fierce 

 English soldiers. One soldier had an 

 Eagle with him in the boat. He 

 jumped into the sea with his eagle 

 and called to his friends to follow him. 

 They soon put the enemy to flight, 



and the eagle was praised for helping 

 them win. 



The eagle is fond of capturing such 

 birds as the swan. When he finds a 

 swan flying so high that it cannot get 

 to the water and dive out of his reach 

 the eagle flies against the swan from 

 below with such force that the breath 

 is knocked out of the swan in an in- 

 stant. As the swan falls lifeless to 

 the ground the eagle invites his mate 

 to meet him at the spot and they have 

 a great feast. 



The eagle flies swifter than a rail- 

 way train, but one was once caught by 

 a train before it could rise and get 

 out of the way. The "cannon-ball" 

 train on the Georgia Railway was late. 

 In making up time it swung round a 

 curve in a cut at full speed. A bald 

 eagle was seen on the track by the 

 fireman, who was looking out of the 

 window. The pilot of the engine was 

 upon the bird before he could rise. It 

 struck him, tumbled him upon the 

 frame, and fastened one of his claws 

 into a wooden beam. 



Before the eagle had time to get 

 back his senses the fireman climbed 

 along the foot-rail to the pilot. He 

 caught the great bird, and a fierce 

 struggle followed. The bird fought 

 for freedom and the fireman fought for 

 a prize. 



The train was going at the rate of 

 forty-five miles an hour. It was hard 

 for the man to keep himself on the 

 engine with one hand on the rail and 

 the other holding the eagle, which tore 

 at him wildly as the engine swung to 

 and fro upon the rails. 



The man's clothing was torn to 

 shreds and his hands were bleeding. 

 But he worked his way back to the 

 cab where the engineer assisted him in 

 tying the eagle so he could not get 

 away. But the tying was not easy for 

 two men, for the bird made good use 

 of his great beak and claws. 



When spread out on the car floor he 

 measured seven feet from tip to tip of 

 his wings. He was not injured, and is 

 now kept as a splendid prisoner, the 

 king of American birds. 



36 



