AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



199 



was applied. It was most probably used in their burial 

 ceremonies, or was in some way connected with their 

 superstitious rites. I have seen some ancient Grecian lachry- 

 matories, not very unlike it in figure; and perhaps the abo- 

 rigines of the west, employed this vessel to gather the tears 

 in honour of the dead. On the upper part of the body of 

 the vessel, there are four representations of the head of 

 some quadruped. When I first examined these rude speci- 

 mens of sculpture, I supposed, that the head of the animal 

 intended by the artist, was that of the hog. The head of 

 the Sus tajassu, or Mexican hog, cut off square, was found 

 a few years ago, in a good state of preservation, in one of 

 the saltpetre caves of Kentucky. Dr. Drake's notice of 

 this curious circumstance, which I have just read, confirms 

 this opinion; though an ingenious friend has supposed, that 

 the head carved on the vase, was that of the bear. The 

 head mentioned by Dr. Drake, seems to have been pre- 

 served with superstitious care, with the same intent, proba- 

 bly, that the ibis and the beetle were embalmed by the 

 Egyptians. 



That bottles ornamented with various devices, were 

 sometimes used by our aborigines, for idolatrous purposes, 

 is quite certain, from the one found at Natchez, and now 

 in the cabinet of the American Antiquarian Society, and 

 also from the three headed bottle, discovered in a mound, 

 on the Cumberland river. These heads are supposed by 

 Mr. Atwater, to represent the three principal idols of India, 

 Brahma, Vishnoo, and Siva. He, therefore, is of opinion, 

 that the authors of our ancient works in the west, originated 

 in Hindostan. These works, we know, are located near 

 our principal rivers. " To the consecrated streams of Hin- 

 dostan, devotees assembled from all parts of the empire, to 

 worship their gods, and to purify themselves by bathing in 

 their sacred waters. In this country, the sacred places of 

 the aborigines were uniformly on the bank of some river, 

 and who knows, but that the Muskingum, the Scioto, the 

 Miami, the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Mississippi, 

 were once deemed as sacred, and their banks as thickly 

 settled and as well cultivated, as are now, the Indus, the 

 Ganges, and the Burrampooter." J. G. 



THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 



FALCO CHRYS^ETOS. 



In symmetry, in strength, in the vigour of her wing, the 

 acuteness of her vision, and the terrible clutch of her talons, 

 the Golden Eagle is superior to every other bird ; and as 

 her habitation is always in those time-built palaces, the 



most lofty and inaccessible precipices, there is sublimity in 

 her dwelling; and though in reality a long-lived bird, she 

 has popularly gained a sort of immortality, from the durable 

 nature of her abode. It appears to be one of the general 

 provisions of nature, that the most powerful destroyers of 

 living animals should have their favourite haunts in the 

 most lonely places; and in this, the lion, the most powerful 

 of quadrupeds, and the Golden Eagle, the most vigorous of 

 birds, completely agree. There is, however, a wonderful 

 difierence in the distances at which they can discover their 

 prey: the lion springs only a few yards, while the eagle 

 darts down from the mid-heaven, in one perpendicular and 

 accelerating stoop. 



The Golden Eagle is among the largest as well as the 

 most powerful of birds. Specimens have been found, mea- 

 suring nearly four feet in length, and about nine feet across 

 the wings, when they were fully extended. Specimens of 

 much larger dimensions have also been seen, one of which 

 was shot at Warkworth, measured eleven feet three inches 

 from the tip of the one wing to that of the other, and 

 weighed eighteen pounds. Probably large specimens were 

 more abundant formerly, when the wild countries were left 

 freer to their range than they are now. The average dimen- 

 sions may be taken at three feet long, and seven feet and a 

 half in expanse, in the male; and three feet and a half long, 

 and eight feet in expanse, in the female. This great extent 

 of wings, makes these when folded as long as the tail. Con- 

 sidering its breadth and strength, the Golden Eagle is not 

 a very heavy animal, the average weight being about twelve 

 pounds for the male, and fifteen for the female. The figure 

 is, however, compact, and the parts admirably balanced ; 

 and both the individual parts and the general arrangement 

 and symmetry, are indicative of great strength. In order 

 that the powerful muscles and tendons by which the talons 

 are moved may be protected from the weather, the tarsi, 

 or feet-bones of the Eagle are closely feathered, down to 

 the very division of the toes. The general colour of the 

 toes, is yellow; they are defended above by horny plates, 

 or scales, of which there are only three on the last joint of 

 each toe, and they are furnished with talons, which are 

 strong, black, sharp, and very much hooked. So admirable 

 is the mechanism by which the toes and talons of the Eagle 

 are moved, that a dried foot may be made to act powerfully 

 by pulling the tendons, long after it has been dead; and the 

 tendons themselves are among tlie toughest of natural sub- 

 stances. There is considerable dignity in the repose of the 

 Eagle; she usually sits upon a pinnacle of rock, where she 

 can command an extensive view; and the head is often 

 recurvated, so that one eye is directed to the front, and the 

 other to the rear. The knobs on the under part of the toes 

 prevent any injury from the roughest rock, and take a firm 



