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 cliffs, 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 River. 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 body. 
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. 
