THE EAGLES 71 



South Africa has its Eagles, and one of these nad been 

 plundering the flocks of a Boer farmer near Barberton. 

 Lying in wait one day with his gun, for a chance shot at 

 the marauder, the Boer saw the fierce bird swoop down 

 upon the child of one of his Kaffir servants, and fly off 

 with it. It flew swiftly, but a rifle bullet is swifter. 

 Down tumbled the robber, his talons still clutching the 

 child. Both fell together into a thorn bush. The bird, a 

 very big one, was dead ; the child, except for some scratches, 

 was unhurt. 



A Russian village was the scene of another attack 

 by an Eagle. A peasant woman was walking along, 

 followed by her little two-year-old boy who was playing 

 with his ball as he went. Suddenly the child began 

 screaming, and turning round she saw, to her horror, that 

 a great Golden Eagle had flown down, and was trying to 

 lift and carry him away. He was a sturdy little fellow, 

 and was almost too heavy for even those great wings to 

 fly off with. Twice the strong talons gripped him and he 

 was lifted from the ground, and twice they let him fall. 



If no helper had been near, the poor little fellow would 

 probably have been killed. But happily his mother's loud 

 cries were heard. A man came running up, and with 

 sticks and stones assailed the angry bird till it desisted, 

 albeit very unwillingly, from its attempt, and flew away. 



The child's head was badly torn and bruised, and it 

 must have been many a day before the wounds healed and 

 the dreadful fright was forgotten. 



But these attempts to carry off little children are, as I 

 have already said, by no means common. The Eagle's 

 true food is the mountain hare, or the fish of lake and 

 sea, or the dead sheep that no one wants. As a rule he is 

 only too anxious to keep out of reach of human beings. 



