638 



HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



ing seen from above, and also guards it from being harried by 

 persons let down by ropes. To take an Eagle's nest is always a 

 task of extreme difficulty, and one which tries to the utmost the 

 nerves and endurance of the climber. It also makes considerable 



The Eagle. 



demands on his courage ; for, if the parent birds should discover 

 th^ intruder, they are sure to attack him, and may very probably 

 dash him to the ground. 



Should the bold cragsman succeed in reaching the nest, he does 

 not find it a very pleasant locality. The nostrils of the Eagle are 

 very useful for the purpose of respiration, but the bird has appar- 

 ently little or no olfactory sensibilities. The stench that arises 

 from an inhabited Eagle's nest is quite beyond the power of de- 

 scription, for the young Eagles themselves are not the sweetest 

 beings in the world, and their evil odor is supplemented , by that 



