KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



27 



whole of human life to a wire-bound system of 

 misery and constraint" — If you were a sister of 

 ours, how should we glory in being known as 

 your brother ! Your letter convinces us that we 

 were, both, born under one and the same planet. 

 Patience, gentle Leonora. We share your sorrows, 

 and hope some day to rejoice in your happiness. 

 Meantime, if we can aid you, how glad shall we 

 be to do it !] 



A desperate Encounter between an Eagle and a 

 Salmon. — Mr. Editor, — I have just been reading 

 a very graphic account (in a book called Life 

 in the Woods) of a fight between an eagle and a 

 salmon. Being peculiarly adapted for a periodical 

 like yours, which circulates so largely in families, 

 I have copied it, and herewith send it you. The 

 narration carries with it an air of truth that 

 will give it a double interest : — " I have often 

 been struck with the singular attachment hunters 

 sometimes have for some bird or animal, while all 

 the rest of the species they pursue with deadly 

 hostility. About five hundred yards from Beach's 

 hut stands a lofty pine tree, on which a grey 

 eagle has built its nest annually during the nine 

 years he has lived on the shores of the Raquette. 

 The Indian who dwelt there before him, says that 

 the same pair of birds made their nest on that 

 tree for ten years previous — making in all nine- 

 teen years they have occupied the same spot, and 

 built on the same branch. One day, however, 

 Beach was near losing his bold eagle. He was 

 lying at anchor, fishing, when he saw his favorite 

 bird, high up in heaven, slowly sweeping round 

 and round in a huge circle, evidently awaiting 

 the approach of a fish to the surface. For an 

 hour or more, he thus sailed with motionless 

 wings above the water, when all at once he stop- 

 ped and hovered a moment with an excited ges- 

 ture — then, rapid as a flash of lightning, and with 

 a rush of his broad pinions, like the passage of a 

 sudden gust of wind, came to the still bosom of 

 the lake. He had seen a huge salmon trout 

 swimming near the surface ; and plunging from 

 his high watch tower, drove his talons deep in 

 his victim's back. So rapid and strong was his 

 swoop, that he buried himself out of sight when 

 he struck, but the next moment he emerged into 

 view, and, flapping his wings, endeavored to 

 rise with his prey. But this time he had mis- 

 calculated his strength — in vain he struggled 

 nobly to lift the salmon from the water. The 

 frightened and bleeding fish made a sudden dive, 

 and took eagle and all out of sight, and was gone 

 a quarter of a minute. Again they rose to the 

 surface, and the strong bird spread his broad 

 dripping pinions, and, gathering force with his 

 rapid blows, raised the salmon half out of water. 

 The weight, however, was too great for him, and 

 he sank again to the surface, beating the water 

 into foam about him. The salmon then made 

 another dive, and they both went under, leaving 

 only a few bubbles to tell where they had gone 

 down. This time they were absent a full half 

 minute, and Beach said he thought it was all 

 over with his bird. He soon however reap- 

 peared, with his talons still buried in the flesh of 

 his foe, and again made a desperate effort to 

 rise. All this time the fish was shooting like an 

 arrow through the lake, carrying his relentless 



foe on his back. He could not keep the eagle 

 down, nor the bird carry him up — and so, now 

 beneath, and now upon the surface, they strug- 

 gled on, presenting one of the most singular yet 

 exciting spectacles that can be imagined. It 

 was fearful to witness the blows of the eagle, as 

 he lashed the lake with his wings into spray, 

 and made the shores echo with the report. At 

 last the bird thinking, as they say west, that he 

 had 'waked the wrong passenger,' gave it up, 

 and loosening his clutch, soared heavily and 

 slowly away to his lofty pine tree, where he sat 

 for a long time sullen and sulky, the picture of 

 disappointed ambition. So might a wounded and 

 baffled lion lie down in his lair and brood over 

 his defeat. Beach said that he could easily have 

 captured them, but he thought he would see the 

 fight out. When, however, they both stayed 

 under half a minute or more, he concluded he 

 should never see his eagle again. Whether the 

 latter in his rage was bent on capturing his 

 prize, and would retain his hold, though at the 

 hazard of his life, or whether in his terrible 

 swoop he had struck his crooked talons so deep 

 in the back of the salmon that he could not ex- 

 tricate himself, the hunter said he could not tell. 

 The latter, however, was doubtless the truth, 

 and he would have been glad to have let go long 

 before he did." — This must have been a sight 

 worth witnessing, Mr. Editor, must it not ? How 

 exciting, when the eagle disappeared under 

 water with the salmon ! — G. H., Stepney. 



[We thank you for your vigilance. This is 

 indeed a very interesting anecdote.] 



Goldfinch Mules, Hints to Breeders of. — Con- 

 sidering, Mr. Editor, that the results of all " ex- 

 periments " should be made known in the Public's 

 " Own Journal," I send you the following. I 

 recently put up a male goldfinch with a hen 

 canary. Their nest was soon made. Eive eggs 

 were laid in as many days. On the fifth day, 

 I removed the goldfinch to another hen, leaving 

 his first wife to "sit." [It would appear that 

 the genus " Goldfinch " are allowed a plurality 

 of wives. It was so when we were young; and 

 it appears to be so now.] Just two days previous 

 to the natural time for hatching, I examined the 

 nest. Instead of five eggs, I found no fewer than 

 eight ! On experimenting with these, I found six 

 were good, and two bad; the latter were destroyed. 

 The thirteenth day arrived, but no young ones. 

 A week passed; the same result! Eive more 

 days, and three young appeared; two days sub- 

 sequently, and the whole number made five. 

 They are all doing well. I imagine all this extra 

 time in the hatching was required by the de- 

 ficiency of heat; the poor little hen did not 

 possess warmth sufficient for eight eggs. Placed 

 in a balance, I imagine the latter would have 

 been heavier than the mother ! As a rule, I am 

 a decided advocate for " trying " all eggs on the 

 twelfth evening after sitting. The heat of the 

 water should be 100 degrees only. Three 

 minutes would test which of the eggs had life, 

 and which were addled. If this were always 

 done, fewer young would be lost. The eggs must 

 never be wiped nor dried, simply returned to 

 the nest in a warmed spoon. A new nest ought 

 to be got ready while the eggs are being tested. 



