Notes and Correspondence 



207 



which continued increasing in intensity. The boys thought it must be a rock 

 avalanche, and though it sounded very much like the reverberation that comes 

 from such avalanches, I placed the noise up in the air, and involuntarily 

 glanced up expecting to see the branches of the trees whipping about and 

 bending under the effects of a local hurricane or whirlwind, for this seemed, on 

 the spur of the moment, the most plausible explanation of this great volume of 

 sound. Instead I saw two golden eagles tearing through the air and descending 

 at an angle of at least forty-five degrees, passing immediately over the tops of 

 the trees above our heads and shooting down into the depths of Tehipite Val- 

 ley. Their immense wings were bowed in close to their bodies, and as they 

 went shooting down they gave one the impression of tremendous power and 

 energy, very much like the proverbial falling thunderbolt. I do not know when 

 I have witnessed anything which has given me a greater impression of tre- 

 mendous power. Accompanied by the almost unbelievable roar produced by 

 their sudden descent through the air, one can well understand how small help- 

 less creatures like the fawn would be petrified by terror and become the easy 

 prey of these powerful birds. 



Dr. C. Hart Merriam, formerly chief of the U. S. Biological Survey and con- 

 nected with the Smithsonian Institution, tells me that in his varied travels he 

 has only once witnessed a similar occurrence. This was in the San Francisco 

 Mountains of Arizona, when he and his companion, Mr. Bailey, heard a simi- 

 lar roaring sound, and, looking up, saw a golden eagle shooting down out of 

 the air, aimed directly at them. Mr. Bailey involuntarily, in order to save him- 

 self from what seemed impending catastrophe, raised his gun and shot the 

 bird, which fell dead at their feet. Upon mature reflection, the only explana- 

 tion they could give was that they were standing in the vicinity of the only 

 water-hole to be found on that portion of the mountain, and that this eagle 

 was either descending in search of prey or to visit this water-hole. 



I have, both in the Kern River and from Eagle Peak in Yosemite, seen an 

 eagle close his wings and shoot down with incredible speed for 1000 feet or 

 more, and then spreading his wings sail away in the distance, but in each case 

 these birds were so far away that I did not hear the tremendous roar which 

 necessarily accompanies this performance. Perhaps other readers of the Bulle- 

 tin may have similar experiences to recount. WllllA-m E. Colby 



Letter from the Secretary of the Interior 

 My Dear Dr. Bade: Washington, D. C, December 13, 1920 



Thank you for yours of December 7th. 



Under separate cover I am sending you a copy of my annual report. 



Senator Walsh has introduced a bill, S. 4529, authorizing the construction of 

 a dam within three miles of the outlet of Yellowstone Lake. The exact spot is 

 not indicated. Senator Jones has introduced a bill, S. 4554, to repeal so much 

 of the Water Power Act as opens the national parks. The Walsh Bill should 

 be defeated; the Jones Bill should be passed. 



Sincerely yours, John Barton Payne 



