345
Concord, Mass.
1897
Nov. 21
(No 3)
as a boy of five or six years of age. Its position
was very erect, its pose impressively dignified and
commanding. "What a noble creature"! I said to
myself as I put my glass on it. It appeared
to be mottled all over with white on a nearly black
ground. Holden asked in a whisper
"what is it"? I replied "I do not know; I have
never seen anything like it before".
  All the while we were standing about fifty yards
off.
  I now advanced covering the bird partially by
the stems of some birches. It must have seen me
but it did not move in the least. When I was 
within about twenty-five yards I felt sure
of it and taking careful aim at its head
gave it a charge of no 4 shot. As it fell over
backwards it threw up its legs and thinking 
that I saw feathered tarsi I shouted out with
exultation "it is a Golden Eagle"! When I 
reached it, however, I found that it was only 
an immature Bald Eagle with an unusual
amount of white on the back and breast. It
showed no signs of having ever been confined.
What made it look so very large is difficult to
understand for it measured only 7 ft [feet] 5 inches from
tip to tip.
  Almost the strangest part of the story remains
to be told. On the crest of the ridge a little above
where Holden had first seen the bird flying we
found its tracks in the snow. Following the trail
back we discovered that it had walked through