THE EAGLE AND THE VULTURE, 1^23 
that, the dead horse being a large animal, its skin, 
according to this quotation, must have been too 
tough to be torn asunder by the vultures, until 
putrefaction took place. If, then, these vultures 
really commenced devouring the dead animal while 
it was yet fresh, Mr. Audubon's theory, just quoted, 
is worth nothing. If, on the contrary, the horse 
in question had become sufficiently putrid to allow 
the vultures to commence operations, then I will 
show that the aerial account of the eagle and the 
vulture is either a mere imaginary effusion of the 
author's fancy, or a hoax played off upon his igno- 
rance by some designing wag. 
The entrails of a dead animal are invariably the 
first part to be affected by putrefaction. Now, we 
are told that a piece of gut had been torn from the 
rest, and swallowed by the vulture ; a portion of 
the said gut, about a yard in length, hanging out of 
his mouth. The vulture, pressed hard by the eagle, 
tried in vain to disgorge the gut. This is at vari- 
ance with a former statement, in which Mr. Audu- 
bon assures us that an eagle will force a vulture to 
disgorge its food in a moment : so that the validity 
of this former statement must be thrown overboard, 
in order to insure the safety of the present adven- 
ture ; or vice vei^sd^ the present adventure must 
inevitably sink, if the former statement is to be 
preserved. Be this as it may, the eagle, out of all 
manner of patience at the clumsiness of the vulture, 
in his attempt to restore to daylight that part of 
the gut which was lying at the bottom of his sto- 
mach, laid hold of the end which was still hanging 
