AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
199 
was applied. It was most probably used in their burial 
ceremonies, or was in some way connected with their 
superstitious rites. I have seen some ancient Grecian lachry- 
matories, not very unlike it in figure; and perhaps the abo- 
rigines of the west, employed this vessel to gather the tears 
in honour of the dead. On the upper part of the body of 
the vessel, there are four representations of the head of 
some quadruped. When I first examined these rude speci- 
mens of sculpture, I supposed, that the head of the animal 
intended by the artist, was that of the hog. The head of 
the Sus tajassu, or Mexican hog, cut off square, was found 
a few years ago, in a good state of preservation, in one of 
the saltpetre caves of Kentucky. Dr. Drake’s notice of 
this curious circumstance, which I have just read, confirms 
this opinion; though an ingenious friend has supposed, that 
the head carved on the vase, was that of the bear. The 
head mentioned by Dr. Drake, seems to have been pre- 
served with superstitious care, with the same intent, proba- 
bly, that the ibis and the beetle were embalmed by the 
Egyptians. 
That bottles ornamented with various devices, were 
sometimes used by our aborigines, for idolatrous purposes, 
is quite certain, from the one found at Natchez, and now 
in the cabinet of the American Antiquarian Society, and 
also from the three headed bottle, discovered in a mound, 
on the Cumberland river. These heads are supposed by 
Mr. Atwater, to represent the three principal idols of India, 
Brahma, Vishnoo, and Siva. He, therefore, is of opinion, 
that the authors of our ancient works in the west, originated 
in Hindostan. These works, we know, are located near 
our principal rivers. “ To the consecrated streams of Hin- 
dostan, devotees assembled from all parts of the empire, to 
worship their gods, and to purify themselves by bathing in 
their sacred waters. In this country, the sacred places of 
the aborigines were uniformly on the bank of some river, 
and who knows, but that the Muskingum, the Scioto, the 
Miami, the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Mississippi, 
were once deemed as sacred, and their banks as thickly 
settled and as well cultivated, as are now, the Indus, the 
Ganges, and the Burrampooter.” J- G. 
THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 
FALCO CHRYSAETOS. 
In symmetry, in strength, in the vigour of her wing, the=; 
acuteness of her vision, and the terrible clutch of her talons, 
the Golden Eagle is superior to every other bird ; and as 
her habitation is always in those time-built palaces, the 
most lofty and inaccessible precipices, there is sublimity in 
her dwelling; and though in reality a long-lived bird, she 
has popularly gained a sort of immortality, from the durable 
nature of her abode. It appears to be one of the general 
provisions of nature, that the most powerful destroyers of 
living animals should have their favourite haunts in the 
most lonely places; and in this, the lion, the most powerful 
of quadrupeds, and the Golden Eagle, the most vigorous of 
birds, completely agree. There is, however, a wonderful 
difference in the distances at which they can discover their 
prey: the lion springs only a few yards, while the eagle 
darts down from the mid-heaven, in one perpendicular and 
accelerating stoop. 
The Golden Eagle is among the largest as well as the 
most powerful of birds. Specimens have been found, mea- 
suring nearly four feet in length, and about nine feet across 
the wings, when they were fully extended. Specimens of 
much larger dimensions have also been seen, one of which 
was shot at Warkworth, measured eleven feet three inches 
from the tip of the one wing to that of the other, and 
weighed eighteen pounds. Probably large specimens were 
more abundant formerly, when the wild countries were left 
freer to their range than they are now. The average dimen- 
sions may be taken at three feet long, and seven feet and a 
half in expanse, in the male; and three feet and a half long, 
and eight feet in expanse, in the female. This great extent 
of wings, makes these when folded as long as the tail. Con- 
sidering its breadth and strength, the Golden Eagle is not 
a very heavy animal, the average weight being about twelve 
pounds for the male, and fifteen for the female. The figure 
is, however, compact, and the parts admirably balanced ; 
and both the individual parts and the general arrangement 
and symmetry, are indicative of great strength. In order 
that the powerful muscles and tendons by which the talons 
are moved may be protected from thd weather, the tarsi, 
or feet-bones of the Eagle are closely feathered,’ down to 
the very division of the toes. The general colour of the 
toes, is yellow; they are defended above by hornj? plates, 
or scales, of which there are only three on the last joint of 
each toe, and they are furnished with talons, which are 
strong, black, sharp, and very much hooked. So admirable 
is the mechanism by which the toes and talons of the Eagle 
are moved, that a dried foot may be made to act powerfully 
by pulling the tendons, long after it has been dead; and the 
tendons themselves are among the toughest of natural sub- 
stances. There is considerable dignity in the repose of the 
Eagle; she usually sits upon a pinnacle of rock, where she 
*can command an extensive view; and the head is often 
recurvated, so that one eye is directed to the front, and the 
other to the rear. The knobs on the under part of the toes 
prevent any injury from the roughest rock, and .take a firm 
