GOLDEN EAGLE. 
17 
this species to the chase of hares, foxes, wolves, antelopes, and 
other kinds of large game, in which it displayed all the docility 
of the Falcon. The longevity of the Eagle is as remarkable as 
its strength ; it is believed to subsist for a century, and is about 
three years in gaining its complete growth and fixed plumage. 
This bird was held in high estimation by the ancients on ac- 
count of its extraordinary magnitude, courage, and sanguinary 
habits. The Romans chose it as an emblem for their imperial 
standard; and from its aspiring flight and majestic soaring it 
was fabled to hold communication with heaven and to be the 
favorite messenger of Jove. The Tartars liave a particular 
esteem for the feathers of the tail, with which they supersti- 
tiously think to plume invincible arrow's. It is no less the 
venerated War- Eagle of our Northern and Western aborigines ; 
and the caudal feathers are extremely valued for talismanic 
head-dresses and as sacred decorations for the Pipe of Peace. 
The Eagle appears to be more abundant around Hudson’s 
Bay than in the United States ; but they arc not unfrequent in 
the great plains of the Mississippi and Missouri, as appears 
from the frequent use of the feathers by tlie natives. The 
wilderness seems their favorite resort, and they neither crave 
nor obtain any advantage from the society of man. Attached 
to the mountains in which they are bred, it is a rare occurrence 
to see the Eagle in this vicinity ; and, as with some other birds, 
it would appear that the young only are found in the United 
States, w'hile the old remain in Labrador and the northern 
regions. The lofty mountains of New Hampshire afford suit- 
able situations for the eyry of the Eagle, over whose snow-clad 
summits he is seen majestically soaring in solitude and gran- 
deur. A young bird from this region, which I have seen in a 
state of domestication, showed considerable docility. He had, 
however, been brought up from the nest, in which he was found 
in the month of August ; he appeared even playful, turning his 
head about in a very antic manner, as if desirous to attract 
attention, — still, his glance was quick and fiery. When birds 
were given to him, he plumed them very clean before he began 
his meal, and picked the subject to a perfect skeleton. 
VOL. I. — 2 
