Eagles attempting the rescue of a wounded companion.— Hav- 
ing noticed a number of times mention of the fact that Gulls and other 
large birds have been known to come to the rescue of a wounded compan- 
ion, and believing that this same trait has never been noticed in tbe Eagle, 
I note the following account as witnessed by Paul Scheuring (Nov. 6, 1880). 
While hunting on the marshes of Green Bay, he discovered four large 
Eagles (Haliaetus leucocephalus) circling around not far distant; he im- 
mediately paddled towards them and succeeded in wounding one to such 
an extent that it could not fly, but lay fluttering on the water. Before he 
could reach it the other three Eagles had flown to the assistance of the 
fallen bird. Catching hold of its wings the noble birds did their best to 
Rapacious Birds in Confinement. — In the winter of 1874 I spent 
several months with a friend who had a number of rapacious birds in 
confinement. There were a couple of Barred Owls, a Great Horned Owl, 
and a Rough-legged Hawk, living together upon excellent terms in one 
apartment; in another, half a dozen Mottled Owls; and in another a 
superb B ald Eajfi e. Most of these birds became quite tame after a short 
period of captivity, tolerating our presence in their quarters, taking food 
from our hands, and even submitting to caresses. One little Scops devel- 
oped especial docility. My friend, who was a taxidermist, used to place it 
upon a perch at his side and copy strigine attitudes from nature. The 
accommodating bird would sit content for half an hour at a time, and never 
objected to any sort of gentle handling. One of its brethren, however, 
was vicious and untameable. He nipped our fingers whenever occasion 
offered, snapped and spat if even approached, and finally sealed his own 
doom by decapitating his gentle associate. 
We did not succeed in cultivating a spirit of great tractability in the 
Eagle. Aside from the amusement he occasionally afforded in tackling 
living quarry, generally some superfluous cat, he was a rather uninteresting 
captive. One morning we -omitted his breakfast, but in the course of the 
forenoon introduced a kitten into his apartment. He eyed her sharply for 
a few moments, then persistently ignored her, and in the evening she was 
removed unscathed. Upon this we instituted upon the royal bird a brief 
course of starvation, and then submitted the unfortunate kitten again. 
This time her reception was very different. At sight of her he manifested 
great excitement, and in a very few minutes left his perch with a jump and 
a flop, and seized the poor beast in his talons. He struck her very nicely, 
pinning fore paws and head together with one foot, the hind paws together 
with the other, thus preventing the slightest resistance. My remorse at 
this stage of the proceedings was somewhat alleviated by the fact that the 
kitten did not even quiver, having apparently been instantly killed by the 
force of the blow. However, the Eagle at once put an end to what little 
life may have been left by breaking her spine with his beak. He thereupon 
tore a hole in her abdomen, and cast the intestines daintily aside. The 
contents of the stomach were examined and, with the exception of a single 
tid-bit which appeared to be a piece of bread, rejected. The rest of die 
body was then rapidly devoured. On the following morning a full-grown 
tom-cat was turned loose in the cage. The Eagle attacked him several 
times but was valiantly repelled, and up to the end of the third day. when 
he made his escape, Thomas remained master of the situation. Dissatis- 
fied with this experiment, my friend subsequently 'introduced the cat in a 
half-stunned condition, and after getting well scratched the Eagle succeeded 
in overcoming him. —Nathan Clifford Brown, Portland, Maine. 
Bull. N. O.O, 7, July, 1882, p. 
(jyjjje I/sms* 
(s 1 i — 
ERW-YORK, THURSDAY, SEPT. 27, 1883. 
CAUGHT BY TWO BLUE-FISH. 
AN EAGLE AND A BOY HAVE AN ADVEN- 
TURE IN THE THAMES RIVER. 
Korwich, Conn., Sepfc. 28.— While rowing 
in the pouring rain of Monday afternoon on Mas- 
sajeag Cove, on the Thames River, halfway be- 
tween this city and New-London, Frank Crandall, 
a Montville lad, bad a rare adventure. Rounding 
a wooded promontory, he saw just ahead of him a 
great biro in the water furiously lashing the waves 
with its wings. He pulled rapidly to the spot 
and fouDd it was an eagle struggling to 
rise, while some object in the river kept 
it down. As the place was near the shore and the 
water shallow. Crandall leaped overboard and at- 
tempted to capture the bird. A desperate struggle 
ensued. The easrle struck at him wuh its wmtrs 
and beak, uttering shrill cries, while it vainly en- 
deavored to extricate its talons from the object 
that held it to the water. At last the lad threw 
. himself on the bird, bearing it under water, and 
then flung it into the boaL clambering in and lad- 
ing upon it. Still the eagle fought hard, but C ran- 
dall threw a piece of sail-cloth over it and suc- 
ceeded in winding his stout anchor rope around 
its legs. , . . , 
Then the lad examined his capture and saw that 
each of the eagle’s talons was deeply imbedded in 
the back of a large blue-fish. In the conflict with 
tbe boy the bird had beaten each fish into an al- 
most shapeless pulp, but the sharp claws were still 
tightly fixed in their back-bones. It is supposed 
that the eagle descended into a large, close- 
ly huddled school of blue-fish and, contrary 
to its intentions, struck two fish instead 
of a single one. The double capture was too 
heavy baliast for an easy rise, and in the struggle 
the eagle’s wings became soaked with water, and 
then escape was Impossible. Crandall took his 
bird home alive and has it now on exhibition. It 
measures G feet from tip to tip. He thinks he can 
sell it for $1. 
MISS JULIA F. MA Y'S MISHAP. 
Milwaukee, Sept. 26.— Considerable of a 
sensation was created by a report this morning 
that Miss Julia F. May, a well-known operatic sing- 
er, who joined the Hess company recently, ho ' 
