THE WHITE-HEADED EAGLE. 
269 
the eagle heeds them not ; they are at that time beneath 
his attention. The next moment, however, the wild, 
trumpet-like sound of a yet distant but approaching 
swan is heard. A shriek from the female eagle comes 
across the stream, — Tor, kind reader, she is fully as 
alert as her mate. The latter suddenly shakes the whole 
of his body, and with a few touches of his bill, aided 
by the action of his cuticular muscles, arranges his 
plumage in an instant. The snow white bird is now 
in sight: her long neck is stretched forward; her eye 
is on the watch, vigilant as that of her enemy; her 
large wings seem with difficulty to support the w r eight 
of her body, although they flap incessantly. So irksome 
do her exertions seem, that her very legs are 
spread beneath her tail, to aid her in her flight. She 
approaches, how r ever. The eagle has marked her for 
his prey. As the swan is passing the dreaded pair, 
starts from his perch, in full preparation for the chase, 
the male bird, with an awful scream, that to the sw r an’s 
ear brings more terror than the report of the large 
duck gun. 
“ Now is the moment to witness the display of the 
eagle’s powers. He glides through the air like a falling 
star, and, like a flash of lightning, comes upon the 
timorous quarry, which now, in agony and despair, 
seeks, by various manoeuvres, to elude the grasp of his 
cruel talons. It mounts, doubles, and willingly would 
plunge into the stream, were it not prevented by the 
eagle, wffiich, long possessed of the knowledge that by 
such a stratagem the swan might escape him, forces it 
to remain in the air by attempting to strike it with his 
talons from beneath. The hope of escape is soon given 
up by the sw r an. It has already become much weakened, 
and its strength fails at the sight of the courage and 
swiftness of its antagonist. Its last gasp is about to 
escape, wffien the ferocious eagle strikes with his talons 
the under side of its wing, and with unresisted power 
forces the bird to fall in a slanting direction upon the 
nearest shore. 
“ It is then, reader, that you may see the cruel spirit 
