
The young eagle swims quite readily 
it around a limb of the other tree. Then, 
with a crotched stick which I cut from 
a limb beside me, I “fished” for the 
end of the rope that dangled over that 
limb. I drew it to me, and made the 
end fast. Then, by swaying the top of 
the tree a few inches at a time, and 
cinching up each time on the slack rope, 
I bent the top.of the tree I was in 
closer to the big nest-tree. 
WONDER now that I had the nerve 
to do what I did. I know I would 
be afraid to do it again. But I was 
thinking more of the pictures I was go- 
ing to get than I was of anything else. 
There wasn’t a thing except space 
between me and the ground as I swung 
off on that limb and went hand over 
hand to the other tree. I kept my arms 
over the rope I’d strung across so that 
if the limb should break, I’d have the 
rope to fall back on. 
I was now in the big tree, and near 
my objective. Not twenty feet above 
me was the nest. It was fully six feet 
across, and there were sticks in it that 
were a good inch and a half through. 
I looked about to see if I could locate 
the remaining parent bird, but it was 
nowhere in sight; but I also knew that 
if my reasoning had been correct—and 
it had gone fishing—it might be back 
anytime now. 
ELL, I gained the nest and here’s 
the picture of what I saw there. 
(See illustration of young eaglet.) It’s 
not a very good picture because I was 
thinking more of that eagle that might 
be coming any minute. There wasn’t 
a single limb above the nest. It was 
practically at the tip top of the tree, 
and that accounts for the fact that it’s 
out of focus. I didnt have a portrait at- 
tachment and had to get the camera six 
feet from the baby eagle for the pic- 
ture to be clear. I had begun to think 
more of yours truly and less of the pic- 
ture I was taking. And perhaps it is 
264 
just as well that I did. I sometimes 
wonder just what would have happened 
had I taken a little more time. I am 
certain that the picture would have 
been better, but I’m not quite so sure 
that it would have been developed. If 
you get what I mean. 
OR it was just a moment later that 
I heard a cry that came pretty 
near, I fear, to sending my heart up in 
my throat. It was the battle cry of the 
great American bird, and I was in no 
position to give battle. I made an ig- 
nominous retreat that is rather hazy 
in my mind. I had caught a glimpse 
of the great monarch of the air sweep- 
ing toward me. Just how I got to the 
ground in the time that I did is still 
not just clear to me. Therefore I can- 
not give here the details of it. But if 
you have ever been in a fire station 
when the gong is sounded and have wit- 
nessed a fireman sliding down the brass 
pole from the loft above, I venture to 
say that you can bring to mind a pic- 
ture of the descent I made. 
In relating this, I suppose I should 
have been orderly and told you some- 
thing of the baby eagle while I was up 
in the tree, so to speak. Not being 
orderly in such matters, I’ll say some- 
thing about Young America now that 
the ground has been reached and my 
mind is functioning more or less as 
a normal mind should. 
N the first place, he was the gamest 
little bird I’ve ever seen. He had 
more fight per square inch than a Mar- 
ine, bearing in mind Chateau Thierry. 
The moment I poked my head above 
the rim of the nest, he reared upon 
his legs and glared defiance at me. And 
when I say glared, I mean just that. 
He spread his little fuzzy, featherless 
wings, crouched back and let out a 
series of baby cries that resembled even 
then that great, piercing cry that was 
soon to be his heritage. Lord of the 
Air! He has been rightly named. 
From his baby brown eyes there seemed 
to flare defiance at all creation. He 
knew that I had no business there, and 
looked at me as much as to say: 
“If I had my growth, or even half 
of my growth, you’d never be up here, 
you big coward.” And his actions 
backed up these words I imagined him 
to be saying. He was several weeks 
old, but the bald eagle gets its growth 
very slowly. It is months before he 
is ready to take to the air. 
But I was curious to see just what 
my little friend was going to look like 
in two months. So I waited till that 
time should come, and he knew he would 
be about ready to take his initial flight 
into the air. 
Nex I had heard that the eagle is a 
big bird by the time it is able to 
fly, but I was not prepared for what I 
saw. 
No, I didn’t climb that tree again. 
Don’t get the wrong impression. Though ~ 
I will admit I was foolish enough to 
try to. But I hadn’t climbed far when 
I saw somethine that created in 
(Continued on page 312) 

Though but a few months old, he is quite capable of taking 
care of himself, 
a 
