Wisconsin tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1847-1854, 1850-05-10

chance TO 1re; II there is more than one
this plan will not do, unless they are al
lying, and then he may gain 30 or so yards
before they get up. Bcturnining to my
subject, the eagle he had now begun K
feed my friends, the crows, seeing me
and flying around me, making great clam
or. When his head was down, [ ran al
all my speed, gaining some 40 yards, and
Just as he was in the act of taking wing
| fired my right barrel at him, which
brought shower of feathers in my face
and made him drop the fish. I then dis
charged my left BARREL bat this did not
stop him however, he only few a few
yards, when he dropped down quite dead
| by this time my old grey friends had dis
! persed, and [ was left alone with the fish,
which was salmon as red as a fox. and
would have weighed above six pounds.
In the year l845. my friend, d. Gil
christ, Esq, Hof Ospeldale, had an eagle
OF this species which he kept in a house
IN his garden for more than two years.
His feeding being rather expensive, hav-
ing cost him at that time more than
one hundred sheep. he offered him to me
which L accepted. | brought him home.
and had him chained behind nv stable.
feeding him on less expensive food, trout
or pike, which Icaught ON Loeb Migdale,
a little behind Ronar Bridge This food
he did not relish much, preferring flesh
to fish, no doubt from being so long accus-
toned to tender sheep. He became rather
s0ciable, but never became tame enough
to justify his being let loose There were
several cats that came to visit him. and to
share with him in his fish meals. Three
Of those he managed to kill and eat, tho
| had never an opportunity of seeing how
he managed to capture them, but suppos-
ed that they had come to steal away some
Of his fish, and having somehow got them
under his powerful talons, made them pay
for their impudence by paying the forfeit
Of their lives. This may be inferred from
the following circumstance, which took
place soon afterwards An old agent,
Mr.. Rodgers, friend Of mine, came to
visit me at Bonar Bridge lie had fine
bull terrier which was named Guard, and
which he said was one of the bravest dogs
in Scotland. l asked my friend to come
and see the eagle, Guard following US
From the way which Guard looked [ tho't
he would ike to have shy at the eagle.
[ asked my friend to take the dog by the
collar, and see what he would do with the
bird. Guard looked rather shy at the
bird, and so did the bird look at Guard
as much as to say 9 Y ou have no business
here" [ asked the dog to be let loose to
see what he would do, when my friend re-
piled, if he IS let loose he will kill the ca
gle in and instant My reply was "never
mind, " well knowing that it was much ca
sier said than done. Guard was let loose.
and IN an instant sprang on the eagle, ia
king out a whole mouthful of feathers.
but IN attempting tc get another mouthful
the eagle got Guard by the neck with one
of his talons, then on the side with the
other. Guard crying and howling in the
most pitiful manner all the while Poor
Guard would not have lasted long were
we not so close to him, and by choking
the eagle, and with the assistance of pIi-
ers succeeded in rescuing the poor dog
The claws of the eagle met in the dogs
neck / really believe if he had been left
for fifteen minutes longer he would have
made a good meal of the brave Guard
There is scarcely a precipitous rock or
high headland on this coast where one or
more of this species do not breed They
also build in the islands of fresh water
lakes, and in the high rocks which over
hang many of those inland seas The
nest Is composed of sticks and moss
When sticks are not convenient, they sup
ply the place with dried tangIes and sea
weed They lay two white eggs. with
a few small red spots on the
round end. The eggs are about the size
of the golden eagle, only more oval In
form In the wild state this eagle is said
to be more partial to fish than flesh, and
on the many solitary streams in this coun
try they feed luxuriantly on large bull
trout and salmon, which they take on their
spawning beds
| have repeatedly taken the eggs of
this species from their nests, which are
in general much more accessible than
that of the golden eagle, though in some
instances equally as difficult. Stonehead
Capewrath, Faroushead, Whitehead and
Dunnethead, are sure to have one or more
pairs breeding in their rocks every season.
My friend, John Wooley, Esq, an indie
naturalist and thorough gentle
man, visited the north last April in search
of rare birds eggs. | accidentally met
him at the hotel in Thurso and next day
accompanied him to an eagles nest at
Dunnethead. On our way thither, he
spoke of going down into the rock for
the eggs, but, pardon me, L thought he
had come from too tame country to
think of going down such an awful preci
pice Dunnethead is a rock to the east
Of Thurso, and is at least 100 feet high,
and where the white swelling breakers re
sound against the rocks in awful magnii
cence. Indeed, few can venture to look
over the precipice. However, if my friend
did not choose to go down for the eggs, l
would. and volunteered to go for him, but
he declined my offer, and would rather 60
himself We had brought ropes from
Thurso sufficiently strong to hold bull
lock, and three men to hold on, whilst |
was to stand on the brink of the rock
to see how he got down, and give direc-
tions to the men above. I lashed him Sc
cure to the rome. and down he went. and