The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-07-03


seen his image traced in outlines OF silver and
gold upon little circular slips Of metal, of size
very convenient for carrying about in the
pocket. But such traditions are not received
with favor by some antiquarians of these latter
days; to them they are invested with halo of
mystery and doubt; they consider them entirely
reliable as fairy tales, but beyond that as serv-
ing no practical or particular purpose. Such
persons are said to be quite numerous in
Washington.
However this may be; there are known to us
certain individuals of most respectable beloog-
ings who have even seen the Eagle himself
feathers and al Although the accounts of such
persons differ on a few points of minor conse-
quence they all agree in representing him as
being bald For this reason ornithologists have
sometimes styled him the Bald-headed Eagle,
but this title is not so popular with the masses
as the more euphonious "Great American" On
one other point these individuals who have been
favored with a vision of the bird himself exhibit
a remarkable agreement; they are so unani-
nous, in fact, that we cannot with safety dispute
the conclusions at which they have arrived.
These conclusions affect tine size OF the Eagle.
Large birds are not so uncommon as to be con-
sidered remarkable In ancient Egypt there
the whole land was said TO be "sha1owlng with
wings" This was probably the Phoenix.
Then, too, Mahomet, the prophet OF Allah
and founder of the Moslem faith, who, as is well
known to all students of history, visited heaven
on several occasions, having been borne thither
usually on the back of mule; this Mahommet,
a perfectly reliable person, by-the-way, is said
to have seen an enormous chicken, which stood
l,,,, l..
fairly emerged INTO the third and whose duty it
was every morning in the year to awaken the
angels by his growing.
But the Bald-headed Eagle-or the Great Anne
rican Eagle, if you willis said TO be much
larger than either of these historical
prodigies. His exact proportions have not as
yet been ascertained owing to the fact that it is
but ninety years tomorrow since his species
first became known to the persons whose bus
ness it is to inquire into such matters. Never
theless he IS bird as remarkable for his bigness
as for any of his other numerous
striking points. Among the larger speci
mems concerning which authentic accounts
have come down 10 us, we have space for men
ton of but two. The first of these was seen by
a FourthofJuly orator, who resided In an inte-
rior town in the neighboring State Of New
Je sey. The Eagle whose acquaintance he had
made, was of such gigantic outlines that he was
able to stand with one foot upon the Rocky
Mountains and the other upon the Alleghenies,
and when he spread his wings they rufiea the
surface of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The
other was even more remarkable as tar as its size
was concerned, and, if we remember rightly,
was seen by a person who resided at the time ia
the State of Indiana. He--the Eagle, not the
| ''person"-is said to have been standing, for
&C mlorts sake, with one foot resting upon the
| Northern branch of The Western Hemisphere
| and the other upon the Southern, and while
| doing in this position, with wings outspread
TO have had the tips of both badly frost-bitten
because of their proximity TO the Arctic and
| Antarctic poles. This was a very large bird,
| probably the largest ever seen. But he was
| found rather unwieldy for this sublunary sphere,
| and is supposed to have migrated elsewhere Just
befole the invasion of Mexico by Napoleon III
and his "man Friday" surnamed Mazimilian.
Such being the Forth of July, and such the
noble bird whose gala day it is we are prepared
to commence the celebration. And Of all the
cities of the Union there is no one whose people
can lay claim to better right TO do so than we
of the City of Brotherly Love. The history OF
our city IS replete with shining episodes of the
War OF independence, and within her limits
stands that quaint old structure in which, on
the Fourth of July just ninety years ago,
were gathered the men who dared rebuke
| a ryrant by asserting the inahenable rights OF
their manhood, even though the world looked
on with much scoiing and an incredulous wag
of The head. In bygone times we have been
true TO this rich Inheritance, but tom orrow
we shall celebrate the day in manner that
shall put to shame not only all our previous
Efforts, but the previous efforts of all our sister
cities. Such, at least, is the intent Of those
who have the matter in charge, and we think
they will not meet with disappointment.
The first element in an appropriate celebration
OF the Fourth OF July is nolse-ln fact the whole
affair might properly be designated O carnival
OF embryo thunder. 1t is understood that the
most ample arrangements have been made for
| causing the celebration of tomorrow to be un
equalled in this respect, as in all Others. The
noise will commence punctuallY this evening al
sunset, by tie firing OF crackers and squibs, and
| Will be continued throughout the night with
more or less irregularlty, but without any dis
| tinct pauses. Later in the evening, the rattle
OF musketry and the clatter OF pistols Will bc
/ added, and throughout the whole there will bC
a eoodlg sprinkling of rockets, Roman candles
and double-headed Dutchmen, which partake o
the combined qualities Of noise and smoke.
At sunrise on the morning of the Fourth thu
uproar will commence in earnest by the openins
of tue great guns. 1t will be well Tor thos
persons who reside in the neighborhOod OF tn
points at which salutes are to be fired, and VIII
do not desire to have heavy GLACIERS bill 4
loot after the ceremonies are entirely over,
they win take the precaution to leave their win
doWs raised 70 the height of few inches.
,J, mill ho ,,fi, cl -