Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-04-22
sOMETHiNG ABOUT EAGLES.
How They are Captured and How
They Live and Die I'm Captivity.
New York Sun.

New York Sun.
Two men in shooting jackets, two
guns, and box about three feet square,
with Stats nailed across the top, on an
upward bound train on the Hudson riv-
er railroad the other morRing, were the
subjects of much speculation in the
mind of an inquisitive fellow-passenger,
Theories being unsatisfactory, and curl
osity getting the mastery, the inquiry
was ventured:
"May ask what game you are af-
ret?"
.Eagles," said the man with the Scotch
cap.
Perhaps just shade Of incredulity on
his inferlocutor's face led the sportsman
to continue: Rather queer game, that,
insn't itf You see, me and Charley
here sometimes picks up such things
for menageries and travelling shews.
We've got standin' order from 'Fela-
deify' man for pair o. bald eagles at a
good round price, and we saw this little
piece In the paper the other day taking
4 newspaper clipping from his pocket /:
.Scorss Of eaglas have made their ap-
pearance on the Tappan Zee in the past
month. Apparently driven by hunger,
they are very tame. They frequently
alight on the farm fences and circle low
over the river and the adjacent mead
ows In quest Of Of food. They are fine
specimens of the balded-head variety"
Now, IL that's so," said the speaker,
"we'n have q pair Of them birds afors
night"
aBut how will you get themP"
"Why, Just shoot 'em and coop 'em up
In that box. Kill emp Oh no; you
can't kill an eagle with one load Of shot,
not once In o hundred times trying.
They're mighty tough bird. But here
we are, Charley. Good day stranger" /"
and the men and the guns and the eagle
coop wers dropped by the wayside and
the train sped on.
Director Conklin, of the Central Park
msnagerie, took up the thread Of the
sportsman's abruptly ended narrative as
he stood by the cage Of the eagles in the
park and watched the movements of the
dozen captive birds. "Yes, that is cor
rect. All that we have here-and we
get great many from foreign parks
and gardens besides those that we keep
ARE adult birds that have been shot on
the wing. Some Of than ara badly hurt
when we get them, but never knew one
Of them TO die. We patch up wounds
and set broken wings and legs'in splints
and bandages, and in a marvelously
short time the birds are all sound again.
They are remarkably hardy and live to a
very old age. You see that pair there
They were presented to the park when
1t was first opened, more than twenty
years ago, by Manager Stuart, of Niblo's
Garden. They were adults then, for
they had white heads, which they don't
get until they are three years old. We
have never lost an eagle by natural
death"
@How do they die, then?"
"They kin each other. They have
terrible battles among themselves occa-
cionaliy, and unless somebody gets to
the cage in time one bird or the other
is killed. They scream and make such
a commotiotion that we generally know
what they are at, and stop them. Their
fayorite mode Of warfare is to drown
one another in their drinking fountain.
This happened two or three times. On
one occasion / was summoned from the
Office by an employe with the cry that
the eagles were at it. When l reached
the cage the victorious bird was holding
his antagonists head under water. j
separated them, but too late-the bird
was drowned"
ssThen it is to be inferred that the ca
giles never become very tame in captiy-
ity?"
mo. Those that came here twenty
wears ago are as fierce as on the day
they came. We never try any familiar
ity with them. One Of the keepers went
s...;1. ~ ft,a caoe onca with the fresh
meat to feed them. They pounced on
him. tore his face and clothing, and half
killed the poor fellow. He never ven
tured inside again. Rats and mice, too,
instinctively give that cage wide berth.
Occasionally rat, attracted by the re-
fuse food, incautiously crawls through
the bars, and in a twinkiing an eagle
gobbles him up. We feed them rats a
good deal in place Of meat"
sBut, Mr.. Bergh-Y Il
Mr.. Conklin. "See those spar