The Brookhaven leader., 1883-09-27
RObbing ap Eagles Eyrie.


nearly extinct on these northern isles.
Within the last three years pair has
established an eyrie in the cleft of
great sandstone sea cliff, known as the
Bard of BresSay, forming the south
most point of the island of BrcsSay, the
island east of the inland which land
locks Lerwick HarbOr. On the east
side the cliffs rise Il eer out of the sea
to Il height of four hundred or five hun
dred feet. The dcpredations of the
cagleS on the farms upon BrCsSay and
the adjacent mainland this year have
been extensive. The hungry eaglcts
required to be fed, and almost daily
lambs were missed from the fields. To
put a stop to this plundering project
was formed To rob the nest, and a dar-
ing young cragsman leader in haz-
ardous adventures undertook to do so
upon the first convenient opportunity.
The risk was great, for, besides the
peril of the descent and the ascent,
there was chance OF fight with the
parent birds. The CVric could only be
seen by the aid of Il glass from elf on
the north side \ considerable way
down the cliff is Il LARGE protruding boss
wind wv, with great cleft in the middle
of it. In the cleft the nest was
built. The exact distance of the
nest down the cliff was first as
ccrtaincd. BY means of reel of
thread. with a small weight at the end,
the measurement was found to be fifteen
fathom., or about ninety feet. With
two assistants the cragSman very early
one morning shortly afterwards crossed
the Sound of Brcssly in "A boat. The
top Of the Bard was attained about
three o clock. A stout oaken stake having
been driven firmly into the ground,
through an eye at the top of it, one
end OF a strong Manila two-inch rope
was passed. The young climber (says
the account in the Scotsman, from
which this narrative is takcn) made this
end secure round the body, while his
assistants gra>ped the rope on the other
side of the eye" He had taken of
all superliuous clothing, and wore a
pair OF thin golOshes. In a belt round
his waist he had a siX-chambered revOl-
YER Over his shoulder was Slung his
lishing-baSket. Going over the brink of
the cliff he partially climbed down, so
bic OF the rope. When he got to the
'pond," as the place where the eyrie is
built is locally known, he found that
fortune had favored him in this-that
neither of the old birds were at home:
but at the same time he found that it
would be a difficult matter to get at the
nest. Immediately above the pond
was a great ledge of rock which com
pletcly overhung the eyrie; so that the
cragsman, suspended in the air
on the same level as the
nest, found himself still ten
or twelve feet from it. He at once sig
nailed to those above to be hauled up to
this ledge; and that having been done,
| he cautiously climbed down its face,
which had a sharp inward slope, until
he got upon the same run of strata as
| that upon which the nest was built. By
following an open seam Just VIDE
enough to admit his fingers he managed
at last to scramble into the pond, "
where probably human foot had never
| been set before. In the rocky chamb ber
| in which he now found himself he could
! hardly stand upright; he therefore went
round on his knees to the back of the
|
the cvrie: and when they saw the
strange intruder they buried their heads
! below the woOllV lining of the nest, and
remained perfectly still. On lifting the
caglcts out of the nest, though only a
fortnight old, they were so large and
well grown that only one would 20 into
! the fishing basket. The cragsman was
considering how he could get the other
| to the top of the cliIl, when Il warning
shout from above told him that one OF
the old birds was approaching. 1t was
the female bird, which apparently was
! determined to show fight in defense OF
her young. She came through the air
straight for the eyrie, like a - flash
of lightning;' and the cragsman had
barely time to throw himself on
his back into the deepest recess OF
| the ''pond," and to draw his revolv-
er, when the infuriated eagle was
upon him. She made one tremendous
| and unsuccessful SwOop at him with
! talons and beak, and simultaneously he
pulled the trigger of his revolver. The
weapon, however, missed fire. The
earle lowered outside for a moment be-
fore renewing the attack; but shot
! from the revolvcr-the report of which
revcrbcrated among the rOcks-et1ectu-
ally sct1ed it to distance of about two
hundred yards. where it continued to
circle in the air-yelping like a dog. 1t
was by and by joined by the male bird;
but neither of the eagles again showed
fight. The cragsman, having deposited
one eaglet in his fishing-basket, took the
other under his left arm, and. having
given the signal to his companions,
swung himself out of the ''pond, and
was safely hauled up-his perilous vent
ure successfully accomplished. Both
of the eagles are still alive, and appear
to be thriving well in captivity. They
are fed three times a day on flesh and
fish, and on this diet are coming into
very beautiful plumage. Since the
eyrie was robbed it may be mentioned
that the old eaglets have on more than
one occasion been seen lowering over
the town of Lerwick. This is the first
time for twenty years that eagles have
been captured alive in Shetland.-Pdtt-
Mall Gazette.
The Old Folks.