Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-12-16
OUR Bird.

A United States Senator Goes After
the Buxzard ON Our Coins.
On the 9th instant Mr.. Morrill, made q
long speech in the United States Senate on
coinage, in The body Of which we find
these entertaining criticisms on the de-
signs upon our metallic currency:
We have on our various coins . grim
crowd of so-called eagles, chiefly represent
ing a belated evolution from the buzzard
family. The different artists technically,
perhaps, Of the same family o~rigin-would
seem to have spent their whole wit upon
their several masterpieces. 1t is to be
hoped, however, that their models, like
the griffin and the dodo, are all extinct.
Whether their outstretched wings point
upward or downward it is . great comfort
to see that the birds are all truly Ameri-
can, as each n loyalty shows himself,
always and everywhere, Q spread eagle.
Whoever looks at them may we'll croak,
and utter Poe's doleful raven slang Of
"N-e-v-e-r m-o-r-e," though they are not
rayens, as none ever fed little children;
but each one, in full-blown dignity, is, a.
John Neal has said, "a fierce gray bird
with bending beak," and not without ter
rors in a claw. The artists, it must be
allowed, are great in profile views Of
bending Deaks," with feathery eppen-
dages; but it cannot be q serious error to
suppose their inspiration to have been
largely derived from an obedient study of
that familiar and rather pungent text
which reads, s'For wherever the carcass
is, there will the eagles be gathered to-
gether." It will be observed, too, that all
~ chair h00ko ~ u,fAn ~a~ 4~rA1-
ready to dine or to scream.
II the truth must be confessed, our
figures Of the eagle are not much above
~carlcatures, and exhibit 80 little Of truth
and grace Of form that our bakers would
refuse to reproduce them in their cakes
sold at q dime for q dozen. What should
be feathers are hardly to be disting uished
from the intoxicated backs Of that rare
bird known as the turtle. The imputed
vanity OF our bird surely never got its
start from any f1attery on our coins,
though he seems to be stiff there with the
purpose Of inviting all the double-headed
spread-esgles of Europe either to fight or
8 c%arousal, not caring Q continental +"
which.
Strangely enough the trade dollar has q
~left-handed figure Of Liberty sitting on a
bale of cotton, but the eagle is certainly
not the worst we have, though q mon
strosity wonderfully and fearfully made.
That on the t~wenty-dollar gold piece,
nearly destitute of relief, and in all senses
fat. is very uncouthly drawn, with the
wings turned wrong side up, like an in
verted umbrella in q gust of wind, and
tricked out with the trumpery of
endless and meaningless scroll decora-
tons. But unhappily or our latest dollar
will be found the blandest and possibly,
where all are ugly, u most abominable
eagle, unless we except the one on the
wing which once appeared as q scarecrow
on the silver dollar, afterward bslittled as
the eagle volant on the copper cent, and
was then esteemed the nearest kin to the
v~ulture, as some plain matter-of-fact peo-
pie will call the stray figure which seems
determined to roost upon the head of Lib
erty at the top of the Capitol. I would
not take a feather from our
Majestic monarch of the clouds,
but would have him appear, if I could,
more in the truthful dignity and beauty Of
nature, and then dismiss the whole brood
Of invented eagles.