Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-11-14
AN EAGLES GALLANT FIGHT.
wounded, Bound, and Ragged, but
Unconquered-AD Desperate Struggle
for Freedom.
\. y. World.

Lewis Williams, who lives in an is
olated spot on the Preston mountains,
a few miles from this place. having
Set trap to catch fox, which he bad
reasons to believe was carrying away
his chickens, went out a few morn
ings ago to look at it aad found it
gone. The trap had been chained to
a small stake in the ground, and had
been pulled up and was missing, with
the trap and chain. Surprising that
the fox had been caught in the trap
and had escaped with it, Williams
hunted about in the woods for some
trace of it, but could find none.
AS he was returning home he heard
a sudden and great commotion among
a flock of crows in a piece of woods
quarter of mile or so from his house.
The crows We're cawing furiously. and
were circling around among the tree
tops in one particular spot, ana &C
casionally darted about through the
trees. Williams walked over toward
the woods, and as he approached the
crows increased their hubbub. When
he arrived within gunshot they with
drew to a more distant part of the
woods, but kept up their MOI e. Viii
liams had just entered the edge of the
woods when he heard the rafting of
a chain, and simultaneously an enor-
nous bird strutted out from behind
tree, dragging the missing trap,
chain, and stake. The jaws of the trap
were fastened or one leg of the bird,
which was bald eagle of the largest
Tho Aou- hn frro,,p6
and was rising with difficulty toward
the top of a tall, dead tree when vii
liams fired at it. The charge took eff
feet in one of the eagles wings, and il
fell to the ground. Thinking to cap
ture the eagle alive, Williams ap-
preached it, but in spite of its crippled
wing and the burden of the trap on its
leg the bird flew at him and attacked
him with such fury that he turned
and fled from the woods. Hurrylng
back home Williams, without saying
anything to others, procured stout
rope and large feed bag. On his
way back to the woods he noticed that
the crows which had attracted his at
tention to the spot in the first place
were lowering over the place where
he had left the eagle, AID from Their
peculiar cries aud frantic actions he
inferred that something unusual had
occurred during his absence. The
crows, knowing by the wonderful in
stinct they possess that the eagle was
wounded, and hating as they do all
large birds, mad swarmed down on the
eagle and attacked it in its crippled
condition. The attack had been dis
astrous to the crows, for when Will
liams again reached the spot three lay
dead near the enraged eagle and
several others were dragging them
selves away out OF its reach, uttering
he sharp, GU teral cry which they
ltrouble The eagle no sooner saw
Williams approaching than it rushed
st him vita all the force at its COM
mand, hampered and crippled as If
was, and forced the fighting at once
Williams had made moose in ono end
of the rope he carried, and when the
eagle flew at him ne waited until it
was almost upon him, and then quick
~ threw the moose over the birds
head and it slipped down around It's
wings. Williams drew the moose
tight and fastened the other end of
the rope to tree The eagle was now
shorn of the great strength in lis
wings. but it pulled the rope taut In
its efforts to get at its enemy. As it
stood thus, stralning at the rope,
Williams succeeded in slipping the