Omaha daily bee., 1885-05-27

NAAV ~ N4A NAN - =.
safety on Its perch. To shoot 1t on the
wing, unless you are fortunate enough to
lie s~ecreted near come lofty peak when
the bird comes sailing through the clouds
to seek 1t for a a perch, Ia entirely out Of
the question, for It files at attitudes such
as no other bird a~ttains. This lying in
wait, however, far above the sno line
for a chance to put a ball through a con-
dor Ia something that requires more grit
and nerve than the average hunter can
boast, and consequently there are not
many condors killed on the wing. These
birds hatch their young among the snow.
covered crsgs of the Andes, sometimes
1000 feet above the sea, and the bird
has been Teen at an altitude Of 20, 900
feet. Once In q great while you may hear
of some hunter bold enough to Chamber
to the nesting places smong these crsgs in
search of condor Nets, as the capture of
the young or the eggs Is as profitable as
killing a grown bird, but such exploits
are few and far between. There are al.
ways two eggs in q nest, and, as there Is
nothing that ventures to make the con-
dor Its prey except the hunter, when the
condor makes Its nest 1t does 60 with
more certainty that there will be more Of
Its kind added to the family in the course
of time than does any other bird or beast.
Traps are set as high among these nest
ling places as the hunter can dare to ven.
ture, and many of the birds are captured
In that way.
There Is no more startling sight thar
from some snowy rock SO high In thu
mountains that the clouds hide the worlc
from your view to see one of those i'm
mense birds break suddenly through tn,
dense vsper below you and sail upxart
with the broad sweep Of its pondrouI
wings into the haunts where it DWELL
} alone In the solitude. 1t seems like som,
winged demon daring to seek the realm,
Of the sky. This bird can stand a rang,
of temperature beyond which human ex
~istence Is impossible, and Is at HON,
among the snowy peaks of Chill and PERI
as we'll as upon the burning sands of Pat
agonia. With a sweep of wing lively,
feet In extent the swiftness of o condor
flight is such that 1t will sail out of sight
Notwithstanding Its great size, within tn,
space of a very few minutes. 1t maj
with ease eat Its breakfast in the North
ern Andes, and twelve hours later 90 t,
roost among the peaks of the souther1
sea coast.
eff it were possible to get at the nest
of the condor so that It's eggs might b
destroyed, there might be some chanc,
that the outlswed bird would in time b,
exterminated, but the systematic scalins
of Icy peaks to the height of any wher,
from $4,000 to 5000 feet above tn.
ocean for the purpose of birdnesting, eve,
at So a nest is not likely to ever come tt
pass. Poisoning of the birds might b.
made effectual, but unless some poIsor
can be made so deadly that it will kill tn,
bird as 1t stands over the carcass 1t Is de
vouring that means of determination can
not be made practical. The hunter mus
produce the evidence that he has killed
condor before he can secure the bounty
That evidence is the birds head. 4
poisoned bird would carry off that evi
dence with him, and die with 1t amonI
inaccessible peaks. The poisoning o
condors has been tried and was not salts
factory to the hunters. | am of tn,
opinion that this bird has the duality o
self.preservation developed too largely t,
make Its humiliation even remotel,
probable. When the last South Amer
lean dies there will be plenty of condor
ready to devour his body if they have tn
opportunity"