The Red Cloud chief., 1889-08-23

moved IN short order. ] had been losing Q
good many chickens one fall, and ~supposinq
that they were being carried OF by foxes !
set q trap for Reynard. The morning after
setting the trapIwent out to look for it, and
it was nowhere to Dc seen. 1t had beer
chained to a small stake in the ground, anG
the stake was also missing.
"Belleving that the fox, although its cum
ming had not saved it from the trap, haG
been smart enough to pull up the stake il
some way, and then make OF with trap
chain, stake and all, I made \ pretty thor.
ough search in the woods around about
there, but could not find any trace Of fox OF
missing property.
"As I was returning home I heard 6
great commOtion among = big flock Of crow.
In the woods . quarter Of q mile up the
mountain. The crows were cawing in such
curious chorus that their cries could have
been heard for a mile. The birds wers
circling around the tree tops in one par.
ticular spot, and frequently o number Of
them would dart ~viciOusly down through the
trees toward the ground. l was curious tc
know what could be causing this unusual
proceeding among the crows, for they are
birds that do not fool their time away for
nothing. I walked up the mountain, and as
I approached the spot where the crow cir
Gus was going on, the tumult among the
crows increased. When / arrived within
easy gunshot of the spot the flock withdrew
to a more distant part Of the woods and
chartered in q way that left no doubt of
their having been intensely disturbed by
some unpleasant experience.
81 walked on, and had taken but q few
steps when I heard a sound Us of a chain
being dragged along on the ground, and in
stantly concluded that it was tho chain OF
my missing trap. / momentarily expected
to see the fox, hampered by the trap on his
leg, come into sight, believing that he hai
been attacked by the crows, who had dis
covered him in his crippled condition. I'm
agine my surprise, then, when, instead Of
the fox making his appearance, an enor
nous bald eagle strutted out from behind .
big tree, dragging the trap. chain and stake
The jaws Of the trap were fastened on one
leg of the great bird
81 had with me an ordinary shotgun.
with which 1 had expected to kill the fos
if l found it in my trap. When the eagle
paw me it rose with great di1iculty FROM
the ground, owing to the log, and few to
ward the top of q tall, dead tree. l free
at it. The charge hit the eagle in one Of its
wings and brought the bird to the ground
The eagle was such a splendid specimen
that I resolved to capture it alive. I ap
preached il with no thought Of having any
difficulty in accomplishing my purpose II
the handicapped and crippled condition q
the bird, but / found hat l didn't know a.
much about bald eagles as I thought I did
for in spite Of the crippled wing and the
burden Of the trap and chain, the eagle
rushed upon me and attacked MI with
such fury that ! turned and fed from thu
woods.
Sat the edge of the woods I stopped, ane
at first thought l would 20 back and shco'
tho eagle, but my desire to have it aliv wa
SO strong that / determined to make every
effort to capture it. hurried home and got
q stout rope and IN empty feed-bag. On my
WY back to the woods ] noticed that the
crows which had first attracted my atten-
ton to the spot were lowering over the place
where / had fled from the maddened eagle.
and from their peculiar cries and frantic
actions ] inferred that something Of moment
to them had occurred. I found that such
was indeed the case. The crows knowing,
by the wonderful instinct they possess, that
the eagle was wounded and crippled and,
hating as they do all large birds, had
swoOped down on the eagle and attacked it
in its disabled condition. Thu attack had
been disastrous to the crows, for when ]
reached the spot five of the sable assailants
lay dead near their enragedf foe, and several
others were dragging themselves away TO e.