Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-09-01
NUMBER 9.

/, home alive and tie it out on the side ol
the mountain there, and there / kept
| them. | drove a stake down in the
ground about four feet high with d
| cross piece on top for the eagles tO
stand on. One day a feller came along
with his gun on his shoulder and about
dozen dogs following along behind.
As We stood talking one of his dogs
went fooling around where the eagles
were tied, he said, Uncle Johnnie, you
better look out for those eagles that
thar yaller dog of mine might kin one
of Them That dog kill one OF my
eagles. Why, bless your soul, man.
that big old bald-head there would lick
the whole bilin' of your dogs and not
half try. If you don't believe it you
just set the whole pack on him. The
old bald eagle had jumped down from
his perch and was standing unmOved.
The fellow said, Il don't want my dogs
to hurt your birds Hurt my birds
you set them on, I'll risk the bird. ,
Uncle Johnnie, to show how quick that
yaller dog can kill lhe bird, l will set
them on He called all of his dogs, as
they came to him he pointed to the
eagle and said, Sick himr And don't
you think every last one of them just
piled on top of that eagle, and, in less
than two minutes, that eagle had lick
ed the last one of the pack. When the
dogs jumped on him he fell right fiat
of his back and with his bill and claws
just made the fur fly. One dog had
one eye tore clear out and the side of
his face just split wide open from the
butt of his ear to the side of his mouth;
another had cut from the top of his
head clear down his face and his nose
split wide open; another had his tongue
cut clean Off and hung out of his mouth
by little piece of skin, and in less
than two minutes every last one of
them was putting it for home as fast as
as their legs could carry them and just
a bowling. Yes, sir, that eagle licked
the last one of them"
tell you l have seen some sights
that would make the boys of to-day
open their eyes. Yes, sir, have that
An eagle does not have the chance now
to live but few days or months, as
they did when the country was all
wild. Then an eagle had time to get
his growth. l have in my hunts kill
ed some awful big eagles. Those that
we see nowadays are nothing but little
chickens, not worth noticing. 1t used
o make me feel good when Icould slip |
lp in shooting distance of one of those |
I'D white-headed fellows, as he was
sitting on some old dead tree. You
lever see an eagle light in tree with
caves on it, they always sit on some J
arge ledge of rocks Or dead tree.
where they can see everything that is
,oing on or stirring, and, tell you, it
axes keen eye and careful creeping
O get near one of those old fellows, to
.et in a shot without his seeing you
rst
l remember in one OF my night hunts.
7hen the leaves had all fallen off the
rees, saw in the top of a large dead
ine some large bird sitting way ahead
f me- At first I thought it was very
arge old gobbler; as crept up closer
saw it was too large and too bunchy
D be an old gobbler. / said, ''Wen l
ill try you any how"' At the crack
f my rifle something seemed to spread
ut as big as buffalo robe and come
own to the ground with kind of
swish 1t did not fall like turkey, :
loaded up my gun and walked eau /
ously, for | did not know what sort of l
bird it was and did not know but it
light be alive yet. When l got so l
ould see it found it was an eagle; as
took it up and looked at it l found it d
as black, with yellow head, and OF
normous size It's head was as large
) a year-old child, its claws would !
apse around my arm, and the tallons O
ass each other. The tallons were o
cry long and as sharp as needle. L
Ii the old hunters that saw 1t said
lev never saw anything like it, and in G
| nv hunts | never saw so large a
rd. | have killed great many eagles 5.
my life, but nothing to compare with
lis one. T. p. K.