The Coconino weekly sun., 1896-09-03
which shall never forget-reproachful. flo

which shall never forget--reproachful pleading. accusing, condemning. flair ly shivered and turned away my eyes. It was q look to haunt man his life long. Eut when turned again the eyes had glazed, and the magnificent white eagle was stretched out in the motion less beauty of death.
 "Whcn I took my prize home, my host said, sadly, and more than half | seriously: I am sorry you killed the bird. He will haunt you to the day of your death.' I laughed carelessly, yet somehow my heart misgave me, and it was weeks before could get over q cer. tain apprehensive uneasiness that pur- sued me even in my dreams.
 "Ispent tine ensuing winter and spring in Stockholm; but with the return of another summer my friend in the coun- try invited me most cordially to repeat my visit at his fine old estate, and as knew he really wanted me to come, had neither heart nor reason to decline.
 "The weather during July was eN- ceedingly warm, and during our ire quent fishing trips to Lake Fryksdal my friends and l often refreshed our selves by taking a dip in the clear wa ters. One afternoon, as we were fish. ing off shore near the place where l had shot my eagle, said to my host with bantering triumph: Well, a year has passed, and haven't seen the ghost of that sacred eagle yeti
 "'Never mind.' was the reply. you will see it yet. Mark my words. It | least expect it.
 | "I laughed and proposed that we take a swim, as the sun was getting up very | warm, and the fish were not biting at all. My friends assented, so we un- ! dressed and plunged into the lake. dove straight down, and, catching hold of the jagged end of a large rock, opened ment.
 "Nevcr, if live to be a hundred, will tho sight that met my eyes at that in- stant be cffaced from memory. Coming toward me, silently, and yet with in- credible swiftness, was the bleached and snowy skeleton of gigantic bird, with wings outstre!ch,d It made no ripple, no pulsation of the water. It seemed to have no means of propulsion, for the ghostly wings were rigid and motionless. Yet on it came, swift and still; and, to my mortified imagination, in the whited sockets of the skull gleamcd those same reproachful, con- demning eyes which the dying eagle had turned upon me year ago.
 ITO say that was fairly paralyzed with fear but inadequately describes my condition. Though beginning to suffer for lack of air, could not to save me have let go my grasp of tho rock. I was fascinated, cnchained. Every muscle in my body was rigid and that horrible, mysterious specter was coming toward me, and l could neither avoid it or ward it off.
 "How long clung there, suffocating and helpless, know not. only know that, just as the water-ghost was about to strike me in the face, 1.-the. white form flashed in between, a strong hand seized my arm and I was dragged forci bly up to the surface of the water. Then I lost consciousness. and the next | thing remember was being rolled over | and over on the back and punched in the | ribs. and then opening my eyes on the pale, anxious face of my friend, who had dived down and saved me.
 When, an hour or two later, told | him the story of my deep-water ap- arition. he smiled incredulously, even as he said: Did not tell you you would | see it some time?'
 "But the mystery was solved few days later. when. picking up Stock holm paper, read the following para graph:
 "A GHASTLY TROPHY.
 GA recent writer tells what may be incidents of natural history. In some of the Swedish lakes, he says, large birds of prey are in the habit of sweeping down on the pike basking at the surface of the water. In these cases, If the pike be more powerful than the bird, the latter. unable to extr!cate his talons. is borne to the bot tom and drowned. Incredible as the story seems. Eckstrom, Rev. MT. Moller. and other writers, state that the flesh of the pike heals with the talons of the bird in its back. while the bird becomes converted into a skeleton. which is carried about by the pike. One skeleton. which had long been exhibited by pike in Lake Wetter, had acquired greenish tinge ,and was regarded by the fishermen as hamburger of misfortune"
 Detroit Free Press.