The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-20
THE KING OF BIRDS.
The Habits, HRunts, and Homes OF
Eagles in Tennessee.
From the New York Post.


solitudes and Businesses of Tennessee.
which have figured so often Of late in the
stories and novels of John Fox, Charles
Egbert, Craddock and others, have, among
other respect-inspiring natives, many spec
linens of the bald-headed eagle, which
makes its eyrie among the lofty and rag
ged elefts and crags and pinnacles of the
ranges, 1t is found on the Stone noun
tain, the great Roane, 6,296 feet high, on
the Bald $3.50 feet, and the Great Smoky
range, which rises $3.50 feet, on the Bull
head, and i'm many other lofty places.
For these splendid birds there is a never
falling demand, and as a result there are
many mOuntaineers who have become ex-
pert catchers of these mountain prizes.
and who often reap rich rewards in re-
turn for perllous risks and daring adven-
lures. Young eagles bring from $40 to $50
and occasionally 800, while eagles that are
Of some age and of great size cost as much
as $780, these being rarely captured, how
ever Eagles which are killed in the at
tempt to capture them are valuable to
taXedermists who always find an easy
market for these great stuffed birds Their
feathers, especially those of wing and tail
are likewise sold for good prices.
The eagle either builds its nest upon the
top of mighty tree growing far up on the
mountain, among myrads of twining vines
and the thickest and most inaccessible
bushes or shrubs, or on the summit of
high rock. 1t is always a large one
strongly and comfortably built, large
sticks and branches being laid together
nearly fiat and bound with twining vines
The spacious inside Is covered with hair
and MOSES, so infinitely woven together
that no wind can penetrate. In this abode
the mother bird lays two eggs, which are
great curiosities. The long end of the egg
tapers down to point, while its color is a
dirt or brownish red, with many dots and
spots upon it. The young birds are driven
forth from the nest by their savage pa
rents to scratch for themselves as soon as
they are able to fly, and no training what
ever is given them by the old bird. That
is left to their instinct, which hunger
and necessity develop There is no going
back to the old home for the young eagle
for the mother bird at once tears up every
vestige of the nest where they have thriv-
en- since birth, and while they emit plain
tive shrieks, darts al them and pushes
them off the crags or rocks, and as they
must take to their wings or fall, this is
how they learn to fly At once. Tt takes
three years for young eagle to gain its
velopment of its strength. once full
grown, provided he does not meet with a
violet death, an eagle should live between
thirty and 100 years.
Up in the mountains the eagle finds il as
hard to gain subsistence as do the feath-
cred grumblers of the plains below. The
precariousness of his existence and the
wild manner in which. food is gathered
seem to give the bird greater ferocity the
older it grows. The eagles range among
the mountains and valleys in pairs, their
young never following, but doing the best
they can by themselves. The stern, unso-
cial tyranny of the older birds, beginning
with the casting out of the eaglets, man
ifests itself in later years in their treat
ment of their mates.
If the male bird be the stronger, most of
the prey belongs to him, and he allows
the female to eat but a paltry share be-
tween fierce thrusts of his beak If the fe>
male is the stronger land she generally isl,
the male bird covers and Winces under
many a fierce blow from his unfeeling
wife no matter how small the morsel he is
striving to get. But when danger threat
ems, no human pair battle so formidably
for themselves and each other do two
eagles. 1t is a noteworthy fact that each
male has but one mate during his lifetime.
If the female is killed or captured, the sur
viving male becomes an eagle hermit and
fercer than ever.
Eagles are often seen near their nests to-
gether, but when the sun is shining they
frequently take their majestic flight
straight toward it, until they disappear
from sight.Stting upon the mountain side
their vision is so keen that they can see
far down in the valley a sheep or young
goat big turkey or rooster a small pig,
a rabbit, or partridge, and almost instan-
taneously they descend upon their victim.
xx-ho al Og. &c 10, he,
attacked and carried off, four or six of the
great birds will unite and remove the car
cass to a safe spot, when they will imme-
diately begin to fight it out to see which
of them is entitled to the choicest bits,
and 1t is truly a survival of the fittest in
such combats as these. But an eagle is
always confident of his strength, and rare
ly overreaches himself in such conflicts
or in his desire for prey. When lingering
by the mountain rivers, watching for ducks
or geese, or even fish, a pair of eagles will
display their natural shrewdness. They
swoop from opposite directions upon the
fowl, which tries to escape by diving, and
could outwit one cable; but suddenly as
the bird comes to the surface of the water
the second eagle seizes him.
With its wonderful power of sight, cover
ing a radius of miles, the eagle combines
a swiftness of flight equally marvellous. In
a single night and day, a full-grown eagle
can fly 1000 miles. Oftentimes the visitor
i'm the Tennessee mountains can Just see
him like little speck in the sky, moving
restlessly and rapidly In majestic circles
about the crest of far-away peak The
sightseers and mountaineers who love to
watch eagles always choose the break of
dawn or a calm sunset. Then they are to
be seen wheeling in circles and gliding
about in horizontal sweeps, just before
starting out on a days hunt, or settling
for the night.
Young Softleigh-"Do you know. Miss
Cutting, that actually believe 1 am los