The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-02
INDIANA MOTIONS OF EAGLES.
They Are Cruel Birds and Not nt All Proud,
with Furious Eyes when RnrnEcd.

with Furious Eyes when RnrnEed.
"IfI were n betting man." said an Indiana
man, " I wouldn't be afraid to bet dollars to pea
nuts that you would no more associate Indiana
with eagles than I would connect the coast Of
Labrador with parrots. But, just the same. IL
any ono should ever come to you and beg you TO
point him tho way to eagles, direct him to In
diana, and you will MAKE no mistake. Direct
him, especially, to Vermilion county. There
arc eagles pretty much all over Indiana, but
Vermilion county seems TO DO their favorito re-
troat. Why eagles flock there particularly 1
don't know, but they do.
I'VE have in Indiana not only the bald but
also the golden eagle, and tho golden eagle
doesn't hang around in many other places now
adays. They are rare birds. even in Indiana,
but there is n family Of them in VerInilion
county. Lots of people think they have seen
golden eagles when they haven't. What they
thought was n golden eagle was q female or u
coming two-ycar-old of the bald eagle family.
The reason n bald eagle ia SO called is because Of
a white crest with which the male is ornamcntcd.
lie doesn't get that crest until he ia two years
old. The golden eagle looks very much like
the bnld eagle without the crest. Consequently
folks who are not up in ca giles, MS vcrmilion
county people are, think they have had the
pleasure OF seeing specimens Of the rare golden
eagle, when all they have seen was either como
old bald eagles vito or his young son.
There is n farm in Vermilion county where
there is q regular bald eagle assembly. and it
has been there az long rs any one out there can
remember. Every night the eagles hold n con-
| vcntion there. They come in the dusk of the
evening, and seem to meet for some con-
s%ultation Of Importance rather than to have
a good time. The big birds come soaring
in one at n time, and every newcomer is
received with ahouts NJ wnlcopna nv tho aa01na
that have preceded him to the rendezvous. II
you've ever heard mn eagle or two in a cage give
get some idea of the grand and melodions chorus
that sweils out upon the ambient Vermilion
every evening. Tho rendezvous is in a very
solitary place, where there are numerous high
cupy these limbs. As many as ffty.three eagles
have been counted in the trees at one time.
We have learned out in vermiliop county
have been written about the eagle. There isn't
ANYTHING noble or inspiring about him at all. He
but he is the cruellest; His especial delight is TO
attack and torture the most innocent and de
n lamb, for instance, tear out the eyes OF the
h%lcating little thing, and then release II and watch
the poor lamb grows weak and cannot furnish
an exhibition of agony. any longer the eagle will
to the same torture. One eagle has been Known 9 n
to mutilate a dozen lambs in one flock in this
way. frightening the ewes and rams and keep.
ing them at a distance by harsh cries and loud
have seen Of caelcs in Indiana I don't believe that
NAL capable OF showing resistance TO him. Then
II is all bosh. too, about the eagle disdaining TO
Killed himself. Everybody ought h"I to Know n how
he viii rob the fshhHwk OF its %hard-won prize.
ond and l fn make th a m tss b al sss Eil will s,s ses5le % DOWN %i,}
any buzzard that ever scented a dead horse.
ti u,,Edag Gns oL grow ,ha big in Nesnilion county; I
tip to tip OF its wings. We don't bother to hunt
eagles out there for the purpose of killing them.
out if VIC can; We depend on the jayblrds and
the crows and on their own careless nest build
which, they might be a destructive nuisance.
don't mean that the jaybird or the crow
them battle, but they make a business Of scram.
bling every eagles egg they run across, and they
e srs sG ,onF Th eo snSIe aF bpiISs ii9 3s nas; for for, e a les
on the top. of some dry and isolated tree. Some
people believe that eagles don't build their nests
In old dead trees because the trees are old and
dead. but that when the nests were first built
enGles nesting on them. No one in vermilion
county believes, that, because we know better.
going on around him all the time. and when a
nest is built it is put in a bare tree because it
Eagles nests arc built Of coarse STICKS. eape:
lessly thrown together. They do not furnish
f fsf%rttS Of t mann, 1n9 s ssSs IN fam onfs Of Is st SssIro "1d the he
the eggs being tumbled out OF their nests and
broken on the ground or rocks.
No one over sees two eagles together In
flight, although close observation in Vermilion
county has established the fact that every ten
miles square of territory in that county is occu.
pied by a pair OF eagles, assigned to their par
ticular hunting grounds, undoubtedly. by the
assembly OF eagles that ! mentioned. These
two eagles como together at nigh; at their roost
or nest. but they never hunt in company.
You may have heard of the terrible eye OF
the rattlcsnakc when the reptile is enraScd. 1t
is terrible then. for | have seen it. But I have
seen the eye OF the enraGcd bald eagle at close
| unnrtprS ms wnll The awful eve pf fhn rattin.
snake cannot compare with the dazzling. mag
niticent fury OF an angry eagles eye"