Evening journal., 1898-05-13
4 FLORISTS STORY
HOW A MOUNT DESERT EAGLE
TRIED TO KILL HIM.


TRIED TO KILL HIM.
Florist Wilson, who lives on the
Norway Drive, much frequented by the
Bar HarbOr tourists in Summer, tells
Of wonderful happenings about his
hOme in the woods. Wilson has tray
eled all over the world, according to his
own stories, and has been Jack OF all
| trades. He has raised the most attract
i've children on Mount Desert Island,
and in Summer one OF the sights Is TO
see his five little girls, ranging IN age
from 4 to II years, adj of the same COM
plexion. dress and blonde hair, being
/ petted bv the women of fashion. They
are named Pansy, Violet, Undine Daisy
and Lily.
/ Another Of Wilson'S claims to distinc-
ton is his happy faculty of telling tales
Of the woods about his home. His latest,
which is corroborated by a friend, con-
Germs the big gray eagle which has been
/ seen among the Mount Desert hills for
| Years. This is said to be the largest
eagle ever seen in this part of Maine.
Wilson has a chicken incubator on his
small farm, and has raised quite flock
Of fowl for market. Lately he has been
counting less each day, until he began
to suspect chicken thieves. Running
cut one morning to the hen yard, in re-
sponse to a great clucldng of hens,
ouacking of ducks and general hubbub
in the barnyard he was just in time to
sac a big gray eagle soaring heaven
ward with his pet bantam rooster in his
| ta.Ons.
, A few mornings later Wilson, looking
out of the window at sunrise, saw the
| se,f-same noble bird of prey sitting like
| "a c.t,,l,1or,, or a eOO cro.Id nfcne. frornpV-
!. ably upon high post in front of the
j | incubator, waiting for some one to ap-
t pear and open the poultry yard for his
- ! breakfast.
Wilson lodged into the room and got
7 / his shotgun. He hadn't fired of this
b particular flrearm for many months. He
D fired at the eagle. The next thing he
= remembered was his wife and children
: 4 standing overhim bathing his forehead
| The gum had exploded, and the eagle
did not linger long about the post.
q Then he set out to catch Mr.. Eagle
= and set a trap on the smooth top Of The
/ barnyard post. The eagle must have
p ! steered shy Of the trap for in few
d days Wilson was rewarded by finding
o 4 big black crow entangled in the trap
l. Next comes the most remarkabl
d part Of the story. and as Wilson exhib
"a us NNluEAAlt nU UHlf0A AAAa Atf HNNlfAN aA
u 1--we 1t to be true
II Working about his flower houses on
r, | day a week later, Wilson suddenly es
], pied the gray eagle about 100 feet abOv
| him. ciucling about and holding some
Ol hing strange In its talOns. Wilson
pped his tools and stood gazing In
r c-tly at the strange sight. The eagl
/ T3s directly above him and seemed T.
be trying to get line on him from th
o sky. With his wings Outspread, h
| seemed as large as a balloon parachute
s. | Suddenly the dark object fell from il
s. talons and came whirling downward
Wilson tRied to dodge, for he though
s. 1t might be the revengeful eagle swOop
II ing down upon him. Crash! Four o
lp five panes of glass in the roof of tn
flower house were shattered, and tn
Il, object fell with a thud among tn
flower pots.
s. Going inside. he found deers head
is | The horns were intact. but the hea
was a mere skeleton, from which th
aesh had nearly all fallen Off. The eagl
had evidently tried to let the head IA
upon Wilson out of revenge.
Attracted the same day by the sigh
p CT big fOcks Of crows and hawks con
VI ing from all directions to a piece {
woods near by, he went down to inve'
tigate. There must have been 500 crow
a. fphting over the corpse of q youn
a deer. They had stripped the flesh frol
OF the bones, and a double score of thel
h were sQuabbling for the choicest bi
n. remaining.
ay The deer had evidently been shot t
It's, cCme p0acher, for there is a law again
sr- shooting deer on Mount Desert Islam
.er Wilson has the deer skeleton head as
re momentO OF the eagle who attempted
ise kill him.
ID Those who watch the habits Of birC
~ | which inhabit the sCacCast tell mar
of | Interesting stories OF their sagacit
nu The same gray Old eagle used to NAL
20 BCdick Island his favorite roostir
til place. Large fish hawks and Thousand
a Of gulls also haunt the Islands near !
ats en- account Of the plentfulness of fls
re- ara food When fish are scarce the gul
led take a novel method Of opening clam
which. with the receding tides, are FIR
ars quently left bare upon the bar. One vi
list swoOp down, get clam, and, then a
err Cending about 100 feet into the air,
lat il fall on the rocks. When this pc
,Ir. fcrmance is going on there are always
.he icw lazy gulls watching who. when u
lhe clcm strikes the rock, dart thither an
ng steal the meat. Then invariably ensu
of fierce fight of the birds, and Occ
a sicnally the bald-headed old eagle fro
red his eyrie will take a hand and with
af swish of his broad wings. knock O
ler bwo or three gulls and pick away at
his c.am food himself Bangor Comme
MO cial
DEAFNESS CANNOT pr, ,,r-pr,r,