The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-16
OLD BIG TETON IS NO MORE.
THE GREAT BALD EAGLE OF JACK
SON'S HoLE Is DEAD.

NE Dipped 1nto = tributary or ths Piatte
Amer n uiE Trsut or = Very Ceia nay, sna
the Water That CiunE 10 His Feathers
FroEr-Ena OF n wary. willy OLD Hunter.
The Teton Range eaglo is dead. This eagle
was a famous bird in Idaho. whore tho ranch
mon, telling Of his prowess, have added a tale
weekly for no ono knows how many years. The
stories are Of the picturesque kind mostly,
with what may be u little romance added TO
give color. Nevertheless, the ranchmen would
point tho bird out half q mile away to q tourist
and say:
There no is, stranger, that eagle you've
been hearing about. It's a great bird, that is.
Sec his taili That's what you ought to hear
Bill Rcakman tell about. You know Bill.
Hos tho man who was over to Millor's ranch
the time the Bannocks broke loosc and he went
out single-handed TO got a couple IL he could.
He rode all night with six cowboys after him.,
thinking he was ono of tho Injuns, shooting,
too. Vol, Reakman he was up about ten
miles north Of the Big Teton five years ago
after an elk. He was waiting by some scrub
timber when that eagle there come along and
lit onto q stone pretty clost by. Bill know tho
bird, as everybody did, cause he was such a
big cuss. Pretty quick Bill notices that in tho
brush above the rock on the hillside was some.
thing He couldn't make out Just
what. Then Bill sec what II was. A roaring
big mountain lion was there, and before Bill
could shoot tho animal had leaped Il at the eagle.
Tho eagle saw him just in time, and with a
yell to scare a dead antelope the bird jumped.
Tho lion got tho three middle feathers of tho
birds tail, and that's what's tho matter
with tho birds looks. We call him Big
Teton, cause that's where no holds out.
Bill killed the lion and its hide was nine feet
seven inches long. He fetched the feathers
In, too. He gave one to an Eastern chap who
came out to write the country up
Rob Paterson tolls n story about tho bird.
He says that one morning he went out to get a
kid antelope for his wife. who was sick and
wanted some tender meat. Rob won't to tho
long level above his ranch and hunted along
some of the little brushy hollows where he
might get n very young animal Of tho kind
wanted. There was n considerable depression
there and Paterson went through it to n big
'onion bed" Of rocks. On the far side of this,
as he circlcd around 1t, he jumped a doc ante
lope. Paterson had just time to sec that in the
does bed were two kid antelope of just the size
he wanted-say two-day-old Youngsters when
something tipped over his head, casting a
shadow. Paterson was astonished and that
made him blink. When he got so he could see
straight he saw that 1t was the Big Teton cagle
that was after the lion episode. The bird
swooped down on tho two kids and did some.
thing which no one ever saw n bird do before
out in that locality. 1t grabbed the two kids,
one in each set of talons, and, rising in :the cir
flew Off. When tho bird was eight or ten rods
OF Paterson opened on 1t with his rifle and
fired seven shots. One of the bullets cut along
the birds back and raised a cloud of feather
dust. causing tho bird to drop both OF the kids.
Before either kid had reached tho ground, how.
ever, tho bird swooped down and got one of
them and then flew of. The kid Paterson
s Drought ta home on ha Is the hec R%uncturo marks of the
corded Of 8 bird was told By a British tourist
Of the Teton Range. This Britisher was burton
Whiteler used to take the dogs out and follow
them, after rabbits. One day about 7 o'clock
in sss I%o eas1s h ssSss s ssss '1 hnsrr an w NJ
6 bosuty, WHICH, 1niaPs Could q r ranolli like and Ray 1t was i,o G
after them at full speed. The dogs we're just
closing on the frightened boast-wcre within
s,m seen majestic estf; c 10 'p peak. fb@ Tushed a0 iss w fhom
The dogs follow followed ID the bbHi BIRDS a cour satn snd 'n Wepc
soon 9,.e %od lost so gam T II s PirS S Of Whitelsr's
he dogs were r. we'll vel aslray. and ii Mne WitS w Wnes
set. after the rabbit. catching it thirty rods |
away. and carried it still kicking to u noun.
OF course, no ranchman would believe such a |
yarn as that. The Adams brothers laughed
tho Britisher in the face, and said all sorts OF
Bait and Wit Adams were out rounding up
some colts that had got away. They saw q
coyote after u jack rabbit. The eagle cine
down, f1abbergasted the: coyote just as White.
Ter said the hounds had been, and the rabbit
was killed. The Adams boys went to the trou.
each got two silvef.moSainted revolvers a.eou nae
Of months later.
The bird INDUCED in the pastimc of hunting
insects. Ono day a couple of cowboys attached
to the Roberts ranch were riding over the
divide trail when they saw an ungainly sort OF
along the divide brook. 1t looked 80 curious
that the cowboys drew their revolvers and
went over to take q closer look at the thing,
whatever 1t was. 1t was the eagle. and 1t was
80 interested in its sport that the men were
within half n dozen rods before the bird saw
went, diving and lodging as bullets whistled
along its sides.
The birds death was as remarkable as any. |
thing ever told Of II. Big Teton flew over a
about the first of the year. The day was fear.
fully cold. but very bright. The stream is
broken by pools which never freeze, and in
these pools the great trout for which Jackson's |
Hole Is famous congregate, stupid with the cold,
at tines; The eagle saw a fish near the
It's feathers and frozc almost as soon as the
bird was out OF the stream. Although only the
breast and legs of the bird: were wet, the freez- |
ing OF this water cased those parts In ice, and
the bird became unable to use its legs or talons.
Frank Seysen found the bird frozen stiff with a
were coated with Ice nearly "a quarter of an
inch thick. The bird was 1--WE miles from the
stream, but there could be no doubt as to how
1t came to its death.