The Coolidge examiner., 1933-07-21

N IRD lovers, disturbed by the
threatened determination OF
- the white-headed or bald eagle,
have taken up the fight to protect
Americas bird OF freedom whose
rugged profile adorns American
seals and coins as the emblem Of
the nation.
In its structure and habits, the
eagle Is large hawk, Of close kin TO
the falcons. buzzards and barriers OF
every cline. but the biggest, boldest
and most powerful raptor OF them
all. The female. which in the Amer
lean eagle is the larger sex, may
attain a length OF 43 inches, may
spread eight feet, and. according to
Audubon. may weigh from eight to
twelve pounds. though these last
figures may be greatly exceeded in
captive birds. 1t is a stranger to
fatigue. can probably lift its own
weight, and has been known TO car
ry a lamb over a distance OF FIVE
miles.
Our eagle is content to subsist
upon fish whenever there is an am-
pie supply. but is too partial to
waterfowl TO become a favOrite with
sportsmen. though ii never kills for
sport: and is too fond OF chicken
dinners, mutton chops and sucking
pigs ever to become popular in
rural communities.
Now II has been accused. though
with scant show of justice, of de-
stroying salmon and young rein
deer in Alaska, where the terri
t0rial legislature has set price
upon its hoary head. For ten years
or more a ruthless war has been
waged against our national bird in
that territory. until more eagles
have been deStrOyed-sOme esti-
mates running as high as forty or
fifty thousand-than were thought
20 exist on the whole continent.
II Is safe to say that forty thou
NAul tAAttC AbAa1 iAbA app tNisAbAs
affect the supply Of Alaskan salmon
IN forty thousand years. But man,
with his wasteful methods, intent
only on present gains. must find
culprit and the eagle was a con-
venient victim.
Franklin Derided Him.
But this is not all; for. aside
from the eagles occasional raids
upon the farmers stock and poul-
try. which in most parts of the
country are far from habitual or
serious, our birds moral character
has been assailed. His reputed
turpitude was early expressed by
benjamin Franklin in a letter writ
ten In France on January 26, 1854.
and has been quoted with approval
since.
At that time the Order OF Gin
Cinnatus, which had been recently
created in America and had adopt
ed the bald eagle" as its emblem,
was a fair target for critics on both
sides of the water. Franklin thought
that a bird which was too lazy to
fish for himself, but robbed the
honest fish hawk on every occasion,
and was so rank coward as TO
permit the little kingbird to drive
him out of the district" was "by no
means a proper emblem for the
brave and honest Cincinnati Of
America" who by their prowess
had driven all the kingbirds from
our country
The eagle, like the fish hawk,
must follow the instincts with
which nature has endowed ii, but
that upon occasion 1t is a carbon
feeder. like most of its kind. is
probably to be set down to its
credit.
Perhaps it is too late to point
cut that the eagle is never driven
out of the district" by the kingbird
or by any other living being except
a man armed with gun. Ii is true
that he is constantly annoyed by
the little tyrants whenever he
crosses their nesting preserves, but
hs is too Indifferent or too much
bored by such attacks to do more
than defect his course.
Bold Enough When Necessary.
The trouble with those writer's
who have complained of the timid-
ity of our national bird lies in at
tributing to the species, which of
course must include every individ
nal of the kind in question, what
they have observed in but few in
dividuals, or perhaps in only one
and under one set Of conditions.
They forget that behavior In
given case may vary not alone with
that individuals Inheritance and
age. but. most of all, if it be intel
ligent, with habit in the sense of
profting by experience
All eagles. like many Of the
hawks. when wounded or hard
pressed. will fight like demons;
and we might expect them to fight
10 protect their young; but while
some will do this. others Will not.
It all depends upon the acquired or