Year: 1869

Fra the Nashville Prssu, January /,


A Child Taken of by an Eagle


and Carried Two Miles.


A gentIernan named Bowers, from


Meigsville, Jackson county, now ir
town, Informs US, that Christmas
about three o'clock In the afternoon


the farm of a Mr.. Whiteside, about
five miles from Meigsville, was the
scene Ofa most exciting and nearly
fatal event. It is briefly this:


Mr.. Whlteside was in the little town
doing some business; his wife was
away at neighbor's where a-sick child
was struggling with cholera infantumi
and the only indoor servant they had
was out ia barn-yard looking after
some cattle, when their child-a bright
little boy, just learning to tOddIe
around on its little feet and prattle the
name of s'pa"-tumhled or crawled
out of its cradle, in which 1t was left
asleep by the. servant a few moments
before, and managed somehow to get
to the door, which was unfortunately
open at the time, although the girl left
in charge of the place AYERS that she
had closed it on going out.


The child tumbled into the 'front.'
yard, it is supposed, and was crying
and sprawling around when a great
gray eagle, seen by the girl as she was
Toovyinor tho hapn eoDoa evyooy,;v, -
down, and fastening its immense and
cruel talons in the clothes of the boy,
rose up, apparently with much diff
Guilty, as high as it could, which was
not very high, and sailed of across
the adjacent woods, just skimming, as
the servant says, the tops Of the trees.
When the servant saw the eagle com
ing down, as she was leaving the barn,
she had presentiment Of the strangest
kind, and says she felt that the child
was out of the doors, and that the
fierce bird of prey was pouncing down
upon it; but the moment she beheId
the great tyrant of the air rise above
the house top with the little child in
its talops she grew dizzy and fell to
the ground. Her weakness, however,
did not continue long the cold air
blowing across her face revived her
quickly, and jumping on her feet and
gazing round wildly, she saw the eagle
disappear over the woods in the direc-
tion of the Cumberland river. She
was filed with but one impulse-to
rescue the little boy. She became as
one frantic, for she had remarkable
affection for the child. She rushed
forward, bounded over the fence as if
she were endowed with the lightness
and agility of q deer: dashed into the
wood, dark and tangled as it was, not
taking time to hunt out fOot-paths or
COW tracks. She instinctiyely felt that
the thieving bird would keep in a
straight line, and she kept In a
straight line also. --f.l' aa


With the strength and unthinking
courage Of strong man who has be-
come suddenly deranged, she dashed
the underground aside, crossed Ta-
vines as if she were on the level plain,
spurned the fallen trees and jagged
rocks as if they were the softest moss.


The patch of wood was fully mile
and a half through; but the girl
made the run to the edge Of it without
feeling in the least fatigued. Beyond
the wood, and between 1t and the riv-
er lay a patch of cleared ground,
partly marshy, and partly corn-f1eld,
full of old stumps. When she left the
wood, and had clear view, she saw
the eagle as if hew were inclined to alight
with his burden somewhere in the
'neighborhood of the river. This gave
her new courage and fresh hope, and
she ran forward with increased speed.
1t luckily happened at that time that
there was a man hunting in neighbor-
ing marshes, and just at the particular
moment, when the eagle reached the
ground with its burden, shot went of
80 dangerously and alarmingly near
him (for the hunter was behind a
clump Of bushes, about 90 yards of
and had his back toward the spot
where the eagle and the child were }
that he mounted into the air again,
but this time without his burden. The
pursuing girl was filed with joy
when she beheld the bird rise without
the child. But fearing he would re-
turn, as he seemed inclined to do, she
set up vigorous shouting as she ran,
which attracted the hunters attention
in that direction, who, seeing the
eagle quite near Hahim, and a lady rush
ing down the slope with streaming
hair and garments, and wildly shout
ing, concluded at once that there was
something strange, and perhaps dread
full in his immediate vicinity, and he
also set up a vigorous halloing, and
proceeded to reload his gun with much
precipitation, forgetting to go after the
game which he had just shot.


The eagle soon became aware Of the
formidable opposition he would meet
if he attempted to recapture his prey,
and thinking better Of it, he wheeled
round and swung himself in one grand
sWoop across the river and disappear
ed behind the shelving rock which
forms the oposite bank at that point,
before shot from the hunters gun
was ready to speed its flight to his bold
heart. When the girl came down to
the hunter, she fell stiff, and was not
able even to indicate what was the
matter. While the rough gallant was
labOring 20 restore her to conscious
ness, he heard the scream of a child,
and leaving the slowly recovering girl,
he went toward the spot where the
screaming came from, and beheld a
fine, healthy, rosy boy, with torn
clothes, but otherwise uninjured, en-
deavoring to rise upon his little feet.
The tears streamed down his inno-
cent cheeks, and his face wore a most
hideous expression, The hunter took
the baby in his arms and carried it to
the girl, who was sufficiently recover
ed to comprehend that her beloved
charge was safe. She clasped it to
her bosom, covered it with kisses and
- II, ho -,