are; and I now saw the very
same _ruse_ being practised by a dumb creature, that is supposed to have
no other guide than instinct. But I had seen the `bay lynx' of
Louisiana do some `dodges' as cunning as that,--such as claying his feet
to make the hounds lose the scent, and, after running backwards and
forwards upon a fallen log, leap into the tops of trees, and get off in
that way. Believing that his Northern cousin was just as artful as
himself," (here Basil looked significantly at the "Captain,") "I did not
so much wonder at the performance I now witnessed. Nevertheless, I felt
a great curiosity to see it out. But for this curiosity I could have
shot the lynx every time he passed me on the nearer edge of the circle.
Round and round he went, then, until he was not twenty feet from the
hare, that, strange to say, seemed to regard this the worst of her
enemies more with wonder than fear. The lynx at length stopped
suddenly, brought his four feet close together, arched his back like an
angry cat, and then with one immense bound, sprang forward upon his
victim. The hare had only time to leap out of her form, and the second
spring of the lynx brought him right upon the top of her. I could hear
the child-like scream which the American rabbit always utters when thus
seized; but the cloud of snow-spray raised above the spot prevented me
for a while from seeing either lynx or hare. The scream was stifled in
a moment, and when the snow-spray cleared off, I saw that the lynx held
the hare under his paws, and that `puss' was quite dead.

"I was considering how I might best steal up within shooting distance,
when, all at once, I heard another scream of a very different sort. At
the same time a dark shadow passed over the snow. I looked up, and
there, within fifty yards of the ground, a great big bird was wheeling
about. I knew it to be an eagle from its shape; and at first I fancied
it was a young one of the white-headed kind--for, as you are aware,
these do not have either the white head or tail until they are several
years old. Its immense size, however, showed that it could not be one
of these. It must be the great `_golden' eagle_ of the Rocky Mountains,
thought I.

"When I first noticed it, I fancied that it had been after the rabbit;
and, seeing the latter pounced upon by another preying creature, had
uttered its scream at being thus disappointed of its prey. I expected,
therefore, to see it fly off. To my a