stonishment it broke suddenly out
of the circles in which it had been so gracefully wheeling, and, with
another scream wilder than before, darted down towards the lynx!

"The latter, on hearing the first cry of the eagle, had started, dropped
his prey, and looked up. In the eagle he evidently recognised an
antagonist, for his back suddenly became arched, his fur bristled up,
his short tail moved quickly from side to side, and he stood with
glaring eyes, and claws ready to receive the attack.

"As the eagle came down, its legs and claws were thrown forward, and I
could then tell it was not a bald eagle, nor the great `Washington
eagle,' nor yet a fishing eagle of any sort, which both of these are.
The fishing eagles, as Lucien had told me, _have always naked legs_,
while those of the true eagles are more feathered. So were his, but
beyond the feathers I could see his great curved talons, as he struck
forward at the lynx. He evidently touched and wounded the animal, but
the wound only served to make it more angry; and I could hear it purring
and spitting like a tom-cat, only far louder. The eagle again mounted
back into the air, but soon wheeled round and shot down a second time.
This time the lynx sprang forward to meet it, and I could hear the
concussion of their bodies as they came together. I think the eagle
must have been crippled, so that it could not fly up again, for the
fight from that time was carried on upon the ground. The lynx seemed
anxious to grasp some part of his antagonist's body--and at times I
thought he had succeeded--but then he was beaten off again by the bird,
that fought furiously with wings, beak, and talons. The lynx now
appeared to be the attacking party, as I saw him repeatedly spring
forward at the eagle, while the latter always received him upon its
claws, lying with its back upon the snow. Both fur and feathers flew in
every direction, and sometimes the combatants were so covered with the
snow-spray that I could see neither of them.

"I watched the conflict for several minutes, until it occurred to me,
that my best time to get near enough for a shot was just while they were
in the thick of it, and not likely to heed me. I therefore moved
silently out of the bushes; and, keeping Marengo in the string, crept
forward. I had but the one bullet to give them, and with that I could
not shoot both; but I knew that the quadruped was eatable, and, as I was
not sure about the bird, I very