be bad eating."

The cold we did not much mind, though somewhat icy blasts came down the
glen, for we were pretty well inured to that; but as we had had nothing
since the morning, our stomachs craved lustily for food, and I would
have tried my teeth on the flesh of a gaunt wolf, or even on one of the
vultures we had killed, if we could have got at them. We found our way
in among a circle of boulders, and there we passed the night, and a most
unpleasant one it was. At the earliest dawn we were on foot, but it
took us nearly two hours to reach the camp. I will not describe the
lamentations of the Leary family when we gave them an account of our
proceedings--the shrieks and wailing which the poor women commenced and
continued for the greater part of the next twenty-four hours. As there
was plenty of wood, water, and grass for the cattle, we determined to
remain there a day to prepare for our journey along the level country.
To avoid the lamentations of the unhappy wives, as soon as I had
performed the part of the work allotted to me for the general good, I
stole from the camp to enjoy some portion of quiet. When the sun got
up, as the wind was from the west, the heat became very great, and I did
not feel inclined to move very fast.

Soon after leaving the camp, I observed several hawks hovering round a
spot in the wood, the abode probably of some rabbits, hares, or other
small game. By cautiously creeping on, I got within shot of one of
them. I fired, and down tumbled the monster bird. He was a huge
creature, with a large hooked beak and immense claws, who, if he could
not have carried off a lamb or a goose, would have had no trouble in
flying away with a duck, or a fowl, or a rabbit. I observed where the
others went to, and followed them till I reached a tolerably accessible
cliff, at the top of which a whole colony seemed to reside; big and
little, sires and offspring, were circling round, and making themselves
quite at home. Having a fancy to examine the nature of their
habitations, I looked about me to see how I could get up the cliff, and
with my pole alone in hand commenced the ascent. This, from the nature
of the ground, was not very difficult; and I had got within a dozen feet
or so from their nests, and was standing on a broad ledge, looking up to
ascertain how I could best ascend higher, when they espied me, or, as
they had been all along watching me, they probably came to the
conclusion that it was