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From January to September in 1907
I lived about a mile and a haif from
the eyrie of the golden eagles which
have nested on Mr. J. H. Price’s
ranch at Knowlton for seven years.
1 saw one or other of the splendid
birds almost daily, and it was inter¬
esting to me to compare their habits
with those of the eagles nesting near
my ranch in Dawson county. Unlike
the latter (which occupied a ledge of
rock), these Knowlton eagles have
selected a tall pine, about halfawy up
a steep hillside, the largest tree in
the grove. This hill forms one of a
wild pine-clad range facing east, and
approached* across open prairie from
that side. It is possible, however, to
ride up through timber and rocks be¬
hind, and look down into the nest
from the hilltop without alarming the
eagles. All that takes place is plain¬
ly visible through powerful binocu¬
lars. The eagles have become so ac¬
customed to the sight of large droves
or horses and attendant riders that
they take scarcely any notice of a
horseman. On this account many ac¬
tions can he observed, such as the
capture of prey, its conveyance to the
nest and the feeding of the eaglets,
which the more shy badland birds
never allow me to witness. The eyrie,
which consists of an immense pile of
pine sticks, rests upon, and is built
around, a* number of green boughs,
■While a dead projecting branch near
the center forms a convenient perch
for the parent eagles, Aa would
naturally be. expected in the present
case, the vertical height of the nest
greatly exceeds the diameter, and its
width Is much inferior to the nest
■upon the rock previously described.
Nevertheless, as seen from below, it
conveys an impression of great
strength, which is not belied when it
Is reached, for a six-foot man can sit
in it with ease. On May 11 the
whole external circumference of the
nest-rim was interwoven with an or¬
namental binding of green pine tops.
As early as February 25 the male
eagle was observed to tumble in the
air. I first witnessed this remarkable
evolution on March 14, 1904, but have
observed it several times since. To
the best of my knowledge no previous
writer has alluded to this habit of
golden eagles, although it is common
to both sexes in the breeding season.
It recalls at once the spring tumbling
of the male marsh-hawk, which is
even more extraordinary from the
fact that the hawk turns somersaults
In the air. On March 12, 1905, I paid
special attention to this display on the
part of the male eagle, which hap¬
pened at the time to be sitting on a
pine at my Dawson county ranch.
Soaring skyward, he suddenly closed
his wings and dropped headforemost
like a spent rocket, until the Increas¬
ing impetus was checked by spreading
them. After his first tumble the eagle
shot upwards and repeated it, when
he returned to the tree before resum¬
ing his aerial performance. The bird
employs a somewhat similar ma¬
neuver, but poised at a lower eleva¬
tion, for capturing prairie dogs, to
which I shall again refer. At the
above-mentioned date (February 25)_
the Knowlton eagles were observed
to be patching up their nest, and
while this seemed to give promise of
a ver 7 early brood, the downy young
eventually appeared about the same
time as the badland eaglets. On
April 1 the female was sitting on two
eggs, and on May 2 the young were
hatched out.
An eagle intent on capturing a prai¬
rie dog floats leisurely above the
"town” at a medium height on mo
tionless wings, Preliminary inspec
tion of the hunting ground is
accomplished in wide circles or long
sweeps, perhaps two or three miles
each way, so as not unduly to alarm
the gime, Passing over at long
intervals, the bird scans the dog-town
and judges of the prospect for a suc
cessful stoop, The prairie dogs are,
of course, immediately on the alert,
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OVERCOME OY THE HEAT
but can only see their enemy for a
short time on account of the high sur¬
rounding pine hits, and, indeed, most
dog-towns are too extensive for the
denizens at one end to notice an eagle
passing over at the other. Moreover,
an unsuccessful eagle will keep on tne
wing for several hours, and it is ai
certain that the hungry prairie
dogs will relax their vigilance at last.
When the eagle considers that a fa¬
vorable chance has arrived It sinks
lower, so as to bring the distance be¬
tween itself and the animals to some¬
thing like 75 yards or 100 yards.
Should the latter still remain above
the ground, the royal bird suddenly
folds Its wings, and, with meteorio
rush, fails head first toward the as¬
tounded prairie dogs. These scamper
for their holes; but about three, yards
from the ground the eagle spreads
its wings and, swiftly following the
intended victim, darts out a cruel foot
to grasp It. If the attack fails, as
sometimes happens, the eagle mounts
in a slow, reluctant manner, which
plainly reveals its disappointment.
The winter of 1906-’7 was the most
severe in my 18 years' Montana ex
perience. The famished eagles were
compelled to unusual effort, mid Mr.
R. L. Anderson (who has a ranch in
this locality), most kindly sent me a
full account of the following remark¬
able incident. In the middle of Jan¬
uary he was riding two miles teelow
his ranch on the south fork of Cot¬
tonwood creek, and suddenly came
close upon three golden eagles, which
were devouring an adult buck ante
lope (Antilodapra Americana) in a
little "draw.” Upon his appearance
the eagles endeavored to take wing,
but all found great difficulty in do¬
ing so, "and hopped and fluttered
along on the snow for a considerable
distance before being able to rise.”
Despite the bitterly cold weather, the
antelope was warm and limber when
found, as It had only been quite re¬
cently killed. The eagles had torn a
large hole in its back with their ter¬
rible talons, and were feasting on the
kidneys and entrails. Mr. Anderson
at once investigated the scene of the
struggle, and could easily read the
grewsome details on the deep, crusted
snow. The eagles had obviously stam¬
peded a bunch of antelope, and then
cut out a victim by a combined attack.
Leaving the herd, the latter endeav¬
ored to escape down a small right
hand “draw,” but after covering about
100 yards was beaten back by the
eagles. It then crossed a ridge on
which the main antelope trail ran at
right angles to its own, and, hard
pressed by its assailants, struggled
down a narrow left-hand “draw' to
the place where it succumbed, At*
together, the antelope could barely
have covered 300 yards after the first
attack by the eagles. The victim,
which had evidently offered a gallant
resistance, seems to have made a
stand in three places, chiefly where
found, but also at points along the
trail. The crimson-stained snow and
thickly-strewn hair, added to the well
defined wing prints of the flapping
and dragging eagles, sufficiently re¬
vealed this prairie tragedy. One or
more of the birds must have clung
tenaciously to their quarry’s hack,
and from the deep wounds thus in¬
flicted “the blood had spurted out as
when a cow’s horns are sawn off.” Oh
April 23 the two brothers Archdale
saw the male eagle attempt to secure
a victim from a north-bound flock of
Canada geese. At sight of the great
black bird, which rapidly overtook
them, the panic-stricken geese scat¬
tered in wild confusion from their V
shaped formation, and each member
of the flock mounted separately until
it looked a mere speck in the sky.
Meanwhile the eagle endeavored to
rise above one of them, but, finding
this impossible, he relinquished the
chase and flew slowly southwards in
the direction of the eyrie, When
their enemy was out of sight the
geese again resumed a V-shaped for¬
mation and continued their interrupt¬
ed course. The failure of the noble
bird on this occasion arose from the
fact that he was moulting, and only
ifcute stress of hunger could have
induced him to attack the geese. Ac¬
cording to my observations the male
eagle began to moult on April 13,
LIKE A NIGHTMARE
_
PROJECT THAT STIRRED UP CIT¬
IZENS OF WASHINGTON.
Threatened Removal of the Capital to
St. Louis Is Still Remembered
with Horror by the Old
Residents.
“Yes,” said the old resident quoted
by the Washington Post, “I can well
_ remember the
time when there
was a deep-seated
scheme to remove
the capital of this
W/nivv country to St.
/t ' 11 ■ Louis, and I also
x remember that a
’ great many of the
good people of
, city
rj this were
;.2 much perturbed
over the possibili¬
ties of the plan
becoming a suc¬
cess. It was during the latter part of
the ’70’s, if my memory is not at; fault,
that there were many folks from the
western section of the country that
Warmed up to the theories concerning
the advantages of having the capital
removed from the banks of the Poto¬
mac and located more centrally.
“Among the schemes prepared to ad¬
vance the plot was one that those who
were interested desired, looking to the
denial by congress of appropriations
for public buildings in all directions,
either as to the erection of new build¬
ings or improving those already in ex¬
istence. Any reference to congres¬
sional favors to the national capital in
those days will recall to many that the
helping hand from the capitol was not
then extended very heartily, and fa¬
vors were few and far between.
"The ieadin* men of our town were
very much agitated over the in¬
trigues that were being formed, even
though they never at any time gave
decided promise of being a success,
and began the inauguration of plans to
offset them. Among the Ideas was one
intended to bring the attention of the
whole world to Washington by the
holding of a world’s fair in the city.
The hope on the part of a great many
was that a grand exhibition, some¬
thing after the big show at the Crystal
palace in London, which was still fresh
in memory, should be given, but when
the notion was mentioned to leading
men in congress and its aid petitioned
for, the solons on Capitol Hill looked
askant at the idea, and openly ex¬
pressed their dissent to any defrayal
of the public money in support of such
a great enterprise.
"All sorts of ways were talked of to
banish the capital removal ogre. It
was in the short time it existed a ver¬
itable ‘ogre’ in the minds of no few of
the substantial people of the city, who
could see the town a deserted village.
Even then the subject of a change in
the city government was being moot¬
ed, with the idea of it being a more ac¬
ceptable one to congress than the one
we had.
"I tell you, my friends,” said the old
resident, "that: of all the nightmares
that ever spread its wings over Wash¬
ington, save those of war times, that
removal scare, engineered and prose¬
cuted by energetic western fellows,
with more or less approval from their
members in congress, caused more con¬
sternation in the hearts of our fathers
than anything else in the city’s his¬
tory.”
Center of Capital Social Life.
Washington has a distinct code of
social rules different entirely from
those of any other city in the uni¬
verse, and once these are learned by
rote, the aspiring dame or damsel
needs only ordinary “horse sense” to
obtain and retain a social position
which will put her in possession of
the good things of life, as viewed from
the standpoint of the winter-time resi¬
dent of the capital.
Taking things as a whole, no other
city affords such a wide latitude as
to what does or does not constitute
"society.” It all depends upon the
point of view, and as ten persons out
of every dozen rush frantically into
the diplomatic camp It is pretty good
evidence that general interest centers
among the men and women who, as
"guests of the nation,” occupy a
peculiarly influential position in offi¬
cial society. The social phase of
things, moreover, receives distinct
emphasis at the hands of the repre¬
sentatives of kings and potentates,
and nowhere in Washington does
swaggerdom so cheerfully congregate
as in the drawing rooms of the sev¬
eral embassies.
Concerning Germs.
Just now there is published a story
about the results of experiments by a
physician who found 28 colonies of
deadly germs upon a glass plate to
which ‘a vigorous and perfectly
healthy young girl had touched her
lips.” The conclusion of the physi¬
cian, or the writer of the article, that
kisses are, therefore, "death-laden,” is
hardly convincing, says the .Louisville
Courier-Journal. If the young woman
with 28 varieties of disease germs
upon her lips is “vigorous and per¬
fectly healthy,” the inference is that
the 28 varieties of germs are not as
deadly as they are painted, and no vig¬
orous and perfectly healthy person
should be greatly afraid of the girl
or greatly disturbed by the physician’s
discovery.
Patent Office Models.
There are 157,000 models in the pat¬
ent office which are about tc he lodged
in the National museum. Many of
them are of historic interest. They
will he under the care of the commis
■loner of eatenta.
IN TRAINING AS A DIPLOMATI
Sample of Manners of Understrapper*
of Foreign Legations.
There seems to bo an excessive pro¬
portion of pinheads in the diplomatic
corps, not among the headliners, be it
said, but in the ranks of the ump¬
teenth secretaries and the second as¬
sistant naval attaches, and all that sort
of thing, says a Washington correspon¬
dent. Just the other day, when the
sixtieth anniversary of the clutching
of the scepter by Emperor Franz Jos¬
eph was celebrated by a mass at. St.
Patrick's church, most of these light
witted, largo-headed people turned
out.
One of them was standing around on
one leg, looking as wise as a cream
puff and as ornamental as a clothes
prop, when a young man from the Star,
who, being temporarily detailed from
the neurotic atmosphere of the police
court to this aggregation of gold-laced
celebrities, was not as familiar with
their old-world names as he might
have been, stepped up to him.
“Will you kindly tell me how to spell,
the name of your ambassador?” he
said, as polite as a basket of chips. “1
am not certain I have it right.”
Did the animated pinhead tell him?
Was he polite? Did he act like a mem¬
ber of the human race? No!. Never!!
He did not!!! He looked the reporter
over from head to foot with one of
those “she swept him with her scorn¬
ful lamps” glances and then he delib¬
erately turned away and spoke over
ltis shoulder.
“Rully,” said he, or words to that ef¬
fect, “ ’tls a wonder these newspapers
over here don’t employ persons who
can spell.”
I am reliably informed that the only
thing that saved the aforesaid pinhead
from having his aristocratic nose bent
into the form of a figure eight was the
fact that the incident occurred in
church.
Want No Fun on Sunday.
Women in Washington are beginning
to regret the introduction of the Sun¬
day entertainment, for the round of
social activity in the capital now
counts seven days in the week. It is
said that Mrs. Taft as soon as she
enters the White House will frown
upon the practice. The innovation be¬
gan with the diplomatic set, and was
encouraged by Mrs. Perry Belmont
and Mrs. George W. Vanderbilt and
other New York women who spend part
of each season in Washington. Then
Mrs. John R. McLean conceived the
idea of Sunday breakfasts at. Friend¬
ship, her place, ten miles from the
city, and society suddenly found It had
practically resigned its Sunday to
social duties as exacting as those on
other days of the week. Clergymen
preached against the tendency from
the pulpit, but the entertainments
were kept up. Now, however, several
prominent women have taken the situ¬
ation in hand and promise to restore
Sunday to its old quiet and restful in¬
activity.
Origin of the Club Sandwich.
inat<jj$ Alan Johnstone is said to have orig
the famous club sandwich, and
the story runs that on going to the
club one night between midnight and
daybreak he found the cafe closed, the
cooks gone, and being nearly
famished, he invaded the larder, toast¬
ed himself some thick slices of bread,
sliced them through, buttered them
while hot. and laid thereon everything
he found in the refrigerator, cold
chicken, ham and lettuce, with a
spoonful of mayonnaise.
The result was such an epicurean
discovery as is not often made, but
the story was too good to keep; he
confided the recipe to his cronies and
it straightway became one of the pop¬
ular dishes of the club menu, and so
the father of the club sandwich, so
deservedly popular, is the present Brit¬
ish minister to Copenhagen.—Wash¬
ington Herald.
Remarkable Signature.
In the Christmas number of the
Strand Magazine appeared what is
without doubt the most extraordinary
signature ever devised by a writer.
It is one which may be seen on hun¬
dreds of government papers at Wash¬
ington, where the man who uses it
was for some years expert computer
of the United States Coast and Geo¬
detic Survey and astronomer of the
Carnegie institution. His name is
Herman S. Davis, and the signature
is made with two swift strokes of the
pen. It is not a mere monogram of
initials, either (though it has that ap¬
pearance at first), but contains the
full name, H. S. Davis, and also the
year, month and day of his birth. It
can also be read exactly the same
viewed upside down.
Let Down the Social Bars.
Perhaps the most exclusive place in
Washington, impregnable to the mob
and to the free lunch social strugglers,
so particularly rabid at the capital,
is that stronghold of dignity and pro¬
priety, the British embassy. Bub even
this stern citadel, the public, carefully
assorted, to be sure, had one supreme
chance to enter, just at the beginning
of the holidays. Of course you paid
your money—that is. if you are a mob
and not one of the elect, and the whole
thing was in the name of charity.
There were gate fees recently even at
the White House for a philanthropic
Show;
* Eligible Bachelor Prince.
Most important upon the list of eli¬
gible bachelors in Washington is the
august Prince Vincent zu Windfsch
Graetz, attache, who arrived late last
season. He is exceedingly charming
of manner and mien, but it is safe to
predict that he will not feel at liberty
to allow his affections to become en¬
listed in America, however great the
temptation.
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A charming coiffure of butterfly wings and coronet in silver gauze, en¬
crusted with silver and pearls.
BRAIDING AS A FINE ART.
Hand Work That Is Really Worth
While Doing Well.
Don’t hurry and do think. If you do
not use your brain you will not be
able to braid successfully. Keep your
mind on your pattern and on its care¬
ful development.
Remember that it is, to some extent,
a work of art; anything well designed
and thoughtfully executed by hand is
a work of art.
In braiding, sew in the stitches so
that the needle sticks back into al¬
most the same thread of the braid
from which it has been pulled, almost
concealing the sewing; sew closely, so
the braid does not “wabble.” Use your
mind at every turn of the braid, al¬
ways remembering to make sharp cor¬
ners if they are so designed, never for¬
getting to keep the shape of the long
curves, and, above all, not losing sight,
of the spirit of thh pattern. In select¬
ing the braid have a thought as to its
pliability, and don’t take a match that
doesn’t match.
MAKES NECK LOOK THINNER.
Arrangement of Locket Will Be Found
to Work Wonders.
A locket down the center of the
back when wearing a low-cut frock
will make the neck look thinner. This
is good news for the girl with a fat
back.
If she thinks a locket too exagger¬
ated she can wear a chain with a pend¬
ant fastener, whose ends hang down
over the nape of the neck.
Another way to improve the appear¬
ance of a fat back is to wear the hair
in a low knot on the nape of the neck.
The shape of the neck of the dress
should be a V rather than round or
square, if the shoulders are full and
fleshy.
The tulle ruches that have the choux
directly in the center of the back, with
several ends falling down from it, also
have a knack of making the back look
slimmer, though they are fatal to the
appearance of a short neck.
Dyed Waists.
Many women are having white or
ecru waists dyed to match their tailor
mades. Net and lace are probably the
most used waist materials this season.
The soft satins, such as messaline, are
a good deal seen, but they are usually
heavy with soutache. The vogue for
waists of the color of the suit with
which they are worn has led to the in¬
troduction of colored French crepo and
other cottons. Colored pongee is still
employed, but when used, even in
tailor-made blouses, is sure to be elab¬
orated with braid. Even the nets are
trimmed with braid. Some of the hand¬
somest ones, in fact, are so finished.
Fits in a Muff.
Now comes the collapsible umbrella.
Closed up in its compact case, it is no
more than 11 inches long. Opened on
a rainy day or carried carelessly un¬
der one’s arm, it is just the usual
sort of sturdy umbrella. The collapse
happens only when certain springs
and buttons are manipulated, and
after a little practice the umbrella
may be opened or bent into its 11-inch
dimension at will. Unlike the folding
umbrellas of several years past, which
could be packed in a suit case, the
collapsible umbrella may be tucked in
a traveling bag or even into a muff
or overcoat pocket.
Lace and Fur.
Some clever person has hit upon an
idea of raising the popular fur turban
from the commonplace to the artistic
■by using a trimming of fine black
Chantilly lace in the form of a large
flat rosette set on the loft side.
It does not sound particularly fasci¬
nating, but the fluffy mass secured to
the hat with a pair or handsome hat¬
pins needs to be seen in order to be
appreciated. By its side the feather
trimmed or flower decked lynx hat be¬
comes actually odious by comparison.
DESIGN FOR TEA GOWN.
Graceful Garment Made Up in Blue
Cashmere Satin.
A simple yet extremely graceful
gown is shown here; it is in Nattier
blue cashmere satin. The sleeves are
cut in with the bodice part, and have
a seam up the center of outside of
arm. The right front wraps over to
the left, the fullness being drawn in
at the waist by a silver girdle with
tasselled ends.
The open neck is outlined with
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white silk embroidered with silver
thread and various shades of blue and
pale pink silk; a narrower band of the
same embroidery trims the sleeves.
The gown is lined to the hips with
soft white silk.
Materials required: 7 yards 44
inches wide, 4 yards white silk em¬
broidery, and a silver girdle.
With Festoons of Baby Ribbon.
A very dainty debutante frock,
shown in the window of an authorita¬
tive shop, was of cream all-over net,
made with small, surpliced bodice and
scant skirt in dancing length. About
the round decolletage and for several
inches above the skirt hem were little
frills of Valenciennes lace, and over
these lace frills were arranged rosettes
and festooned loops of pink satin rib¬
bon. The pink note was repeated in
a satin girdle and by the big artificial
pink rose nestled in the lace of the
corsage.—Washington Star.
Worn in the Hair.
Among the new things in filets is
one showing tiny white butterflies
gleaming with silver and diamond
dust and having cluster of large but
flies at each side.
Another is in white daisies with
crimson tips, Sometimes the satin
filet ribbons are fringed with opa¬
lescent crystal beads, with occasional
ly a small spray of flowers or a bow
of the fringed ribbon at one side.
A Book Bag.
One of the new Inventions tot the
traveler is the book bag made of
leather that looks like a hand bag.
It is really a cover for one or more
books, and is most convenient. It has
two handles and a sizeable bone paper
cutter attached in the inside.
It will -make a nice gift for any one
who is going on a long trip. The
latest novel could be inclosed Inside,
atid the monogram put on the outside
ia dull gold painted letters.