Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 January 1882 — THE AMERICAN EAGLE. [ARTICLE]

THE AMERICAN EAGLE.

The Different Varieties of Our National Bird. There are several varieties of eagles in the United States, but not all that are commonly called byvdifferent names are entitled to the separate distinction. The largest is Audubon’s “Bird of Washington” or Washington eagle, a huge bird that has apparently been seen by few persons but the great naturalist himself, and which inhabits the region of the Great Lakes and the Upper Mississippi. Its spread of wings is over ten feet. It rarely comes to New New England; but Dr.Wood.the Connecticut ornithologist,iu his “Birds of Connecticut” (publisned in the Times of 1861), describes one that was caught in a steel trap, in the East Windsor meadows, just after a Connecticut river freshet had left thousands of dead fish on land. On these he was feasting, in company with two “bald eagles,” whom he greatly surpassed in size. He was killed, as was supposed,after being caught, by a bl#w on the head with a club; but he recovered on being thrown upon the grass, and flew away.~He was nearly four feet long and his spread of wings was ten feet. The “national bird” of our country is]a so-called (but; improperly so-called) bald eagle—a bird whose bead is as well supplied, proportionately, with feathers as any*part of his body; but on the head these are white, while the rest of the bird, except the neck and tail, is quite dark. The female (who iB always largest in birds of prey) often measures three feet four inches in iength, with a stretch of wings between seven and eight feet. It isjincorrectly described in our cyclopaedias as the “largest of the fishing or sea eagles.” To say nothing of Audubon’s great bird, there is in Greenland (and in some parts of Europe)- a sea eagle a little larger than the bald specices. The bald eagle (not uncommon here) builds on cliffs and great trees a nest of coarse sticks, which is used by the same pair, ii undisturbed, for very many yeais (they will live to the age of liiO or 140 years); and in this latitude they lay their eggs after the middle of January, and hatch out about the middle o: February. The diversity of color between the young and the adults occasions mistakes in naming them, and leads to tbe idea that they are “sea eagles” “black eagles,” “gray eagles,” etc. Dr. Franklin objected to the adoption of the eagle as our National .bird, because of its predatory habits, and suggested the turkey instead. The golden eagle (which may be the kind that was shot near Riverton, and, if so, it is a rare and valuable bird for ornithologists) is seldom seen in' Connecticut; but the Times has published accounts of the shooting of three of them duriDg the last thirty years in this Btate. It is a magnificent bird, belonging in Europe as well as the United States; is about as large as the bald eagle, and derives its name from the golden red feathers on its bead and neck—the rest of its plumage is a rich dark brown. It lives about the great lakes, and Upper Misissippi, aad to a less extent among the White and Green mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont. Tnere are about seventy species of eagles; and even of those in America we canpot give all the names or varieties. A dark eagle, pot quite so large as the bald, is common in Connecticut. One ferocious kind, found in Mexico and on the Isthmus, is the harpy eagle. The osprey is improperly classed among the true eagies.

An Unnamed Monster. The finding of tne remains of a large sea serpent in the marl pit of O. 0. Herbert at Marlboro, N. J., last week, was supplemented on Monday by the discovery of the remains of another one/ The find of Monday was somewhat decomposed, and only two large tusks and portions of the jawbone of the reptile were found preserved, the other bones crumbling to pieces when exposed to the air. The bones found last week are all well preserved, and the tusks are remarkable for their size and fine natural polish. Prof. Samuel Lockwood gives the following description of the reptile: “It was a monster of great bulk. It had two paddles well forward and two oehind, tne* body being short and stout. The bone 9of the paddles, from their size and solidity, indicate extraordinary propelling power. The tail was stout, long and serpentine,but a little flattish, thus affording great aid in propulsion by a sculling piovement. The neck was long, and yet thick enough to support the head high out of water while the monster was engaged in devouring its prey. The huge jaws werearmed with tusks, which were more formidable than those of the crocodile. The lower jaw was ; very singular iu structure,and had a joint like an elbow. In the act of swallowing the reptile could enlarge its gullet by means of the elbow joint The act of swallowing was necessarily slow, and the reptile no doubt would have had great trouble in retaining in its mouth its struggling prey if it had not been for a supplementary jaw which was used as a grapnel. This was armed with small teeth, which were curved in shape and very sharp. As the large jaws, with their, fgreat tusks, were being opened so as/ to obtain a new bold the little grapffel jaw held the struggling prey fast, and the movements alternated until the fish or other prey was forced down the great throat.”. The only bones of this monster reptile of the aute-diluvian age known are those found m the marl pits of Mr. Herbert, and no name has been found for it by the scientists.

# »- And She Fainted. Burlington Hawkeye. . Some women never can faint in the proper manner nor at the right time. Anil if a woman cannot bring about this happy combination of time and manner and swoon, she had better get along without swooning. Now, about two weeks ago, one Sabbath evening at Bradford, Pa., the best-behaved and most thoroughly moral town in the oil country, a city not given to fainting or other unseemly displays during religious services, the Methodist Episcopal conference was in session and its ministers were conducting service. Just after the ordination of deacons a woman in the gallery fainted. Now, while tbe ordation of deacons is a most holy, solemn and deeply impressive ceremony, it is not widely thrilling and exciting, like the initiation scenes in the

tons of Malta, and it is' nothing to faint over. But this woman fainted, and a beautiful faint she made of it. It seems that she was sitting in the front seat In the gallery, and Slid straight forward on to the. floor, thrusting her unconscious 1 feet right through the gallery rail. They must have been a startling pair of feet to view, for the moment they were observed by the congregation ; tbe panic -.-stricken worshippers raised the cry that the gallery*was giving way, evidently mistaking the swaying feet for displaced columns or bracket braces. In the most worldly manner the congregation made a rush for the doors, and in panic the saints trod the sinners under foot, and the sinners walked along on the backs of the saints, according to the respective size of saint and sinner, and being animated by the desire to get out from under the threatening shadow of those overhanging feet, In the midst of the confusion and terror, one of those unconfined lunatics whose mission is to say and do the most idiotic things under the guise of sanity, sprung through a window and shouted fire, and unfortunately escaped alive. That brought the, fire department and a miscellaneous crowd of a fewthousand men and boys swarming around the church, and although Chaplain McCabe began singing a hymn at the top of his rather penetrating voice the panic could not be stayed and the people got out, but there wasn’t a fall bonnet in the congregation fit to look at. And how badly this woman must have felt when she realized how great a ruin she had wrought by fainting in that ridiculous manner, sticking through the gallery rail like a sawbudk hanging on a picket fence. And bow the women with ruined hats will glare at her, especially those women who can’t afford t 6 buy new one. A woman who is given to fainting ought always to pick out a suitable place before she lets go; and no woman whose feet are sufficiently startling in their development to throw a congregation of worshipers into a panic has any right to faint at all. * 1 * — , Uncle Samuel. New York Letter. His practice of conversing with his friends in whispers is nothing more than one of his precautions he takes to preserve his strength. Mr. Tilden has a pleasant voice, and plenty of it, when he. chooses to use it; but it has long been his belief that to a man so busy with other men as he has been, the almost continuous use of the vocal organs, was one of the most fatiguing of practices. He therefore acquired the habit of talking in a very low voice, or even in a whisper. There is undoubtedly a good deal of truth 'in his theory, but he has carried it to such a length as to include it. among his old bachelor fussiness and crochets, of which he has a great number. For instance, he has long been noted among his acquaintances for his antipathy to umbrellas and canes. He never carries either article. He has been heaid to say that if he gets his hat or coat wet, he had rather throw 1 them away and procure new wearing apparel than be bothered with an umbrella, Another peculiarity of his (to descend to the minutest of trivialities) is that to every new pair of trousers he has a pair of new suspenders firmly and thus avoids a good deal of i)Other with buttons.

All great men have their little weaknesses,, and the particular weakness of Mr. Tilden may be said to be in tbe direction of clothes. He has a good many of the English ideas on the subject of dress, and, like the aristocratic sprigs abroad, who array themselves in sfx or seven different suits a day, redressing for every meal, donned one sort of conventional attire for the hunt another for the sea-side, etc., Mr. Tilden’s vivid notions of the appropriateness of bis apparel for the varying duties of the day, Latterly, however, he has not been so scrupulous in this r.-gard as he used to be before overtaken oy the feebleness of old age. But he has always been one of the best patrons of the tailor in New York. I was shown the other day, the bobks of a very fashionable up-town tailor for 187 i, and Mr. Tilden’s name appeared in them for bills amounting to $390 in that one year. In his relations with tradespeople Mr. Tilden may be described as one of the best patrons In America of the, book-publisher, the tailor and the grocer. He is a master of menu. Dining with him is a fine art. He loves the pleasures of the appetite; thinks the fat of the land and the fruit of the vine were made to enjoy, and has them in profusion. He is at the same time scrupulously regardful for his health, and, if it be not too Earadoxical, he may be called a sort of ygienic high-liver. He is a believer in the nutritive qualities of alcqhol. He seldom or never dnnks whisky.but is a connoisseur in wines, and uses them freely. After Eighteen Years. Marietta Journal. When Mr. Elijah Walraven enlisted in the Confederate army iu 1863, he left behind him a beautiful young wife and three children. When he returned home at the close of the war, his wife 'aud three children were nor to be found. He learned that she had been persuaded, when the Federals occupied this country, that her safety was in going North. For years no tidings came of her wherebouts.and,not knowing whether she was alive or dead, he instituted proceedings for divorce, which was granted. Mr. Walraven married a worthy lady iu this couDty, who bore him one child, and she died. Iu the meaq time his first wife, learning of the divorce and marriage oi her husband in Georgia, married a Northern man, who alter a brief married life died. She married the third husband, a Mr. Beckner. He sickened and died. One child, as the result of this union, was left her. Her three children by her first husband grew up and married well off, and they opened . correspondence with tbeir father. Last February their lather paid them a visit to their home in Indiana. While there he met tbe wife of his first love. The meeting wss a joyous one, and old times were talked over and mutual explanations made. The result was they became reengaged. Mr. Walraven returned to his home at Kennesaw in this county, and according to agreement, Mrsr Beckner arrived at Kennesaw last Thursday. There she was met by Mr. Walraven, who had license ready and forthwith the happy couple were reunited after a separation of eighteen years. v

A good husband, like a good burner, never goes out at nights. * A pillar of the church, to be’ of anyservice, should, like any other pillar, have capital. The association of eooks in Boston i# very particular in the construction of its consti ution and bile laws.. Teacher to a small bov: “ Wbai does ■ the proverb say about those, who live in glass houses?” Small boy: '“Full down the blinds.” The worst kind of rheumatism is the spare-roomatism. Many an unhappy guest hip crowded between its joy sheets and died of it. The story that Eli Perkins was suffering from a cancer in his cheek is denied. The facts are that the cancer came atound, and, after one look at Eli’s chqek, went away add died of a broken heart :

A New York man recently dreamed that he. was a Texas desperafiq in a town threatened by Indians,and when he woke up he found that he hadjcrawled under the bed. • : The other day an Indianapolis woman horsewhipped her divorced husband. He felt as good as though ho had got married again, and wanted to know wherein it profited a man to get a diyotce, if this sort of a thing was to be kept up. A young O J City lady recently visited New York, and when she returned home related to her friends how she stopped at a “palatable hotel and went up and down stairs in a cultivator.” Her parents should cultivate her. 1 Arabella (on her toes in a ebair clutching convulsively at her skirt)—“Oh* Bridget! A mouse! a mouse! Come and catch it quick!” Bridget: “Shure,inum there’s no hurry. If thip one gets away. I can get plenty more fore ye, mum” “Will you have it rare or well done?*? said Commissioner Brenan to an Irish-t maD, as he was cutting a slice of roast beef. *‘l love it well done ever since I am inthis country,” replied Pat, “for it was rare enough I ate it ia Ireland,”^ “Ma, haven’t I been a real good boy since I’ve been going to Sundayschool?” “Yes, my lamb,’l answered the maternal parent, fondly. “And you trust me now, don’t you, ma?” “Yes, darling.” Then,” spoke up the little innocent, “what makes you keep the preserves locked up in the pantry tbe same as ever?” Essence of Jackass: You sat behind us at the Museum Saturday evening.' You kept your mud-spanking old hoof tun king away on the floor, beating time to the music. If you’ll call at this office we’ll take an ax-handie and beat the time for the whole opera on your addled head. Now, you know how fond we are of you. , , A prominent citizen was being pro’pelled homeward by a faithful servant iate one night last week, when they suddenly came to a halt. “Whassher matter now?” asked the prominent cinzen. “Dar’s a man dead drunk on de sidewalk.” “Gimme a famp post ter bold up, and you dragsh off misherable drunken beasht byhish legshs.”' Burlington Hawkeye: “Minnie” wants to know “who sets the fashions?” We don’t want to boast, dear, or appear unduly conceited,or that sort of thing, but the fashion of wearing a spring ovefeoat, flavored at the elbow with benzine,clear through the Christmas holidays and along into next February, we set that one “ourself.” We don’t know who set the others, as that is the only one we are deeply interest* ed in just now.