CHAPTER XXI.
THE OSPREY AND HIS TYRANT.
After remaining for some time on the nest along with the others, the oldmale again resolved to "go a-fishing," and with this intent he shot outfrom the tree, and commenced wheeling above the water. The boys, havingnothing better to engage them, sat watching his motions, while theyfreely conversed about his habits and other points in his naturalhistory. Lucien informed them that the osprey is a bird common to bothContinents, and that it is often seen upon the shores of theMediterranean, pursuing the finny tribes there, just as it does inAmerica. In some parts of Italy it is called the "leaden eagle," becauseits sudden heavy plunge upon the water is fancied to resemble thefalling of a piece of lead.
While they were discoursing, the osprey was seen to dip once or twicetowards the surface of the water, and then suddenly check himself, andmount upward again. These manoeuvres were no doubt caused by the fishwhich he intended to "hook" having suddenly shifted their quarters. Mostprobably experience had taught them wisdom, and they knew the osprey astheir most terrible enemy. But they were not to escape him at all times.As the boys watched the bird, he was seen to poise himself for aninstant in the air, then suddenly closing his wings, he shot verticallydownward.
So rapid was his descent, that the eye could only trace it like a boltof lightning. There was a sharp whizzing sound in the air--a plash washeard--then the smooth bosom of the water was seen to break, and thewhite spray rose several feet above the surface. For an instant the birdwas no longer seen. He was underneath, and the place of his descent wasmarked by a patch of foam. Only a single moment was he out of sight. Thenext he emerged, and a few strokes of his broad wing carried him intothe air, while a large fish was seen griped in his claws. As thevoyageurs had before noticed, the fish was carried head-foremost, andthis led them to the conclusion that in striking his prey beneath thewater the osprey follows it and aims his blow from behind.
After mounting a short distance the bird paused for a moment in the air,and gave himself a shake, precisely as a dog would do after coming outof water. He then directed his flight, now somewhat slow and heavy,toward the nest. On reaching the tree, however, there appeared to besome mismanagement. The fish caught among the branches as he flewinward. Perhaps the presence of the camp had distracted his attention,and rendered him less careful. At all events, the prey was seen to dropfrom his talons; and bounding from branch to branch, went tumbling downto the bottom of the tree.
Nothing could be more opportune than this, for Francois had not beenable to get a "nibble" during the whole day, and a fresh fish for dinnerwas very desirable to all. Francois and Basil had both started to theirfeet, in order to secure the fish before the osprey should pounce downand pick it up; but Lucien assured them that they need be in no hurryabout that, as the bird would not touch it again after he had once letit fall. Hearing this, they took their time about it, and walkedleisurely up to the tree, where they found the fish lying. After takingit up they were fain to escape from the spot, for the effluvium arisingfrom a mass of other fish that lay in a decomposed state around the treewas more than any delicate pair of nostrils could endure.
The one they had secured proved to be a very fine salmon of not lessthan six pounds weight, and therefore much heavier than the bird itself!The track of the osprey's talons was deeply marked; and by the directionin which the creature was scored, it was evident the bird had seized itfrom behind. The old hawks made a considerable noise while the fish wasbeing carried away; but they soon gave up their squealing, and, oncemore hovering out over the river, sailed about with their eyes bent uponthe water below.
"What a number of fish they must kill!" said Francois. "They don'tappear to have much difficulty about it. I should think they get as muchas they can eat. See! there again! Another, I declare!"
As Francois spoke the male osprey was seen to shoot down as before, andthis time, although he appeared scarcely to dip his foot in the water,rose up with a fish in his talons.
"They have sometimes others to provide for besides themselves," remarkedLucien. "For instance, the bald eagle----"
Lucien was interrupted by a cackling scream, which was at oncerecognised as that of the very bird whose name had just escaped hislips. All eyes were instantly turned in the direction whence itcame--which was from the opposite side of the river--and there, just inthe act of launching itself from the top of a tall tree, was the greatenemy of the osprey--the white-headed eagle himself!
"Now a chase!" cried Francois, "yonder comes the big robber!"
With some excitement of feeling, the whole party watched the movementsof the birds. A few strokes of the eagle's wing brought him near; butthe osprey had already heard his scream, and knowing it was no usecarrying the fish to his nest, turned away from it, and rose spirallyupward, in the hope of escaping in that direction. The eagle followed,beating the air with his broad pinions, as he soared after. Close behindhim went the female osprey, uttering wild screams, flapping her wingsagainst his very beak, and endeavouring to distract his attention fromthe chase. It was to no purpose, however, as the eagle full well knewher object, and disregarding her impotent attempts, kept on in steadyflight after her mate. This continued until the birds had reached a highelevation, and the ospreys, from their less bulk, were nearly out ofsight. But the voyageurs could see that the eagle was on the point ofovertaking the one that carried the fish.
THE OSPREY AND WHITE-HEADED EAGLE.]
Presently, a glittering object dropped down from the heavens, and fellwith a plunge upon the water. It was the fish, and almost at the sameinstant was heard the "whish!" of the eagle, as the great bird shotafter it. Before reaching the surface, however, his white tail and wingswere seen to spread suddenly, checking his downward course; and then,with a scream of disappointment, he flew off in a horizontal direction,and alit upon the same tree from which he had taken his departure. In aminute after the ospreys came shooting down, in a diagonal line, totheir nest; and, having arrived there, a loud and apparently angryconsultation was carried on for some time, in which the young birds boreas noisy a part as either of their parents.
"It's a wonder," said Lucien, "the eagle missed the fish--he rarelydoes. The impetus which he can give his body enables him to overtake afalling object before it can reach the earth. Perhaps the female ospreywas in his way, and hindered him.
"But why did he not pick it up in the water?" demanded Francois.
"Because it went to the bottom, and he could not reach it--that'sclear."
It was Basil who made answer, and the reason he assigned was the trueone.
"It's too bad," said Francois, "that the osprey, not half so big a bird,must support this great robber-tyrant by his industry."
"It's no worse than among our own kind," interposed Basil. "See how thewhite man makes the black one work for him here in America. That,however, is the _few_ toiling for the _million_. In Europe the case isreversed. There, in every country, you see the million toiling for thefew--toiling to support an oligarchy in luxurious case, or a monarch inbarbaric splendour."
"But why do they do so? the fools!" asked Francois, somewhat angrily.
"Because they know no better. That oligarchy, and those monarchs, havetaken precious care to educate and train them to the belief that such isthe _natural_ state of man. They furnish them with school-books, whichare filled with beautiful sophisms--all tending to inculcate principlesof endurance of wrong, and reverence for their wrongers. They fill theirrude throats with hurrah songs that paint false patriotism in glowingcolours, making loyalty--no matter to whatsoever despot--the greatest ofvirtues, and revolution the greatest of crimes; they studiously dividetheir subjects into several creeds, and then, playing upon the worst ofall passions--the passion of religious bigotry--easily prevent theirmisguided helots from uniting upon any point which would give them areal reform. Ah! it is a terrible game which the present rulers ofEurope are playing!"
It was Basil who gave utterance to these sentiments, for the youngrepublica
n of Louisiana had already begun to think strongly on politicalsubjects. No doubt Basil would one day be an M.C.
"The bald eagles have been much blamed for their treatment of theospreys, but," said Lucien, "perhaps they have more reason for levyingtheir tax than at first appears. It has been asked: Why they do notcapture the fish themselves? Now, I apprehend, that there is a _natural_reason why they do not. As you have seen, the fish are not always caughtupon the surface. The osprey has often to plunge beneath the water inthe pursuit, and Nature has gifted him with power to do so, which, if Iam not mistaken, she has denied to the eagles. The latter are thereforecompelled, in some measure, to depend upon the former for a supply. Butthe eagles sometimes do catch the fish themselves, when the water issufficiently shallow, or when their prey comes near enough to thesurface to enable them to seize it."
"Do they ever kill the ospreys?" inquired Francois.
"I think not," replied Lucien; "that would be 'killing the goose,' etc.They know the value of their tax-payers too well to get rid of them inthat way. A band of ospreys, in a place where there happens to be manyof them together, have been known to unite and drive the eagles off.That, I suppose, must be looked upon in the light of a successful_revolution_."
The conversation was here interrupted by another incident. The ospreyshad again gone out fishing, and, at this moment, one of them was seen topounce down and take a fish from the water. It was a large fish, and, asthe bird flew heavily upward, the eagle again left its perch, and gavechase. This time the osprey was overtaken before it had got two hundredyards into the air, and seeing it was no use attempting to carry off theprey, it opened its claws and let it drop.
The eagle turned suddenly, poised himself a moment, and then shot afterthe falling fish. Before the latter had got near the ground, he overtookand secured it in his talons. Then, arresting his own flight by thesudden spread of his tail, he winged his way silently across the river,and disappeared among the trees upon the opposite side. The osprey,taking the thing as a matter of course, again descended to the properelevation, and betook himself to his work. Perhaps he grinned a little,like many another royal taxpayer, but he knew the tax had to be paid allthe same, and he said nothing.
An incident soon after occurred that astonished and puzzled our partynot a little. The female osprey, that all this time seemed to have hadbut poor success in her fishing, was now seen to descend with a rush,and plunge deeply into the wave. The spray rose in a little cloud overthe spot, and all sat watching with eager eyes to witness the result.What was their astonishment when, after waiting many seconds, the birdstill remained under water! Minutes passed, and still she did not comeup. _She came up no more!_ The foam she had made in her descent floatedaway--the bosom of the water was smooth as glass--not a ripple disturbedits surface. They could have seen the smallest object for a hundredyards or more around the spot where she had disappeared.
It was impossible she could have emerged without them seeing her. Where,then, had she gone? This, as I have said, puzzled the whole party; andformed a subject of conjecture and conversation for the rest of thatday, and also upon the next. Even Lucien was unable to solve themystery. It was a point in the natural history of the osprey unknown tohim. Could she have drowned herself? Had some great fish, the "garpike," or some such creature, got hold of and swallowed her? Had shedashed her head against a rock, or become entangled in weeds at thebottom of the river?
All these questions were put, and various solutions of the problem wereoffered. The true one was not thought of, until accident revealed it.It was Saturday when the incident occurred. The party, of course,remained all next day at the place. They heard almost continually thecry of the bereaved bird, who most likely knew no more than they whathad become of his mate. On Monday our travellers re-embarked andcontinued down-stream. About a mile below, as they were paddling along,their attention was drawn to a singular object floating upon the water.They brought the canoe alongside it.
It was a large fish, a sturgeon, floating dead, with a bird beside it,also dead! On turning both over, what was their astonishment to see thatthe talons of the bird were firmly fixed in the back of the fish! It wasthe _female osprey_! This explained all. She had struck a fish too heavyfor her strength, and being unable to clear her claws again, had beendrawn under the water and had perished along with her victim!