The Young Voyageurs: Boy Hunters in the North

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

  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,"because its sudden heavy plunge upon the water is fancied to resemblethe falling 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.Most probably experience had taught them wisdom, and they knew theosprey as their most terrible enemy. But they were not to escape him atall times. As the boys watched the bird, he was seen to poise himselffor an instant in the air, then suddenly closing his wings, he shotvertically downward. So rapid was his descent, that the eye could onlytrace it like a bolt of lightning. There was a sharp whizzing sound inthe air--a plash was heard--then the smooth bosom of the water was seento break, and the white spray rose several feet above the surface. Foran instant the bird was no longer seen. He was underneath, and theplace of his descent was marked by a patch of foam. Only a singlemoment was he out of sight. The next he emerged, and a few strokes ofhis broad wing carried him into the air, while a large fish was seengriped in his claws. As the voyageurs had before noticed, the fish wascarried head-foremost, and this led them to the conclusion that instriking his prey beneath the water the osprey follows it and aims hisblow 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 theyhad secured proved to be a very fine salmon of not less than six poundsweight, and therefore much heavier than the bird itself! The track ofthe osprey's talons was deeply marked; and by the direction in which thecreature was scored, it was evident the bird had seized it from behind.The old hawks made a considerable noise while the fish was being carriedaway; but they soon gave up their squealing, and, once more hovering outover the river, sailed about with their eyes bent upon the 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 asmuch as they can eat. See! there again! Another, I declare!"

  As Francois spake 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 it came--which was from the opposite side of the river--and there, just in theact of launching itself from the top of a tall tree, was the great enemyof 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. Closebehind him went the female osprey, uttering wild screams, flapping herwings against his very beak, and endeavouring to distract his attentionfrom the chase. It was to no purpose, however, as the eagle full wellknew her object, and disregarding her impotent attempts, kept on insteady flight after her mate. This continued until the birds hadreached a high elevation, and the ospreys, from their less bulk, werenearly out of sight. But the voyageurs could see that the eagle was onthe point of overtaking the one that carried the fish. Presently, aglittering object dropped down from the heavens, and fell with a plungeupon the water. It was the fish, and almost at the same instant washeard the "whish!" of the eagle, as the great bird shot after it.Before reaching the surface, however, his white tail and wings were seento spread suddenly, checking his downward course; and then, with ascream of disappointment, he flew off in a horizontal direction, andalit 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 ease, 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 filltheir rude throats with hurrah songs that paint false patriotism inglowing colours, making loyalty--no matter to whatsoever despot--thegreatest of virtues, and revolution the greatest of crimes; theystudiously divide their subjects into several creeds, and then, playingupon the worst of all passions--the passion of religious bigotry--easilyprevent their misguided helots from uniting upon any point which wouldgive them a real reform. Ah! it is a terrible game which the presentrulers of Europe are playing!"

  It was Basil who gave utterance to these sentiments, for the youngrepublican of Louisiana had already begun to think strongly on pol
iticalsubjects. 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 notalways caught upon the surface. The osprey has often to plunge beneaththe water in the pursuit, and Nature has gifted him with power to do so,which, if I am not mistaken, she has denied to the eagles. The latterare therefore compelled, in some measure, to depend upon the former fora supply. But the eagles sometimes do catch the fish themselves, whenthe water is sufficiently shallow, or when their prey comes near enoughto the surface 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,'etcetera. They know the value of their tax-payers too well to get ridof them in that way. A band of ospreys, in a place where there happensto be many of them together, have been known to unite and drive theeagles off. That, I suppose, must be looked upon in the light of asuccessful _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,as the bird flew heavily upward, the eagle again left its perch, andgave chase. This time the osprey was overtaken before it had got twohundred yards into the air, and seeing it was no use attempting to carryoff the prey, it opened its claws and let it drop. The eagle turnedsuddenly, poised himself a moment, and then shot after the falling fish.Before the latter had got near the ground, he overtook and secured itin his talons. Then, arresting his own flight by the sudden spread ofhis tail, he winged his way silently across the river, and disappearedamong the trees upon the opposite side. The osprey, taking the thing asa matter of course, again descended to the proper elevation, and betookhimself to his work. Perhaps he grinned a little like many anotherroyal tax-payer, but he knew the tax had to be paid all the same, and hesaid 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 descentfloated away--the bosom of the water was smooth as glass--not a rippledisturbed its surface. They could have seen the smallest object for ahundred yards or more around the spot where she had disappeared. It wasimpossible she could have emerged without them seeing her. Where, then,had she gone? This, as I have said, puzzled the whole party; and formeda subject of conjecture and conversation for the rest of that day, andalso upon the next. Even Lucien was unable to solve the mystery. Itwas a point in the natural history of the osprey unknown to him. Couldshe have drowned herself? Had some great fish, the "gar pike," or somesuch creature, got hold of and swallowed her? Had she dashed her headagainst a rock, or become entangled in weeds at the bottom 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 that the talons of the bird werefirmly fixed in the back of the fish! It was the _female osprey_! Thisexplained all. She had struck a fish too heavy for her strength, andbeing unable to clear her claws again, had been drawn under the waterand had perished along with her victim!