EAGAN. \ IILEIS PATRICK I Iti41-1 An Ann-rican soldier. horn in Ireland. Ile entered the Federal Army from civil life in ISQ, with rank of first lieutenant, and upon the close of the Civil War out . In SITI he was appointed to the Vnited States Army, with rank of second lieutenant. and by 1Sfl4 had risen to the grade of brigadier-gen end and As -inch he served during the spanish-Amerienn War, at which time he was found to have issued among the rations designed for the United Stales forces in Cuha canned mean said to he in a condition so un•hole some as to render them untit for food. In 1899 he was tried by court-martial for using violent and abash/. language before the War Investigation Committee regarding General Miles. commander iwchief of the army. Ile was sentenced to a suspension of six years from linty and military honors, and later was retired at his own request. EAGLE (IW. cyle, Fr. Ogle, It. agnila, from Lat. aqui/a, eagle. from aqui/us, dark brown; connected with Gk achlils, mist, darkness, Lith. aklas, blind). Any member of a. group of birds of prey, variously defined. hut typi fied by the genus Aquila, which contains the largest and most powerful of the Faleonidie. From the most ancient times the eagle has been uni versally regarded as the emblem of might and courage: and, like the lion, it has been fancifully ingested with other attributes of greatness such as men thought to harmonize with these. Its ex traordinary powers of the vast height to which it soars in the sky, the wild grandeur of the scenery amid which it loves to make its abode, and perhaps also its longevity. have concurred to recommend it to poetic regard. It was asso eiated with Jupiter in the Boman mythology, and its figure on the of certain Boman legions has. descended to the national ensigns of the United States, Germany. Russia. etc.
True eagles have the beak not curved front the very base, like the true falcons, nor notched on the edge: neither are their wings so long in proportion to their size: their legs are very robust. their clans curved. sharp. and strong. In the most restricted use of the generic term Aquila. the true eagles (of which the golden eagle may lie taken as a type) have a rather short bill. curved from the (pre, with the edge of the upper mandible slightly simian., the tarsi short and feathered down to the toe,. This last character distinguishes them at once from their nearest allies—the sea-eagles of the genus Hali Nine species of true eagles are well dis tinguished, although in this, as in allied genera, much confushm has arisen from the diversity of plumage at different ages. Only one of them
occurs in North America. This is the golden eagle (Aquila •h•p•uetit.O, of which the 'ring tailed' eagle is the young. It is 30 to 3-' inches in length. and CIL to 7 feet in spread of wing; the female is rather larger than the male. The color is (lark brown, in sonic parts almost black; the head and back of the neck in mature birds covered with pointed feathers of a golden-red color; young birds hate a considerable part of the tail white: the bright-yellow core and feet give it its name. The golden eagle is the largest of the European eagles, and is found throughout Europe. \ sia (north of the Himalaya ), and most of Ninth America. It prefers mountainous districts. and usually only one pair exist, within a relatively extensive area. These eagles are rare east of the but are occasionally seen, especially in winter, They 'mild a coarse hest of large sticks on cliffs or rocky ledges in the mountains. and lay two or three eggs, (lull white, blotched and speckled with brown. A great quantity of food is required to support a pair of these birds and their two or three young ones: and not only hares, gnaw (if every kind, and lambs are carried to the eyrie, but larger animals are sometimes attacked.
The imperial eagle (Aquila Millen) is usually regarded ;is that from which the Greeks and Romans adopted their s?mbolism, and ranges from the eastern Alediterranean to China. It is soniewhat smaller and darker than the golden eagle, and seems to be less noble in its feeding habits and behavior; indeed an impartial judg ment most concede that the eagles do not nearly a- well deserve the admirable qualities attributed to them by poetry and romance as do many of the lesser falcons—they are. in Intl'', not far removed from vultures in either structure or dis p. sition. :\luch smaller, not exceeding •5 inches in length, are the spotted eagles (Aquila nuteu lata and Aquila elfinpa) of central and southern Europe: other less-prominent species are the tawny eagle 1 lquilo mita•) of Africa. the Indian (Aquila ritsdhiana , and the vulturine eagle e.tvaiia •crecua,ri) of South Africa, which is marked by a white rump. and must be distinguished from the eagle-vulture ( q.v. ) . See also II AWK-EAGLE.