AIRMAN AND EAGLE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 75, 22 December 1919, Page 8

AIRMAN AND EAGLE

Tho following (from the "Daily Mail") gives fuller particulars of an 'incident briefly reported in the cabled news a few weeks back:—

A thousand feet above tho blue nnd chasms of the Pyrenees a British airman has discovered a sport, beside which, he says, tho thrills and dangers of tiger shooting are but a commonplace.

laying recently from Paris to Madrid, Hie airman, piloting a single-seater scout machine, found himself over tho Pyrenees in the half-light of early dawn. Tie was flying probably at 100 miles an hour when a big eagle, roused from its haunt by tho distant drumming: of tlio engine, soared to meet him.

"It was as if tlio eagle had thrown me a challenge," says Hie airman, "but the laughter dietl on my lins when I thought that perchaneo a lucky dive by tho bird or, may be, a collision in midair, would sen<l mo crashing to the rocks beneath.

"The, eagle lumbered at mo at about !)!) miles an hour, and I throttled down to the fame naco while we tool; stock of each other Tho ;iir by then was crystal clear, and I could too every feather on him as wo circlcd round, " for ' all the world like two antagonists above tho western front.

"Whether he wanted to get: alxivo mo for a dive, or wliellwr lw took mo for o bird of his own fighting instincts, and was afraid of my cott iuir above him and dror>p : ng 011 him, T know not. but it was in his eye to climb—ami climb lie did.

"tip and up wo wont, the bird a few yards from my win? tip, climbing yard by yard with mo. And then, limbic to res'ist it any longer, T opened the throttle, nut my nose down, and looped right ovor him. He mado one great effort lo catch un. and with it his strength failed. ITin wings gavo a feeble beat, and, with every nnpearance of a shot, plane, ho nosedived to earth. I followed him down a good twelve, hundred foot, and saw han flatten nut and land near a. villneo in the foothills, completely exhausted."