THE AMERICAN EAGLE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 81, 3 October 1938, Page 12

THE AMERICAN EAGLE

•— * — .'~ ; -,' .' ■ Some concern is being felt in the United States at the prospect that" the original-of the national emblem maT soon become extinct, says the '"MmV Chester Guardian." A hundred" and sixty years ago the Continental Con--gress appointed a committee "to pr^i?.' pare a device for a Great Sealjbf tlie United States of "America." The de-'.. sign finally adopted was one in which the escutcheon- was placed on; tlift breast of an American eagle, displayed proper, and .holding a scroll .in bjta beak. The. bird chosen, for- this distinction, .it must, be noted, is of .a, different species from the golden; eagle: which has figured prominently in the.: heraldry of so many European Powers, from ancient Rome to the present day. It is the bald-headed eagle, found only- on the North American Continent,• -except for an. occasional specimen from Eastern Siberia: 1% t* described as a peace-loving bird, unlike the more militant kind shown-^n other national emblems. Unforttfv nately, it has so often become the victim of- American sportsmen, that today it -is only in Alaska that it survives many considerable numbers. Its choice as Uncle Sam's mascot soonmade it a coveted trophy, and stuffed, specimens of it came to. be; regarded as desirable- • ornaments for offices " and shops- • • It was all the .easier ;|b secure because its enormous nests.were conspicuous objects in: the land-' scape. In some States persons shoo*, ing eagles are now liable to arrest by the game warden, but in several, -a« well-as in the .territory of Alaska,.the ; bird is still unprotected. . -