Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/400

394 by a well-directed shot stretched him on the ground. The fame he obtained for his prowess, and the money from the sale of the shin to the museum, compensated him for the loss of the horse, but it must be remembered that he ran a great risk in searching for the tiger as he did.

"There were in the museum some fine specimens (stuffed) of the bearcoot, an enormous eagle of the Altai Mountains. It is considerably larger than the American eagle, and strong enough to kill easily a deer or a wolf. The Kirghese tame these eagles and employ them for hunting purposes, just as hawks were employed in England centuries ago. A bearcoot will swoop down upon a full-grown deer and kill him in a few minutes; a deer running at full speed can be overtaken by a bearcoot in a course of