“After all had been made ready, the next day the man rose very early, before it was light, and, after smoking and praying, left his camp, telling his wives and children not to use an awl while he was gone.  He endeavored to reach the pit early in the morning, before it became light, and lay down in it, taking with him a slender stick about six feet long, a human skull, and a little pemmican.  Then he waited.

“When the morning came, and the eagles were flying, one of them would see the meat and descend to take it away from the wolf.  Finding it held fast by the rope, the bird began to feed on it; and while it was pecking at the bait, the watcher seized it by the legs, and drew it into the pit, where he killed it, either by twisting its neck, or by crushing it with his knees.  Then he laid it to one side, first opening the bill and putting a little piece of pemmican in its mouth.  This was done to make the other eagles hungry.  While he was in the pit, the man neither ate, drank, nor slept.  He had a sleeping-place not far off, to which he repaired each night after dark, and there he ate and drank.

“The reason for taking the skull into the hole with the catcher was, in part, for his protection.  It was believed that the ghost of the person to whom the skull had belonged would protect the watcher against harm from the eagle, and besides that, the skull, or ghost, would make the watcher invisible, like a ghost.  The eagle would not see him.

“The stick was used to poke or drive away smaller birds, such as magpies, crows, and ravens, which might alight on the roof of the pit, and try to feed on the bait.  It was used, also, to drive away the white-headed eagle, which they did not care to catch.  These are powerful birds; they could almost kill a person.

“There are two sacred things connected with the catching of eagles,—­two things which must be observed if the eagle-catcher is to have good luck.  The man who is watching must not eat rosebuds.  If he does, the eagle, when he comes down and alights by the bait, will begin to scratch himself and will not attack the bait.  The rosebuds will make him itch.  Neither the man nor his wife must use an awl while he is absent from his lodge, and is trying to catch the birds.  If this is done, the eagles will scratch the catcher.  Sometimes one man would catch a great many eagles.”

In his day, John Monroe was a famous eagle-catcher, and he has given me the following account of the method as he has practised it.  The pit is dug, six feet long, three wide, and four deep, on top of the highest knoll that can be found near a stream.  The earth taken out is carried a long way off.  Over the pit they put two long poles, one on each side, running lengthwise of the pit, and other smaller sticks are laid across, resting on the poles.  The smaller sticks are covered with juniper twigs and long grass.  The skin of a wolf, coyote, or fox, is stuffed with grass, and made to look as natural as possible.  A hole is cut in the wolf skin and a rope is passed through it, one end being tied to a large piece of meat which lies by the skin, and the other passing through the roof down into the pit.  The bait is now covered with grass, and the man returns to his lodge for the night.