The plumage was greyish-brown, marked here and there with
white patches; the feet appeared to be armed with strong claws. This
great bird guarded the entrance to the cave, occasionally retiring into
it himself for a few minutes; but as soon as the other birds came
pressing in after him, he hurried out again and they were forced to
retire.
We stopped to observe this curious scene, and were startled suddenly by
a mighty rush of wings in the air above us. We looked up; at the same
moment Fritz fired, and an enormous bird fell heavily head foremost on
the rocks, by which its neck was broken, while blood flowed from a
wound in the breast.
We had been holding back the dogs, but they, with Fritz, now rushed
towards the cave, the birds rising around them and departing with heavy
ungainly flight, leaving only Fritz's prize, and one of the other
birds, killed by the large one in its fall.
With the utmost caution I entered the cave, and rejoiced to find that
the tongue and eyes only of the bears had been devoured: a little later
and we should have had the handsome skins pecked and torn to rags, and
all chance of steaks and bears'-paws gone.
On measuring the wings of the large bird from tip to tip, I found the
length exceeded eleven feet, and concluded it to be a condor; it was
evidently the mate of the `Watcher', as Fritz called the first we saw.
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