Capture of a Condor in El Dorado Co. Cal. in 1854

Abstract

In the autumn of 1854, two men, Alonzo Winship, a former pony express rider on the plains, and Jesse Millikan, were acting as trackwalkers for the South Fork flume in El Dorado Co., Cal. Their cabin was situated between North and South Canyon, and one morning they noticed a large condor in a dead spruce tree, on the mountain side, below their cabin. Loading a rifle, one of the party started for the bird but it had disappeared. After breakfast Mr. Millikan started toward the head of the flume, whilst Mr. Winship went down the flume toward White Rock, eight miles away. As he was crossing the aqueduct over North Canyon, he saw an enormous condor asleep at the base of a cliff that jutted about twenty feet above the flume. Surprised that the bird had not been awakened by his footsteps along the flume, he hesitated a moment, then decided to attempt to kill the bird. Having nothing but his shovel he threw it with all his force, striking the condor and breaking its wing. The condor, thus rudely disturbed, jumped from its perch, and running under the flume., started down the mountain toward the American River with Mr. Winship following closely after. The condor's broken wing impeded its progress, and finding its pursuer was gaining upon it, it turned savagely upon him and he was compelled to take refuge upon a granite boulder just out of its reach, realizing he had a dangerous enemny. ALIs the condor walked around and around the rock of refuge, eyeing him revengefully, Mr. Winship called to Mr. Millikan who was not yet out of hearing. The latter thinking his friend had flushed a covey of grouse, stopped at the cabin on his way and procured his rifle. When in sight of his friend on his granite perch he called: "What have you got 'Lonzo?" "Oh! I've got the great grand daddy of all birds," was the reply. The condor was in such a fury that it paid no attention to the new comer, but continued its circuit aroundthe boulder, eyeing its prisoner who called to Mr. Millikan, "Look out or he will go for you.)) Getting a good glimpse of the bird and amazed at its size, Mr. Millikan exclaimed, "We must not kill him; we must take him alive." After consider-