160 WAKE-ROBIN 



make havoc among the sheep. The clearings at the 

 head of a valley are oftenest the scene of their dep- 

 redations. 



Wild pigeons, in immense numbers, used to breed 

 regularly in the valley of the Big Ingin and about 

 the head of the Neversink. The treetops for miles 

 were full of their nests, while the going and coming 

 of the old birds kept up a constant din. But the 

 gunners soon got wind of it, and from far and near 

 were wont to pour in during the spring, and to 

 slaughter both old and young. This practice soon 

 had the effect of driving the pigeons all away, and 

 now only a few pairs breed in these woods. 



Deer are still met with, though they are becom- 

 ing scarcer every year. Last winter near seventy 

 head were killed on the Beaver Kill alone. I heard 

 of one wretch, who, finding the deer snowbound, 

 walked up to them on his snowshoes, and one morn- 

 ing before breakfast slaughtered six, leaving their 

 carcasses where they fell. There are traditions of 

 persons having been smitten blind or senseless when 

 about to commit some heinous offense, but the fact 

 that this villain escaped without some such visita- 

 tion throws discredit on all such stories. 



The great attraction, however, of this region, is 

 the brook trout, with which the streams and lakes 

 abound. The water is of excessive coldness, the 

 thermometer indicating 44° and 45° in the springs, 

 and 47° or 48° in the smaller streams. The trout 

 are generally small, but in the more remote branches 

 their number is very great. In such localities tho 



