Destruction by Man 49 



poles with which to beat down the frantic pigeons, 

 and still others suffocated the birds with pots 

 of burning sulphur. The fat squabs in the nests 

 were considered even more desirable prizes than 

 the old birds, and scores of men spent their entire 

 time in throwing to the ground, by means of long 

 poles, all the nests within reach. Others, for 

 whom this method was too slow, attacked the 

 trees with axes, bringing down a hundred nests 

 at once. 



Eye-witnesses testify that the spectacle was 

 an awful one. Savage Indians, and still more 

 savage white men, with many women and 

 children, all engaged in killing birds. With 

 hands and faces smeared with blood, and with 

 feathers sticking in their clothing, many of 

 them looked scarce human in the uncertain light, 

 as they ran back and forth over the slippery 

 ground, shouting at the tops of their voices 

 in order to make themselves heard above the 

 thundering roar created by the wings of millions 

 of pigeons. All night long this awful slaughter 

 continued, and at dawn the woods were seen to 

 be carpeted with dead and dying birds. Sneak- 

 ing away through the shadows of the woods 

 could be seen the dim forms of mountain lions, 

 foxes, wild cats, skunks, and other night prowlers, 

 and then in the air would appear eagles and 



