THE PASSENGTER PIGEON IN PENNSYLVANIA 103 



The snow having melted from the ground, the 

 flock that had dispersed over a wide extent of coun- 

 try in search of food, came together in a nesting place 

 on the ridges adjacent to the head of Dingman Run, 

 not far from Coudersport. About a week later, a very 

 large flock that had been driven from their nests by 

 the snow storm, came from Cameron county, or Elk 

 county, and joined the pigeons that had come from 

 the abandoned nesting in Bingham township extend- 

 ing the Dingman Run nesting several miles along the 

 ridge between the Allegheny river and the Oswayo 

 creek. 



By this time the netting and shooting of pigeons, 

 to be sold in the city markets, had become a well or- 

 ganized business. Correspondence, by means of tele- 

 graph, was kept up from all the regions in which the 

 pigeons were accustomed to nest. Those engaged in 

 the business were supplied with accurate information 

 as to the locality where the birds might be found at any 

 given time, with an estimate of their number and di- 

 rections as to the most direct route by rail, to a point 

 nearest nesting place. This accounts for the great 

 slaughter of pigeons that took place during their nest- 

 ing in the vicinity of Dingman Run. 



All that time I had not seen pigeons in their nesting 

 place for some years. Having been informed that the 

 squabs were about to leave their nests, I arranged with 

 two or three neighbors to go to the nesting ground for 

 a mess. Having several miles to drive, we started 

 early in the morning, so that more time might be had 



