THE PASSENGER PIGEON IN PENNSYLVANIA 185 



Newspapers told of a flock of wild pigeons having 

 been seen in Delaware County in January, llJli. 

 When in the Shenandoah V^alley, in the late fall of 

 1910, a livery stable driver at New Market, about 50 

 years of age, told the writer that he had killed two wild 

 pigeons in the JMasnutten Mountains, back of the End- 

 less Caverns, in the winter of 1905. He was sure that 

 they were Passenger Pigeons, as he had helped to trap 

 many of them in his boyhood days. Unfortunately 

 few of the younger generations know what a Pas- 

 senger Pigeon looked like, and this was brought out to 

 Prof. Hodge's chagrin many times during his inves- 

 tigations. The old men are always to be depended 

 upon, they knew the birds intimately, they cannot err, 

 and it should be noted that very few greybeards 

 claim to have seen them in recent years. We must 

 admit that those elderly men like C. W. Dickinson, 

 who say that they have seen them of late, have a most 

 excellent case. There is still ground for belief that 

 they exist, though the most careful investigation can 

 ar most leave the case open, as in the instances of the 

 flocks seen by Mr. Snook in eastern Brush Valley, a 

 couple of years ago. With no positive proof against 

 we can content ourselves with a goodly portion of 

 hope, and a faith that Bctopisfcs Migratorius, or as 

 some of the netters in INIichigan called them "Travel- 

 ling Pigeons" must return from their long journey. 

 They were in such great numbers when they went 



