THE PASSENGER PIGEON IN PENNSYLVANIA 205 



CHARLES H. ELDON, 



TAXIDERMIST, 



331 W. Fourth Street, Williamsport, Pa. 



WiLUAMSPORT, Pa., Jan. 16, 1919. 

 Coi.. Henry W. Shoemaker, 



Washington, D. C. 



Dear Col. Shoemaker: 



Replying to your inquiry concerning my early 

 knowledge of the passenger pigeon, I wish to say : In 

 my boyhood days I lived in Bendersville, Pa., ten 

 miles north of Gettysburg. Near our village was tim- 

 ber land, locally known as the "Big Hill," which was a 

 favorite nesting place for the passenger pigeon. The 

 coming of the birds in the spring-time was heralded 

 with delight by hunters. I have been on the mountain 

 with my father and have seen the birds in vast num- 

 bers, the trees being so completely covered that the 

 birds to my boyish eyes appeared as massive leaves. 

 In memory I can still see them fluttering and lighting 

 upon the swaying branches, and here and there 

 through the timber could be distinctly heard the 

 breaking of the limbs from the weight of the birds. 

 The fluttering of the wings and the cooing of the birds 

 seemed like almost a continuous roar. I remember 

 seeing a stream of pigeons about twice the width of a 

 street and reaching as far as the eye could see in both 

 directions. Becoming tired looking at the birds as 

 they were passing directly over me. I lay upon the 



