ROBIN REDBREAST 43 



stone outcrops on the surface, and the soil thus long escap- 

 ing drainage and the plow, gave opportunity for a vast 

 growth of cedar trees. This entire tract covered an area 

 perhaps thirty by forty miles. In all this cedar country, 

 robins came in immense numbers during the winter months 

 to feed on the cedar berries. 



^^By the middle of a winter's afternoon,'' said my 

 friend, ^Hhe robins would begin coming by our house in 

 enormous flocks, which would follow one another like great 

 waves moving on in the direction of the roost. They would 

 continue to pass until night. We lived fifteen miles from 

 the roost, and it was a matter of common observation that 

 the birds came in this manner from all quarters. 



' ^ The spot which the roost occupied was not unlike num- 

 bers of others that might have been selected. The trees 

 here grew to a height of from five to thirty feet, and for a 

 mile square were literally loaded at night with robins. 

 Hunting them while they roosted was a favorite sport. 

 A man would climb a cedar tree with a torch while his 

 companions with poles and clubs would disturb the sleep- 

 ing hundreds on the adjacent trees. Blinded by the light, 

 the suddenly awakened birds would fly to the torch bearer, 

 who, as he seized each bird, would quickly pull off its head, 

 and drop the bird into a sack suspended from his shoulder. 



^^The capture of three or four hundred birds was an 



