158 STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 



from the spot, while eagles and hawks, of dif- 

 ferent species, accompanied by a crowd of vul- 

 tures, came to enjoy their share of the spoil. 

 It was then that the authors of all this mis- 

 chief began their entry among the dead and 

 dying. The pigeons were picked up and piled 

 in heaps, until each had as many as he could 

 possibly dispose of, when the hogs were let 

 loose to feed on the remainder." 



Mr. Audubon gives an account of the flight 

 of these birds, quite as astonishing as the one 

 Mr. Brewer gives of the scenes at their roosting 

 places. He says, "In the autumn of 1813, I 

 left my home on the banks of the Ohio, on 

 my way to Louisville. In passing over the 

 Barrens, I observed the pigeons passing from 

 northeast to southwest, in greater numbers than 

 I thought I had ever seen them before. I 

 traveled on, and still met more, the farther I 

 proceeded. The air was literally filled with 

 them. The light of the sun at noonday was 

 obscured, as if by an eclipse. Before sunset, 

 I reached Louisville, distant from the place 

 where I first observed them about fifty-five 

 miles. The pigeons were still passing in undi- 

 minished numbers, and continued to do so for 

 three days in succession. The people were all 

 in arms. The banks of the Ohio were crowded 



