° 1911 J Wright, Early Records of the Passenger Pigeon. 347 



when he beheld, "spread out upon a large sheet," "about a bushel 

 of wild pigeons." "In a day or two," Booth "actually purchased 

 a lot in the cemetery, two or three miles below the city, had a 

 coffin made, hired a hearse and carriage, and had gone through all 

 the solemnity of a regular funeral." " During the week immense 

 quantities of the wild pigeon [Passenger Pigeon, Cohimba migra- 

 tor i a] had been flying over the city, in their way to and from a 

 roost in the neighborhood. These birds had been slaughtered by 

 myriads, and were for sale by the bushel at the corners of every 

 street in the city. Although all the birds which could be killed 

 by man made the smallest impression on the vast multitude con- 

 tained in one of these flocks, — computed by Wilson to consist 

 sometimes of more than twenty-two hundred millions, — yet to 

 Booth the destruction seemed wasteful, wanton, and, from his 

 point of view, was a willful and barbarous murder." 



The other incident happened August 14, 1826, while McKenney 

 was crossing Lake Superior in a storm. He describes it as follows: l 

 "At six o'clock, and when about three-fourths of the way across, 

 the lake growing white with foam, and the steersman calling for 

 help to keep the canoe from being blown round side to the sea, 

 which is generally afforded by two or three of the voyageurs 

 striking their paddles down by the side of the canoe, and the 

 bowsman working his the contrary way, a bird was seen coming 

 across the lake, feeble in its efforts, and directing its course towards 

 our canoes. It passed Mr. Holiday's, and on getting in a line 

 with mine, turned and followed it. It appeared to make one last 

 effort, and with its feet foremost, lit on the end of the upper yard, 

 when instantly one of the voyageurs raised his paddle saying, 

 'mange-mange,' and in the act of giving the bird the meditated 

 stroke, I caught his arm, and prevented it. I then ordered the 

 steersman to untie the rope, which, passing through the top of 

 the mast, was tied near him, when the sail was lowered, and the 

 bird taken and handed to me. It was too feeble to fly. Its heart 

 beat as if it would break. I took some water from the lake with 

 my hand, into my mouth, put the bill of the little wanderer there, 

 and it drank as much as would have filled a table spoon — then 



1 McKenney, Thomas L. Sketches of a Tour to the Lakes, etc. Baltimore, 

 1827, pp. 352, 353. 



