° 1911 J Wright, Early Records of (he Passenger Pigeon. oOl 



make any impression on them; the only certain method of bringing 

 them to the ground is by firing immediately after they pass. A 

 considerable of the produce of the cultivated lands was some years 

 ago devoured by these birds, and wherever they rested, they ap- 

 peared to cover, like leaves, a great part of the trees of the forest." 

 From 1800 to 1810 Alexander Henry made several notes on the 

 pigeon, particularly in western Canada. When near Winnepeg 

 August 19, 1800: l "Pigeons were in great numbers; the trees 

 were every moment covered with them, and the continual firing 

 of our people did not appear to diminish their numbers." On 

 April 22, 1801, he saw "Pigeons flying X. in great numbers." 

 Shortly after, May 19, at Rat River, he killed a pigeon. At 

 Pembina River Post, May 4, 1804, were "Extraordinary numbers 

 of wild pigeons; I never before saw so many." When he ap- 

 proached Isle de la Traverse, August 21, 1S0S, "Pigeons were 

 plentiful on our arrival, but they instantly left." Two days later, 

 at Pine Island, he says, "We shot. . . .some pigeons, of which we 

 saw great numbers." Lastly, August 31, IS 10, at Xew White 

 Earth House, he finds "Pigeons are passing N. to S. in immense 

 flocks, particularly in the morning and evening." 



About the same time Hugh Gray, in a letter from Quebec, writes: 2 

 "During the summer the woods of Canada abound with birds of 



a great variety of sorts and sizes, Some of these pass the 



whole summer in Canada; others, such as the pigeons, are only 

 found at certain seasons, as they pass from the southern to the 

 more northerly parts of the American continent and vice versa." 

 In 1820, Sansom, in Lower Canada, also found these 3 "wild- 

 pigeons, in inconceivable abundance." In 1S32 Joseph Bouchette, 

 in his 'The British Dominions in North America,' etc.. 2 vols., 

 London, 1832 (Vol. II, p. 145), found that pigeons furnished 

 objects for the sportsman in New Brunswick, as did Godley when 

 at Kingston (August) ; he says, that the pigeons are 4 ' 'important 

 objects of an American chasse." 



1 Henry, Alexander, and Thompson, David, The Manuscript Journals of, 

 1799-1814. Edited by Elliott Coues. 3 vols.. Xew York, 1897. Vol. I, pp. 46, 

 176. 183, 243: Vol. II, 467, 469, 622. 



2 Gray, Hugh. Letters from Canada, written during a residence there in the 

 Years 1806, 1807, and 1808; etc. London, 1809, pp. 245, 246. 



3 Sansom, Joseph. Travels in Lower Canada, etc. London, 1820, p. 49. 



4 Godley, John Robert. Letters from America. 2 vols., London, 1844. Vol. I, 

 p. 126. 



