five hundred men were engaged in net 

 ting the birds and it was thought by one 

 Pigeon netter they may have captured 

 twenty thousand birds apiece during the 

 season. But this was not the worst fea 

 ture of this inhuman method of hunting. 

 Large trees containing a number of 

 nests were cut down in order to obtain 

 the fat young birds or squabs. Another 

 excellent account, which helps to show 

 why the Passenger Pigeon has been 

 nearly exterminated, is that of Professor 

 H. B. Roney, regarding a nesting area 

 in Michigan during the year 1878. In 

 the "Chicago Field" Professor Roney 

 makes the following statement: "The 

 nesting area situated near Petoskey, cov 

 ered something like 100,000 acres of 

 land, and included not less than 150,000 

 acres within its limits, being in length 

 about forty miles by three to ten in 

 width. The number of dead birds sent 

 by rail was estimated at 12,500 daily, or 

 1,500,000 for the summer, besides 80,- 



352 live birds; an equal number was 

 sent by water. We have, adding the 

 thousands of dead and wounded ones 

 not secured, and the myriads of squabs 

 left dead in the nest, at the lowest pos 

 sible estimate, a grand total of i,obo,- 

 000,000 Pigeons sacrificed to Mammon 

 during the nesting of 1878." Regard 

 ing the estimate of Professor Roney, 

 Captain Bendire has said: "The last 

 mentioned figure is undoubtedly far 

 above the actual number killed during 

 that or any other year, but even grant 

 ing that but a million were killed at 

 this roost, the slaughter is enormous 

 enough, and it is not strange that the 

 number of these Pigeons are now few 

 compared with former years." Cap 

 tain Bendire's statement was published 

 in 1892, and now we may truthfully 

 say that the beautiful Passenger Pig 

 eons are practically no more ; in the 

 words of Mr. Dawson, they are "lost 

 in the maw of human greed." 



ALEX'S REINDEER DRIVE 



Alex was getting impatient. Every 

 thing was ready and his uncle must 

 know how anxious he was to start. He 

 had been greatly interested in the har 

 nessing of the reindeer. It took but a few 

 moments for the Lapp to place the deer 

 skin collar about its neck, pass the trace 

 between its legs under the belly and 

 fasten it to the front of the sledge, then 

 tie a single rein to the lower left horn. 

 While the Lapp was harnessing Alex's 

 deer, Mr. Polaski harnessed his own 

 animal. Mr. Polaski was a buyer of 

 reindeer pelts and was taking a journey 

 north to the land of the Lapps for that 

 purpose. 



It was Alex's first visit to Lapland. 

 His uncle had long promised him a rein 

 deer drive, and was now taking him a 

 short distance of the trip. They were 

 bundled up in their thick deerskin suits 



so that nothing was visible but their 

 faces. Everything was ready for the 

 drive but there was so much talking to 

 be done, it seemed to Alex as if they 

 never would get started. Mr. Polaski 

 was making inquiries and receiving im 

 portant information that would help 

 him on his journey, but Alex could not 

 understand the language his uncle and 

 the Lapp were speaking, so it did not 

 interest him. He was very glad when 

 his uncle turned to him and said, "Well, 

 boy, I guess we'll be going now. Get 

 in the pulkha and I'll show you how to 

 drive." 



The sledge was shaped like a canoe. 

 It had a flat bottom and was about five 

 and a half feet long, a foot deep and a 

 foot and a half wide. Alex jumped into 

 it and sat upright with his back against 

 the backboard and his legs stretched out 



