234 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



ers from the packing-houses were used by the wagon- 

 load to fill up the mud-holes in the road for miles out of 

 town. For four men to attempt to effect a work having 

 for opponents the entire country, residents and non-resi- 

 dents included, was no slight task. 



"The majority of the pigeoners were a reckless, hard 

 set of men, but their repeated threats that they would 

 1 buck-shot us ' if we interfered with them in the woods, 

 failed to inspire the awe that was intended. It was four 

 against 2,000. What was accomplished against such 

 fearful odds may be seen by the following: 



" The regular shipments by rail before the party com- 

 menced operations were sixty barrels per day. On the 

 16th of April, just after our arrival, they fell to thirty-five 

 barrels, and on the 17th down to twenty barrels per day, 

 while on the 22d the shipments were only eight barrels 

 of pigeons. On the Sunday previous, there were shipped 

 by steamer, to Chicago, 128 barrels of dead birds and 108 

 crates of live birds. On the next Sabbath following our 

 arrival, the shipments were only forty-three barrels and 

 fifty-two crates. Thus it will be seen that some little 

 good was accomplished, but that little was included in a 

 very few days of the season, for the treasury of the home 

 clubs would not admit of keeping their representatives 

 longer at the nesting; the State clubs, save one, did not 

 respond to the call for assistance, and the men were 

 recalled, after which the Indians went back into the nest- 

 ing, and the wanton crusade was renewed, by pigeoners 

 and all hands, with an energy which indicated a determi- 

 nation to make up lost time. 



"The first shipment of birds from Petoskey was upon 

 March 22d, and the last upon August 12th, making over 

 twenty weeks, or five months, that the bird war was car- 

 ried on. For many weeks the railroad shipments aver- 

 aged fifty barrels of dead birds per day thirty to forty 



