A STORY FROM AUDUBON 143 



continued buzz of wings had a tendency to lull my 

 senses to repose. 



" l Whilst waiting for dinner at Young's inn, at the 

 confluence of Salt Eiver with the Ohio, I saw, at my 

 leisure, immense legions still going by, with a front 

 reaching from beyond the Ohio on the west, and the 

 beech-wood forests directly on the east of me. Not a 

 single bird alighted, for not a nut or acorn was that 

 year to be seen in the neighborhood. They conse- 

 quently flew so high, that different trials to reach 

 them with a capital rifle proved ineffectual ; nor did 

 the reports disturb them in the least. I cannot de- 

 scribe to you the extreme beauty of their aerial evo- 

 lutions, when a hawk chanced to press upon the rear 

 of a flock. At once, like a torrent, and with a noise 

 like thunder, they rushed into a compact mass, press- 

 ing upon each other toward the center. In these al- 

 most solid masses, they darted forward in undulating 

 and angular lines, descended and swept close over 

 the earth with inconceivable velocity, mounted per- 

 pendicularly so as to resemble a vast column, and, 

 when high, were seen wheeling and twisting within 

 their continued lines, which then resembled the coils 

 of a gigantic serpent. 



" ' Before sunset I reached Louisville, distant 

 from Hardensburg fifty-five miles. The pigeons 

 were still passing in undiminished numbers, and con- 

 tinued to do so for three days in succession. The 

 people were all in arms. The banks of the Ohio 

 were crowded with men and boys, incessantly shoot- 

 ing at the pilgrims, which there flew lower as they 



