ioo What Birds Have Done With Me 



" 'The spot which the roost occupied was not 

 unlike numerous others that might have been 

 selected. The trees grew to a height of from 

 five to thirty feet, and for a mile square were 

 literally loaded at night with Robins. Hunting 

 them while they roosted was a favorite sport. A 

 man would climb a cedar tree with a torch, while 

 his companions with poles and clubs would dis- 

 turb the sleeping hundreds on the adjacent trees. 

 Blinded by the light, the suddenly awakened birds 

 flew to the torch bearer, who, as he seized each 

 bird, would quickly pull off its head, and drop it 

 into a sack suspended from his shoulder. 



" The capture of three or four hundred birds 

 was an ordinary night's work. Men and boys 

 would come in wagons from all the adjoining 

 counties and camp near the roost for the purpose 

 of killing Robins. Many times, one hundred or 

 more hunters with torches and clubs would be at 

 work in a single night. For three years this tre- 

 mendous slaughter continued in winter, and then 

 the survivors deserted the roost.' ' 



These are almost the identical methods em- 

 ployed in killing untold numbers of Wild Pigeons, 

 which is today probably an extinct bird in Amer- 

 ica. This is followed by the testimony of William 

 Dutcher, the very Commander-in-Chief of all 

 constructive methods and conservative bird work 

 in America. 



