6 PASSENGER PIGEON. 



more than three miles spotted every tree; the leaves not being 

 yet out, I had a fair prospect of them, and was really astonished 

 at their numbers. A few bodies of Pigeons lingered yet in dif- 

 ferent parts of the woods, the roaring of whose wings were 

 heard in various quarters around me. 



All accounts agree in stating, that each nest contains only one 

 young.* This is so extremely fat, that the Indians, and many 

 of the whites, are accustomed to melt down the fat for domestic 

 purposes as a substitute for butter and lard. At the time they 

 leave the nest they are nearly as heavy as the old ones; but 

 become much leaner after they are turned out to shift for them- 

 selves. 



It is universally asserted in the western countries, that the 

 Pigeons, though they have only one young at a time, breed 

 thrice, and sometimes four times, in the same season ; the cir- 

 cumstances already mentioned render this highly probable. It 

 is also worthy of observation, that this takes place during that 

 period when acorns, beech nuts, &c. are scattered about in the 

 greatest abundance, and mellowed by the frost. But they are not 

 confined to these alone; buckwheat, hempseed, Indian corn, 

 holly berries, hack berries, buckle berries, and many others 

 furnish them with abundance at almost all seasons. The acorns 

 of the live oak are also eagerly sought after by these birds, and 

 rice has been frequently found in individuals killed many hun- 

 dred miles to the northward of the nearest rice plantation. The 

 vast quantity of mast which these multitudes consume, is a se- 

 rious loss to the bears, pigs, squirrels and other dependents on 

 the fruits of the forest. I have taken from the crop of a single 

 Wild Pigeon, a good handful ot the kernels of beech nuts, inter- 

 mixed with acorns and chestnuts. To form a rough estimate of 

 the daily consumption of one of these immense flocks, let us first 

 attempt to calculate the numbers of that above mentioned, as 

 seen in passing between Frankfort and the Indiana territory. 



* It seems probable that our author was misinformed on this head, as it 

 has been stated to us that the Passenger Pig-eon, in common with all the 

 other known spock-s of the genus Colwnba, lays t\vo eggs. 



