174 BIRCH BROWSINGS. 



head of a valley are oftenest the scene of their depre- 

 dations, 



Wild pigeons, in immense numbers, used to breed 

 regularly in the valley of the Big Ingin and about the 

 head of the Neversink. The tree-tops for miles were 

 full of their nests, while the going and coming of the 

 old birds kept up a constant din. But the gunners 

 soon got wind of it, and from far and near were wont 

 to pour in during the spring, and to slaughter both old 

 and young. This practice soon had the effect of 

 driving the pigeons all away, and now only a few pairs 

 breed in these woods. 



Deer are still met with, though they are becoming 

 scarcer ever year. Last winter near seventy head were 

 killed on the Beaver Kill alone. I heard of one 

 wretch, who, finding the deer snowbound, walked up 

 to them on his snowshoes, and one morning before 

 breakfast slaughtered six, leaving their carcasses 

 where they fell. There are traditions of persons 

 having been smitten blind or senseless when about to 

 commit some heinous offense, but the fact that this 

 villain escaped without some such visitation throws 

 discredit on all such stories. 



The great attraction, however, of this region, is the 

 brook trout, with which the streams and lakes abound. 

 The water is of excessive coldness, the thermometer 

 indicating 44° and 45 in the springs, and 47 or 48 

 in the smaller streams. The trout are generally small, 

 but in the more remote branches their number is 



