130 PIGEON-SHOOTING EXTRAORDINARY. 



deep purple and the most sparkling gold. Observe them 

 disappearing behind yon. wood of oaks, and plunging into 

 the midst of their foliage. Suddenly, the boldest reap- 

 pear. At a single bound they precipitate themselves to 

 the earth, and cover the soil. If a sudden terror seizes 

 them, they resume their flight with such rapidity, that 

 the rustling of their wings produces a commotion which 

 may well terrify a person ignorant of the cause. But if 

 the alarm be groundless, and their apprehensions are re- 

 moved, again they scatter themselves all over the ground, 

 coming and going, crossing each other in every direction, 

 and displaying, in short, a series of movements impos- 

 sible to be described in words. The ground on which 

 they settle is soon so completely stripped that it would be 

 lost labour to seek for a single grain ! 



This is the moment selected by the Kentucky hunters 

 for firing upon the horde, and making terrible gaps in its 

 multitudinous ranks. At mid-day the birds, well-fed and 

 with their crops full of food, repose on the neighbouring 

 trees and digest their booty ; but no sooner does the sun 

 sink below the horizon than all take flight, and hasten 

 to regain the general rendezvous, which is sometimes 

 more than forty leagues distant from the spot where they 

 have passed the day. 



Along the waters of the Green River, in Kentucky, 

 I saw the most magnificent roosting-place which came 

 across my notice during my residence in the United 

 States. It was situated on the threshold of a forest, 

 whose trees were of immense height; trunks upright, 

 tall, and isolated, starting up straight from the soil. A 



