232 lawson's history 



since Carolina has been seated by the christians. 

 And if that country had such hard weather, what 

 must be expected of the severe winters in Penn- 

 sylvania, New York, and JSTew England, where 

 winters are ten times (if possible) colder than with 

 us. Although the flocks are, in such extremities, 

 very numerous ; yet they are not to be mentioned 

 in comparison with the great and'infinite numbers 

 of these fowl that are met withal about a hundred 

 or a hundred and fifty miles to the westward of 

 the places where we at present live ; and where 

 these pigeons come down in quest of a small sort 

 of acorns, which in those parts are plentifully 

 found. They are the same we call turkey acorns, 

 because the wild turkies feed very much thereon ; 

 and for the same reason those trees that bear them 

 are called turkey oaks. I saw such prodigious 

 flocks of these pigeons in January or February, 

 1701-2, (which were in the lully country between 

 the great nation of the Esaw Indians and the pleas- 

 ant stream of Sapona, which is the west branch 

 of Clarendon or the Cape Fair river) that they 

 had broke down the limbs of a great many large 

 trees all over those woods whereon they chanced 

 to sit and roost, especially the great pines, which 

 are a more brittle wood than our sorts of oak are. 

 These pigeons, about sunrise, when we were pre- 

 paring to march on our journey, would fly by us 

 in such vast flocks that they would be near a quar- 

 ter of an hour before they were all passed by ; and 

 as soon as that flock was gone another would 



