The latest theory advanced to me by 

 a correspondent is the possibility of 

 some disturbance of the elements in 

 the shape of a cyclone, or a storm 

 striking a migrating host in crossing 

 the Gulf of Mexico and destroying 

 them almost .completely. This is a 

 plausible .theory but I am unable to 

 concive how such immense hosts of 

 pigeons as are recorded up to 1865 

 could possibly have met with sudden 

 disaster in this manner even in the 

 center of the gulf without leaving 

 some wreckage to tell the story and 

 such is not recorded. While again I 

 do not think that the entire host 

 would cross the gulf, but that a large 

 portion of the migrating birds would 

 take an overland route through Mex- 

 ico and Central America to the south- 

 ern boundary of their flight. Person- 

 ally I am inclined to cherish my orig- 

 inal contentions that the continued 

 disturbances of the breeding and feed- 

 ing grounds, (both by the slaughter of 

 the birds for market and by the dis- 

 sipating of the original immense col- 

 onies by the clearing of the hardwood 

 and pine forests of the United States 

 and Eastern Canada compelling 

 these sections of the main column 

 to travel further in search of 

 congenial environment, curtailing 

 the breeding season and I have no 

 doubt frequently preventing many 

 from breeding for several seasons 

 While the persistent persecution and 

 destruction for the market was in no 

 way proportionately lessened in the 

 vicinity of these smaller colonies as 

 long as a sufficient number of the 

 birds remained to make the traffic 

 profitable. It can at once be seen that 

 this continued drain upon these smal- 

 ler colonies when other conditions 

 were becoming more difficult for the 

 birds to contend with would be instru- 

 mental in depleting the entire former 

 main column to a point when netting 

 and shooting were no longer profitable 

 and the remnant of these colonies 

 having to run a gauntlet of persecu- 

 tion over their entire course of migra- 

 tion to and from winter Quarters and 

 to such proceeding there could be but 

 one result, and that the one we now 

 face, extermination. 



Of those records made during- the 

 pigeons' day, as we might call it. the 

 earliest we have are those made by a 

 Mr T Hutehins, who was a Hudson s 

 Bay company trader operating for 

 some 25 years in the district adjacent 

 to Hudson's Bay, during which time he 

 made copious notes of the birds fre- 

 quenting that district, which were af- 

 terwards published by Pennant in his 

 Arctic Zoology in 1785. He says in 

 part: 



"The first pigeon I shall take note of 

 is one I received at Severn in 1771, 



and having sent it home to Mr. Pen- 

 nant, he informed me that it was the 

 migratoria species. They are very 

 numerous inland and visit our 

 settlement in the summer. They are 

 plentiful about Moose Factory and in- 

 land, where they breed, choosing an 

 arboreous situation. The gentlemen 

 number them among the many delica- 

 cies the Hudson's Bay affords our ta- 

 bles. It is a hardy bird, continuing 

 with us until December. In summer 

 their food is berries, but after these 

 are covered with snow they feed upon 

 the juniper buds. They lay two eggs 

 and are gregarious. About 1756 these 

 birds migrated as high as York Fac- 

 tory, but remained only two days." 



In a report issued 1795 Samuel Hearne 

 also reports the birds abundant inland 

 from the southern portion of Hudson's 

 Bay, but states that though good eat- 

 ing, they are seldom fat. 



The first provincial record, that made 

 by Sir John Richardson in 1827, in 

 which he says: A few hordes of In- 

 dians, who frequent the low floods dis- 

 tricts at the south end of Lake Winni- 

 peg, subsist principally on the pig- 

 eons during the period when the stur- 

 geon fishing is unproductive, and the 

 wild rice is still unripened. but further 

 north the birds are too few in num- 

 bers to furnish material diet. 



I presume that he means further up 

 the Lake Winnipeg shores, since Hut- 

 chins and Hearne both reported them 

 common nearer Hudson's Bay. 



From this time until the later fifties 

 ar»d the early sixties no records are 

 available for the present province of 

 Manitoba, but it will not be out of 

 place here, for the sake of comparison, 

 as well as for the benefit of those of 

 us to-day who, having heard some of 

 the stories of our fathers and grand- 

 fathers of the phenomenal pigeon 

 flights and rookeries, and because of 

 not having seen, are unable to conceive 

 of such stories beinsr other than the 

 fanciful yarns of a declining intellect, 

 to record some of these seemingly in- 

 credulous and exaggerated records by 

 those devoted to ornithological pio- 

 neers of America, Wilson and Audu- 

 bon." 



Alexander Wilson, the recognized 

 father of American ornithology, begun 

 his labors in the American new* in 

 1794, and so assiduously did he labor 

 herein that through neglect of himself 

 he shattered his health ana mougt 

 about a premature decline and death 

 at the age of 47 years. 



Up to the year of his death Itio nad 

 seen seven volumes of his illustrated 

 American Ornithology published, and 

 herein he recites his experiences with 

 the pigeons in the states of Ohio, In- 

 diana and Kentucky, which are wor- 

 thy of reproduction here: 



