SPECIES EXTINCT OR EXTIRPATED. 423 



in Oklahoma since the spring of 1884. Prof. Thomas J. Head- 

 lee sends me a copy of a letter from Mr. Richard H. Sullivan, 

 president of the Kansas Audubon Society, who has gathered 

 information from well-known and trustworthy informants, 

 who report as follows: Mr. James Howard of Wichita says 

 that the last time that these Curlews were killed there in any 

 numbers was in the springs of 1878 and 1879. A good many 

 were taken in 1878, but they were much reduced in 1879. They 

 decreased rapidly afterward, and were not seen in numbers in 

 the markets after 1878. Mr. Fred G. Smyth of Wichita says 

 that the Curlews disappeared rather rapidly, and that the last 

 bird was shot in the spring of 1902; this is corroborated by his 

 brother, Charles H. Smyth. Mr. Charles Payne, a naturalist, 

 says that there were stUl a few Eskimo Curlews in the markets 

 of Kansas in the early 90's. All these gentlemen believe that 

 there are living Curlews still in western Kansas and Oklahoma, 

 but as no one has been able to secure a specimen of the Eskimo 

 Curlew for the museums, it is probable that the birds now seen 

 are Hudsonian Curlews. Prof. Myron H. Swenk states that 

 during the 60's and 70's this bird passed through Nebraska in 

 spring in immense flocks, and was known commonly as the 

 Prairie Pigeon, because of the resemblance of its flocks to 

 those of the Passenger Pigeon. This name also was applied to 

 the Golden Plover (see page 340). They were the victims of 

 tremendous slaughter. In eastern Nebraska they began 

 diminishing rapidly in the early 80's, or even earlier, and 

 disappeared during that decade. There is not a specimen 

 recorded there for the past fifteen years. There are occasional 

 reports of the birds from western Nebraska, but no specimens 

 are forthcoming to substantiate them. The indications are 

 that its decrease was gradual. Mr. Charles E. Holmes of 

 Providence, R. I., found the bird common locally in the hills of 

 central Nebraska, about forty miles south of Ainsworth, in 

 1889. It was noticeable that if one was wounded and cried 

 out, others came from all directions, until thirty or forty were 

 fluttering over their wounded companion. They were then 

 decreasing and many were killed by cowboys. In 1892 he 

 saw about six in the Bad Lands of South Dakota, and in 1893 



