160 WAKE-ROBIN 
make havoc among the sheep. ‘The clearings at the 
head of a valley are oftenest the scene of their dep- 
redations. 
Wild pigeons, in immense numbers, used to breed 
regularly in the valley of the Big Ingin and about 
the head of the Neversink. The treetops 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 becom- 
ing scarcer every 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 morn- ' 
ing before breakfast slaughtered six, leaving their ‘ 
carcasses where they fell. There are traditions of ' 
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3 ; : | 
persons having been smitten blind or senseless when: 
about to commit some heinous offense, but the fact, 
that this villain escaped without some such visita-' 
tion throws discredit on all such stories. 
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} 
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 very great. In such localities the 
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