PASSENGER PIGEON 395 
account, to relate all I have seen and heard of this species, yet no 
circumstance shall be omitted with which [ am acquainted, (however 
extraordinary some of these inay appear,) that may tend to illustrate 
its history. mr ta 
flew lower as they passed the river. Multitudes were thus destroyed. For a week 
‘or more, the population fed on no other flesh than that of Pigeons. ‘The atmos- 
phere, during this time, was strongly. impregnated with the peculiar odor which 
emanates from the species.” In estimating the, number of these mighty flocks, and 
the food consumed by them daily, he adds, 7“ Let us take a column of one mile 
in breadth, which is far below the average size, and suppose it passing over us, 
at the rate of one mile per minute. This will give us a parallelogram o 180 miles 
by 1, covering 180 square miles; and, allowing two Pigeons to the square yard, we 
have one billion phe haadned and fifteen millions one hundred and thirty-six thou- 
sand Pigeons in one flock; and, as every Pigeon consumes fully half a pint per 
day, the quantity required to feed such a flock, must be cightimillions seven hun- 
dred and twelve thousand bushels per day.” 
The accounts of their roosting places are as remarkable : — : 
« Let us now, kind reader, inspect their place of nightly rendezvous :— [t was, 
as is always the ease, in a portion of the forest where the trees were of great mag- 
nitude, and where there was little underwood. J rode through it upwards of forty 
miles, and, crossing it at different parts, found its average breadth to be rather more 
than three miles. Few aie were to be seen before sunset; but a great number 
of persons, with horses and wagons, guns and ammunition, had already established 
encampments on the borders. ‘I'wo farmers from the vicinity of Russelsville, dis- 
tant more than a hundred miles, had driven upwards of three hundred hogs, to be 
fattened on the Pigeons which were to be slaughtered. Here and there, the people 
employed in plucking and salting what had already been procured, were seen sitting 
in the midst of large piles of these birds. The dung Jay several inches deep, cov- 
ering the whole extent of the roosting place, like a bed of snow. Many trees, two 
feet in diameter, I observed, were broken off at no great distance from the ground ; 
and the branches of many of the largest and tallest had given way, as if the forest 
had been swept by a tornado. Every thing proved to me, that the number of birds 
resorting to this part of the forest, must be immense beyond conception. As the 
period of their arrival approached, their foes anxiously prepared to seize them. 
- Some were furnished with iron pots, containing sulphur, others with torches of 
pine-knots, many with poles, and the rest with guns. The sun was lost to our 
view ; yet not a Pigeon had arrived. Every thing was ready, and ‘all eyes were 
gazing on the clear sky, which appeared in glimpses amidst the tal! trees. Sud- 
enly, there barst forth a general cry of ‘ Here they come!’ The noise which they 
made, though yet distant, reminded me of a hard gale at sea, passing through the 
rigging of a close-reefed vessel. As the birds arrived, and passed over me, I felt 
a current of air that surprised me. Thousands were soon ieee down by polemen. 
The current of birds, however, still kept increasmg. The fires were lighted, and a 
most magnificent, as well as a wonderful and terrifying sight, presented itself. The 
Pigeons, coming in by thousands, alighted everywhere, one aheve another, until 
solid masses, as large as hogsheads, were formed on every tree, in all directions. 
Here and there the perches gave way under the weight with a crash, and, falling to 
the ground, destroyed hundreds of the birds beneath, forcing down the dense groups 
with which every stick was loaded. It was a scene of uproar and confusion. I 
found it quite useless to speak, or even to shout, to those persons who were nearest 
me. The reports, even, of the nearest guns, were seldom heard; and I knew of 
the firing, only by seeing the shooters reloading. No one dared venture within the 
line of devastation ; the hogs had been penned up in due time, the picking up 
of the dead and wounded being left for the next morning’s employment. “The 
Pigeons were constantly coming} and it was past midnight before I perceived a 
decrease in the number of those that arrived. The uproar continued, however, 
-the whole night ; and, as I was anxious to know to what distance the sound reached, 
L sent off a man, accustomed to perambulate the forest, who, returning two hours 
afterwards, informed me he had heard it distinctly when three miles from the spot. 
Towards the approach of day, the noise rather subsided; but, long ere objects 
were at all distinguishable, the Pigeons began to move off, in a direction quite 
