36 The Passenger Pigeon 



sylvania, who caught and killed upward of five hun- 

 dred dozens in a clap net in one day, sweeping some- 

 times twenty dozens or more at a single haul. In the 

 month of March, 1830, they were so abundant in the 

 markets of New York, that piles of them met the eye 

 in every direction. I have seen the negroes at the 

 United States' Salines or Saltworks of Shawnee Town, 

 wearied with kiUing pigeons, as they alighted to drink 

 the water issuing from the leading pipes, for weeks 

 at a time; and yet in 1826, in Louisiana, I saw congre- 

 gated flocks of these birds as numerous as ever I had 

 seen them before, during a residence of nearly thirty 

 years in the United States. 



The breeding of the wild pigeons, and the places 

 chosen for that purpose, are points of great interest. 

 The time is not much influenced by season, and the place 

 selected is where food is most plentiful and most attain- 

 able, and always at a convenient distance from water. 

 Forest trees of great height are those in which the 

 pigeons form their nests. Thither the countless myriads 

 resort, and prepare to fulfill one of the great laws of 

 nature. At this period the note of the pigeon is a soft 

 coo-coo-coo-coo much shorter than that of the domestic 

 species. The common notes resemble the monosyllables 

 kee-kee-kee-kee, the first being the loudest, the others 

 gradually diminishing in power. The male assumes a 

 pompous demeanor, and follows the female whether on 

 the ground or on the branches, with spread tail and 



