90 The Passenger Pigeon 



engaged in hauling birds to Petoskey for shipment, for 

 which they received $4 per wagon load. To "keep 

 peace in the family" and avoid complaint, the pigeon 

 men fitted up many of the settlers with nets, and in- 

 structed them in the art of trapping. 



Added to these were the buyers, shippers, packers, 

 Indians and boys, making not less than 2,000 persons 

 (some placed it at 2,500) engaged in the traffic at this 

 one nesting. Fully fifty teams were engaged in hauling 

 birds to the railroad station. The road was carpeted 

 with feathers, and the wings and feathers from the 

 packing-houses were used by the wagon load to fill up 

 the mud holes in the road for miles out of town. For 

 four men to attenipt to effect a work, having for oppo- 

 nents the entire country, residents and non-residents 

 included, was no slight task. 



The majority of the pigeoners were a reckless, hard 

 set of men, but their repeated threats that they would 

 "buckshot us" if we interfered with them in the woods 

 failed to inspire the awe that was intended. It was 

 four against 2,000. What was accomplished against 

 such fearful odds may be seen by the following : 



The regular shipments by rail before the party com- 

 menced operations were sixty barrels per day. On the 

 1 6th of April, just after our arrival, they fell to thirty- 

 five barrels, and on the 17th down to twenty barrels 

 per day, while on the 22d the shipments were only eight 

 barrels of pigeons. On the Sunday previous there were 



