NATURAL HISTORY. 



3'3 



the tribes. What was the origin of these 

 ponies, and where did the Indians first get 

 them? 



Charles E. Slocum, M.D., Defiance, O. 



THE PASSING OF THE PIGEON. 



F. C. KOONS. 



I have been much interested in the dis- 

 cussion, in the columns of Recreation, as 

 to what has become of the vast flocks of pas- 

 senger pigeons which were once so numer- 

 ous, and which have vanished so complete- 

 ly. As a boy I remember having seen flocks 

 of pigeons, from time to time, and I knew 

 something of their habits. In fact I lived 

 not far from a pigeon roost, and was told 

 of the time when they came in there by the 

 million. 



This roost was situated in the knobs of 

 Southern Indiana not far from Henryville, 

 and in the autumn of 1881, I think it was, 

 though I am not quite sure of the date, the 

 pigeons came back to their old home in 

 such numbers that they seemed countless. 

 Although an ardent sportsman it was not 

 granted me, by the powers in authority, to 

 hunt except on Saturday afternoons (I 

 would be glad indeed of that much time 

 now) and I was not lucky enough to catch 

 the pigeons flying my way every Saturday; 

 still, with my old muzzle loader I managed 

 to kill my share. You can imagine my feel- 

 ings as I sat in the country schoolhouse day 

 after day and caught glimpses of pigeons 

 flying past by the thousand; and it is always 

 with me a matter of deep regret that my 

 school duties interfered with my visiting the 

 roost, some 15 miles distant. . I did not lose 

 a single. day at school, though I must say 

 that was no fault of mine; but I did miss 

 the opportunity of seeing a pigeon roost, 

 and that opportunity will in all probability 

 never occur again. 



The flight to the feeding grounds com- 

 menced early in the morning, and at times 

 the numbers were such as to almost darken 

 the sky. In a number of instances I saw 

 them alight on trees, in sufficient quantities 

 to break off limbs an inch or so in diameter. 

 I remember well one day, a holiday of some 

 sort, when I was free and they were flying 

 thick and fast. But it was not granted me 

 to share very largely in their slaughter, for 

 in my haste I lost nearly all my caps, and 

 the remaining few were soon exhausted. I 

 finally borrowed some old musket caps, 

 which were so large that they would fall 

 off the nipple unless I was exceedingly care- 

 ful in handling my gun. Nevertheless I had 

 sport such as will never come again. I fear. 



Shortly after that they disappeared, and I 

 have since seen but one. In 1892, while 

 hunting squirrels in North Georgia, I saw 

 a solitary pigeon. It flew close enough so 

 that it was hardly possible for me to have 



been mistaken, and I was so intent on veri- 

 fying my opinion that it really was a pigeon 

 that I let pass the opportunity to kill it and 

 thus settle the matter beyond a doubt. I am 

 not skilful enough with a rifle to kill' a 

 pigeon on the wing, and I have never been 

 sorry to think that the crime of killing the 

 last one does not rest on me. I looked for 

 others but saw only the one. Possibly there 

 was a small flock in the vicinity and this one 

 belonged to it; but I always think of it, as 

 it flew off alone to the South, as the last 

 pigeon; and I watched it out of sight with 

 the feeling that I had bid a final good-by 

 to an old friend of my youth. 



WILD PIGEONS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 



Painted Post, N. Y. 



Editor Recreation: Following are a 

 few notes on the recent observations of the 

 passenger pigeon in the Alleghany moun- 

 tains of Northern Pennsylvania. That por- 

 tion of Pennsylvania was formerly a noted 

 nesting ground of the wild pigeon. The 

 mountains are covered with a heavy growth 

 of beech and hemlock. For a number of 

 years past I have made diligent inquiries, of 

 my numerous hunting and fishing acquaint- 

 ances residing in that section, feeling con- 

 fident that if the pigeons were not entirely 

 extinct a few would be observed in that 

 densely wooded region. 



Until last iall my inquiries were fruitless. 

 Then, however, I was informed by Mr. A. 

 C. Kimball, of Westfield, Pa., and publisher 

 of the Westfield " Free Press," that about 

 the 25th of last October, while camping on 

 one of the tributaries of Pine creek in Pot- 

 ter county, engaged in deer and bear hunt- 

 ing, he observed 2 small flocks of pigeons. 

 Each flock contained between 30 and 40 

 birds. One of Mr. Kimball's companions, 

 who was with him at the time, saw them 

 and exclaimed, " There is a flock of pigeons 

 — the first I have seen in several years." 

 A few moments later another flock of about 

 the same size passed by, going in the same 

 direction. They were flying low, showing 

 that they were merely shifting their quar- 

 ters from one section of the woods to an- 

 other. Both Mr. Kimball and his compan- 

 ion are old residents of that region, are well 

 acquainted with the wild pigeon and its 

 habits, and could not have been mistaken 

 in the identity of the birds. 



David R. McCoy, residing on the Cross 

 Fork, in the same country, informed me 

 that he saw 2 wild pigeons last fall which 

 were the only ones he had seen in a number 

 of years. He also knows what he is talking 

 about. If there are any wild pigeons left 

 in the United States, or in North America. 

 I am confident that next season some of 

 them will be found in the region above 

 mentioned, especially as last season was a 



