142 



THE PASSENGER PIGEON, 



has introduced into his description, have only 

 been known as animals of nocturnal movements, 

 and of very skulking and suspecting habits. In 

 general, the flash of a gun, the crackling of a flame, 

 or the shout of a huntsman, will scare any one 

 of them, even when concealed in the lonely re- 

 treat; but, on this ever-memorable occasion, the 

 nerves of the animals, both large and small, were 

 strung up to an astonishing degree of intensity. 

 The day had already dawned, unheeded by them ; 

 and it was only at sunrise that they seemed aware 

 of being in dangerous company, and found that 

 it was high time to sneak ofl* from a place where 

 Mr. Audubon tells us, " there was little under- 

 wood;" where "the uproar continued the whole of 

 the night;" where men had assembled with iron 

 pots, containing sulphur;" and " with torches of 

 pine-knots, with poles and with guns ; " where 

 fires were lighted, and a magnificent as well as 

 wonderful and almost terrifying sight presented 

 itself ; " where, in fine, the auditory faculties of 

 Mr. Audubon himself became so completely use- 

 less, on account of the stunning noise, that, ab- 

 solutely, he was " only aware of the firing by 

 seeing the shooters reloading." " O judgment ! 

 thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost 

 their reason," if they can bring themselves to be- 

 lieve that into this sulphureous, torch-lighted, de- 

 tonating, yelling, roaring, and terrific attack on 

 the passenger pigeons, there came up a motley 

 herd of wolves, foxes, cougars, lynxes, bears, rac- 

 coons, opossums, and polecats, to share the plun- 



