THE PIGEONS. 
33 
to see what there was to eat. Then, they 
alighted ; but in an instant, as if alarmed, 
rose again, and the flapping of their wings 
made a roaring noise like thunder. Now, they 
lowered their flight over the woods, and were 
lost to sight among the trees ; and then, 
emerging, glided onward as before. 
All this time the noise was so great that 
horses on the roads took fright, and people 
could only make each other hear by shouting 
at the pitch of their voices. 
Hawks and other birds of prey were at- 
tracted in great numbers by the scent of 
pigeons, and sailed about, trying to attack 
them in the rear. Then, the pigeon army 
went through a series of manoeuvres to escape 
them, forming itself into a solid mass, and 
moving up and down, and from side to side. 
Now, it nearly touched the ground, and then, 
rising high up in the air, wheeled and twdsted 
about, till it looked like the coils of a gigantic 
serpent. For three whole days, this army of 
pigeons kept on passing ; and well it might, 
for the traveller calculated it to be a mile in 
breadth, and no less than two hundred and 
forty miles in length ! 
