6 
PASSENGER PIGEON. 
more than three miles spotted every treej the leaves not being 
yet out, I had a fair prospect of them, and was really astonished 
at their numbers. A few bodies of Pigeons lingered yet in dif- 
ferent parts of the woods, the roaring of whose wings were 
heard in various quarters around me. 
All accounts agree in stating, that each nest contains only one 
young. * This is so extremely fat, that the Indians, and many 
of the whites, are accustomed to melt down the fat for domestic 
purposes as a substitute for butter and lard. At the time they 
leave the nest they are nearly as heavy as the old ones 5 but 
become much leaner after they are turned out to shift for them- 
selves. 
It is universally asserted in the western countries, that the 
Pigeons, though they have only one young at a time, breed 
thrice, and sometimes four times, in the same season; the cir- 
cumstances already mentioned render this highly probable. It 
is also worthy of observation, that this takes place during that 
period when acorns, beech nuts, &c. are scattered about in the 
greatest abundance, and mellowed by the frost. But they are not 
confined to these alone; buckwheat, hempseed, Indian corn, 
holly berries, hack berries, buckle berries, and many others 
furnish them with abundance at almost all seasons. The acorns 
of the live oak are also eagerly sought after by these birds, and 
rice has been frequently found in individuals killed many hun- 
dred miles to the northward of the nearest rice plantation. The 
vast quantity of mast which these multitudes consume, is a se- 
rious loss to the bears, pigs, squirrels and other dependents on 
the fruits of the forest. I have taken from the crop of a single 
Wild Pigeon, a good handful ol the kernels of beech nuts, inter- 
mixed with acorns and chestnuts. To form a rough estimate of 
the daily consumption of one of these immense flocks, let us first 
attempt to calculate the numbers of that above mentioned, as 
seen in passing between Frankfort and the Indiana territory. 
* It seems probable that our author was misinformed on this head, as it 
lias been stated to us that the Passenger Pigeon, in common with all the 
other known species of the genus Columba, lays two eggs. 
