THE PASSENGER PIGEON. 
195 
general cry of c Here they come P The noise which 
they made, though yet distant, reminded me of a 
hard gale at sea, passing through the rigging of a 
^lose-reefed vessel. As the birds arrived and passed 
over me, I felt a current of air that surprised me. 
Thousands were soon knocked down by the pole-men. 
The birds continued to pour in. The fires were 
lighted, and a ‘magnificent, as well as wonderful and 
almost terrifying, sight presented itself. The Pig- 
eons, arriving by thousands, alighted everywhere one 
above another, until solid masses were formed on the 
branches all round. Here and there the perches 
gave way under the weight, with a crash, and falling 
to the ground, destroyed hundreds of the birds be- 
peath, forcing down the dense groups with which 
every stick was loaded. It was a scene of uproar 
and confusion. I found it quite useless to speak, or 
even to shout to those, persons who were nearest to 
me. Even the reports of the guns were seldom 
heard, and I was made aware of the firing only by 
seeing the shooters reloading. 
“ No one dared venture within the line of devas- 
tation. The hogs had been penned up in due time, 
the picking up of the dead and wounded being left 
for the next morning’s employment. The Pigeons 
were constantly coming, and it was past midnight 
before I perceived a decrease in the number of those 
that arrived.” 
The Passenger Pigeon is quite abundant in almost 
all parts of the Union, — roaming in wild and un- 
controllable masses from one place to another, now 
