426 
FOREST AND STREAM 
PASSENGER PIGEONS. 
Milton, Ont., Sept. 22, 1914. 
Editor Forest and Stream'. 
I read the report in your last issue of 12th 
inst. of the death of the last known survivor of 
the passenger pigeons, and your story of the 
days of their abundance, some of which were 
within my time. 
I was 'born in 1847 in a little Canadian village 
fn a newly cleared district. When a child, I 
heard of “pigeon roosts,” as they were called 
there, and of the netting of the birds not far 
away, but I never saw either and can add no¬ 
thing to what you have told about them. How¬ 
ever, some of my recollections may interest 
your readers. 
I saw the great flight in or about 1856. It 
continued for several hours, during which the 
sky was literally black with birds. It was in the 
morning and, I think, in the spring. I stood by 
my father, in front of our house. He was a 
sportsman and had his gun ready for a shot, 
but he did not get one, nor did I hear of any¬ 
one who did. The pigeons flew too high. 
As I grew older my father used to take me 
out with him to see the sport and carry his 
pigeons and in due time he allowed me to carry 
a gun. 
To the best of my recollection, the largest 
flocks were to be seen in the spring, but flying 
high, and the best sport was to be had from 
harvest until the September equinoctial storms. 
They came about on time until the country be¬ 
came cleared of timber, and which seemed to b$ 
the signal for the pigeons to leave. Few were 
to be found later. 
The birds fed in the stubble and the newly 
sown wheat fields, mornings and evenings. When 
not feeding, flocks perched well toward the tops 
of trees, generally dead ones, preferring the tall 
pines which, in the old days before timber be¬ 
came too valuable, were girdled as a labor-saving- 
operation in the clearing of the land. In the 
hea't of the day many birds were to be found 
in the woods, chiefly near water. Salt licks at¬ 
tracted them. 
Most of my shooting was done in the open. 
The biggest killings were when one could shoot 
at flocks just rising off the ground, but such 
chances were not always easy to get. The birds 
soon became wild and hard to approach. I 
never killed any extraordinary number at a 
single shot, nor saw anyone else doing so. If 
I dropped half a dozen birds I thought I had 
done pretty well and I seldom did better. I 
worked the tall dead pines a good deal and, ex¬ 
cept when they stood in the edge of the woods, 
getting within range was the problem- Some¬ 
times a flock was to be seen perched on a single 
long limb. By circling until the limb was con¬ 
cealed by the trunk, it was sometimes possible to 
walk up to the foot of the tree. If one or two 
limbs were occupied the only chance was when 
another tree was close and could be aligned and 
used as a screen. These were generally sitting 
shots, as they were long ones, and two or three 
birds to a shot was not often exceeded, though I 
remember doubling the latter figure at least once. 
I do not think I ever shot a pigeon in the 
spring. The sport ended, as far as I was con¬ 
cerned, about 1878. 
WII LIAM PANTON. 
WILLIAM MILLS & SON 
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Pago 
Passenger Pigeons . 426 
A Winter in Michigan. 427 
The Story of Two Shots. 431 
Gray Vagabonds and Red. 432 
Questions, Answers and Suggestions 
Department . 434 
Game Bag and Gun. 435 
Sea and River Fishing. 436 
Page 
The Blunders of “Armchair” Natu¬ 
ralists . 436 
Canoeing . 438 
Editorials . 440 
Trapshooting . 441 
How to Start a Rifle Club and Keep 
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This Bass Wanted Surgical Aid. . . 452 
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