^ ;F 465 T5 :opy 1 THE PASSENGER PIGEON By W. W. Thompson, Coudersport, Pa. Courtesy of Ithaca (N. Y.) Gun Company ^^s^HE female bird at the left is ^x Martha, died in Cincinnati zoo in 1014. Male bird made up from picture of Martha and description of writers at different times on the pigeon question. Earliest Mention of Pigeons. Immense Numbers. Slaughter by Trappers. Did They Nest Oftener Than Once in Two Years. Drowning- in Lake and Ocean. Canker in Pigeons. End of the Wild Pigeon Colony in 1 886. L,„ K .\s ^ h THE PASSENGER PIGEON By W. W. Thompson Coudersport, Pa. The earliest mention of Passen- ger Pigeons, once so plentiful, now- extinct, appeared in a report of two voyages to New England made dur- ing 1638 and 16 63, by Joseph Jos- selyn, published in 1674. "The Pidgeons, of which there are mil- lions of millions, I have seen a flight of Pidgeons in the Spring and at Michaelmas, when they returned back to the Southland for four or five miles, that to my thinking had neither beginning or ending, length or breadth, so thick I could see no Sun. They join nest to nest and tree to tree by their nests, miles to- gether, in Pine trees. I have bought in Boston a dozen pidgeons already pulled and garbidged for three pence. But of late they are much diminished, the English taking them with nets." It took more than two hundred years "diminishing" to reach the vanishing point. In 1759 Peter Kalm writes of the vast number of pi9rgeons in Pennsyl- vania and New Jersey in the Spring of 174 0, describes their habits, etc. In their fight coming in, lasting for seven days, often the light was sen- sibly diminished, limbs as thick as a man's thigh were broken off where they roosted. About a week after these pigeons left "a sea captain 'by the name of Aimes, who had just arrived at Philadelphia, and after him several seafaring men, stated that they had found localities out at sea where the water to an extent of over three French miles was entire- ly covered by dead pigeons." "It was conjectured that the pigeons, whether owing to a storm, mist or snowfall, had been carried away to the sea, and then on account of darkness had alighted on the water and in that place and manner met their fate." This seems to be a well authenticated account of Pigeons drowning in the Atlantic, and so far as we know the only one — more than one hundred years before the pigeons became noticeably "extinct." Some years after the pigeons were practically gone we read an item al- most identically the same as the Kalm report, even to the "French Miles" in some paper, and we believe this is the foundation for all of the stories that the birds perished by drowning in the Atlantic Ocean. Peter Kalm also wrote of a Jour- ney to Canada in 1749, and passing through a pigeon nesting. This is noticeable from the fact that it re- cords a pigeon nesting in an odd numbered year. He states that the Governor General of Canada had on two occasions shipped quite a large number of pigeons to France to be turned out in French forests. A de- cendant, probably, of these sbip- ments, mounted, is one of the prize specimens in the Paris Public Mus- eum. John James Audubon, the great Naturalist, as early as 1810-13 de- votes much space to pigeons. He es- timated the number uP in the bil- lions, and their daily food at 8,712,- 000 bushels. He writes of the trap- ping, shooting and squabbing in his day which to him seems to cause an enormous death rate, and says, "Persons unacquainted with these birds might naturally conclude that such dreadful havoc would soon put an end to the species But I satisfied myself by long observation that nothing but the gradual diminution of our forests can accomplish their decrease, as they not unfrequently quadruple their numbers yearly and always double it." He estimated in 1810, 5,000,000,000 birds in the three States, Kentucky, Ohio and In- diana, at the same time there were nestings in other States. At this rate of increase how long would it require to overrun the entire pigeon section from the Plains East to the coast, and from the Gulf to Hudson's Bay. They simply did not increase at any such rate. True, immense numbers (as we would rate them now) were killed by animals and birds, at nesting times but these were only killed by the virmin able to obtain a living before the birds came, they did not increase with the pigeons at that particular time. Shipping facilities were such that man killed principal- ly for local use, for very many years. We think it must have been in the '60s that market pigeoners became much of a factor, during the the Civil War not mvich attention could have been paid to the shipping of pigeons to market, and it was not until the '70s that the "great slaughter" took place. Michigan was the greatest of the pigeon States from the fact of hav- ing the best transportation facili- ties, by rail and water. Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and in fact all States having hardwood forests were the nesting grounds of the Pas- senger Pigeon, and later in the sea- son so much of Canada as had the hardwoods. Some early settlers be- lieved the birds nested every month in the year except February, it is doubtful if they nested more than from two to three times the same year, according to the supply of food. The greatest slaughter of pigeons for market took place in Michigan, in 1876 and in 18 78, and from the fact that after this time there were few nesting anywhere, the dis- appearance of the pigeons has been laid to the ruthless killing in these two years. A writer estimates from the Shelby, Michigan, nesting in 18- 7 6, a shipment of millions of birds and from his basis claims that in ten years, three nestings a year, ac- counts for 9,000,000,000 of a bill- ion a year all told. This estimate is manifestly very much too high. Prom all we have been able to learn from numerous authorities, 2,000,- 000 birds from Michigan in 1878 would be nearer right, but even double it. The 187 6 nesting was a record breaker up to that time, and there were still other nestings that year in other states. Two years later, in 1878, there were even larger and more nestings in Michigan and a catch of 1,500,000 birds accounted for, probably 2,000,000 in all in- cluding 250,000 live birds, from Boyne, Crooked Creek and the Pet- owsky section. These two years the catches were greater by far than ever known before. There were several other nestings in the State this year and from most of them few birds were taken, owing to location of the Colonies and diffi- culty of getting to market. From the destruction of birds in Michigan in these two years dates the great decline of pigeons as given by all writers on this question. It was practically the end of Pigeoning in Michigan. It is related on the best of auth- ority that 132 dozen birds were caught at one cast of the net. Dr.E. Osborn of Saratoga, N. Y., caught 3,500 at one time. He prepared a pen five feet high, one hundred feet long, by twenty feet in width, baited it for several days using as much as forty bushels of corn at one time, and using several nets to spring over the top of the pen. This was a new plan and fortunately not gen- erally used. The slaughter was great in 1876 and 1878 but it does not account for the extinction of the pigeons; there were several other nesting in Michigan from which few pigeons were taken and during the year 18- 78 the birds were nesting in Potter and Elk Counties, in Pennsylvania and under a law passed in the spring no netting of pigeons was permitted 4. S!FT '2B during the nesting season and no shooting within one-fourth of a mile of nestings. From Pennsylvania the increase must have been large, as there was no netting in Potter Coun- ty, and at Sheffield where the birds nested earlier the law cut the netting seasons short. The Senate had pro- vided before the Governor signed the bill for printing and distribution of the Act, and the law took effect as soon as signed. Many observers claim that in 18- 78 more pigeons crossed the Straits from Michigan to Canada than came to the State to nest that there was an increase notwithstanding the great killing. We did not have automobiles, good roads, and modern guns so the shooting destroyed comparatively few. Squa'bbing lasted but four days at the most, and the timber owners were looking after their lands, so there was a big increase in Potter County, Pa. this year. It has been stated that for a pig- eon killed a squab died. In all col- onies were many birds not nesting, roosting birds they were called, con- sisting of both sexes. Old pigeoners claimed that if a mate was lost a new one from the roosting took its place. We do know that we killed a pigeon just after it left its nest to give place to its mate. Two days lat- er we were in the same place and there were two birds attending this identical nest— a new mate had ap- peared. We shot the first bird to see if the pigeoners had told us true. E. T. Martin, a pigeon dealer and interesting writer on pigeons and out-door life has written: "It is a well proven fact that the old birds coming in will feed any squab heard crying for food, that in this way they look after one another's young. I may mention that one of the men in my employ this year, at the Shelby nesting, 1876, in one forenoon shot and killed six hen pigeons that came to feed the squab in the same nest" Mr. Martin puts the last nesting in Michigan in 1880, at which few birds were caught, speaks of the Crooked Creek nestings as 30 miles long, and estimates the shipment in 1878 at 250,000 live birds, and a to- tal of 1, 500, 000. He estimates a re- sidue of 490,000,000 and that 129, 000,000 flew away from Crooked River Swamp in 1878; in 1880 the birds were scattered through Wis- consin, and he estimates the kill at 250. 000. E. H. Moulton, in Outing, 1914, re- lates: "About 25 years ago on a trip from Ashland to Duluth the Captain of the steamer, Mr. Mackey, said there is no mystery about their dis- appearance (the pigeons) I saw the end of the great bulk of them, going down the Lake (Superior) late in the Fall. A terrific snow storm and gale come up — the snow was wet and froze when it fell on the steamer. In the midst of it we ran in- to countless pigeons which were eaten down into the water by the 3now filling their plumage, and after- wards the Chippewas dwelling on 'he North Shore told him they saw windrows of dead pigeons stretching for miles which had been driven a- shore". This seems to be very de- finite information as to the loss of most if not all of one colony. The date is not given but it must have been after 1878. But there was al- ways more than ONE Colony until after 1880 at least, which year they nested in Michigan and Penn- sylvania. The birds had never been in a single Colony, probably on ac- count of the food supply. There are, I think, two other instances of pig- eons drowning in the lakes during storms, earlier. Chief Pokagon says the Last pig- eon nesting was in Benzie County, Michigan, in 1880, Several other writers fix the same year as last nesting. William Brewster writes the last pigeon nesting was in Grand Tra- verse Co., (County adjoining Benzie on the East) as in 1881. McNamie says 1881 in Northern Peninsula. McNamie tells it as he remembers it. There is no doubt there was a nest- ing in 1880. If there was a nesting in 1881 many writers on the pigeons are wrong. We believe 1880 is cor- rect, as to Michigan. W. H. Merritt, one of the pioneers, of Wolverine, writes us that in 1880 he was acting as woodsman for a Railroad surveying party between Gaylord and Mackinac, passing through a pigeon nesting in Cheboy- gan and Otsego Counties. "All the pigeon trappers said there were at least one-half more birds there than ever before, and I saw so many of them. I was traveling over a strip of country 70 miles long, in which there were probably ten nest- ings. They moved north across the Straits. I was at the Straits when they were crossing. There was a rope of birds in the sky so far you could see both ways. That was the last flight of birds as far as I have been able to learn." We have never known of pigeons nesting in any but even numbered years, and we have seen but very few reports to the contrary. Trusting to memory for dates we have found very inaccurate. We have been told of several nestings in this section of Pennsylvania in odd numbered years, and in every case it was a mistake. We do know from items written at the time and by ourself that the pigeons nested in Potter county in 1868, 1870, 1876, 1878, 1880, 1882, 1884 and 1886. Was in all these nesting except 1884 and 1886, was in two nesting prior to 1868 and one nesting in McKean County, the dates of which I am un- able to fix positively. The Beech trees did not bear nuts every year, so there was a lack of food some years. Did the birds nest in the Northern States every year? We have seen nothing to indicate that they did. The birds were credited with going to Canada in the summer. There was never any great number compared with the Spring flight seen in this section returning in the Fall, and we have seen but little of such flights in farther West reports. In 1882, we had a good nesting on the West Branch in Potter County, Pa. but the catch was not very large. An estimate made at the time was from 75,000 to 100,000 all told, in- cluding dead birds, squabs and about 25,000 live birds shipped for trap shooting. Dead birds brought from 75c to $1.25 per dozen, very few squabs were shipped, most of them being taken by residents for home consumption. Live birds brought a higher price. The Anti Nesting Law had been repealed. In 1884, there was a heavy flight over Coudersport going East, lasting but one day. Later near Cherry Springs a small flock of about 300 birds nested and were undisturbed. In fact, this little nesting was not known to more than half a dozen persons. In all the nestings in Potter County there was an increase when the birds left — more birds than came in, in spite of the netting, shooting and squabbing, this owing to difficulty in getting to market and thinly settled condition of the country. In March, 1886, there was a heavy fiight of pigeons. For two or three weeks the woods in the South-East- ern part of the county was full of them. They were in McKean county for a short time and a ten mile nest- ing was reported on Potato and Marvin Creeks, later they returned to Potter County and started nesting on the head of Kettle Creek and the Cross Fork, but before completing their nests, one night they all left going in a North Easterly direction towards Canada. It was reported that gunners had much to do with the breaking up of this nesting. After these birds left there was a new flight from the West lasting two days, going Northeast. This was in April. This was the last of the pigeons in any quantity seen in Pot- ter county. It was the end of the Passenger Pigeons. Where from time immemorial they had gathered in colonies of millions to rear their young, they were to be seen no more forever. This two days flight was the remnant wending their way to Canada never to return. What a tragedy. John C. French, in his book, "The Passenger Pigeon in Pennsylvania," says: "Mr. Oscar Huff of White Deer, Pa., says that they had a nesting from May . to late in June, 1886, near Blossburg on the Drake Cum- mings & Company timber lands. Thousands of squabs were killed in the little trees with poles, during bark peeling time of that year." In 188 there were millions of pigeons. In 1882 still millions left nesting in Potter County, Pa., and as late as 1886 still one large and one small colony left. To-day and for many years not a single live speci- men. What became of them? Mar- tha, the last known live Passenger Pigeon, in the world, died in the Cincinnati Zoological Garden, Au- gust 29, 1914, at the age of 29 years We have heretofore given the evi- dence as to drowning and the de- struction by man, used to account for the extinction of the pigeon, and in our opinion they are not at all sat- isfactory. In Potter County in 1880, the catch was light; few caught in Michigan. In 188 2 birds were nest- ing in large numbers and there were many hundreds of thousands if not millions, and a very few scattering birds were seen for nearly ten years, but no nestings, no flocks of hun- dreds after the 188 6 flight in Potter County. The last pigeons we saw was five or six birds watering on the East Fork, about 1895. We were fishing and had set down to rest be- fore they appeared, not over thirty feet away. A year later we saw a pair on the Nine Mile when return- ing from a fishing trip. These two were in the road and flew into a tree within three rods of us We believe the birds perished from some infectious disease which may have been working among them foi' some years spreading gradually from one Colony to another, and the 1886 colony may have been the last. dying in the wilds of Canada. We wrote to Wm. T. Hornaday, Director of the New York Zoological Park, in regard to the disease theory, and from Lee S. Crandall, the Curator of Birds, received the following: "I have heard before of the theory of the birds dying from some com- municable disease but yours is the first good evidence I have seen of it. It is quite possible that such a dis- ease may have had its effect but I am inclined to accept the theory of most orinthologists — that the pas- senger pigeon, being accustomed to breeding in large colonies, which suffered a tremendous loss yearly in young and eggs, was unable to con- tinue when its numbers were reduc- ed by shooting and trapping. It is a curious biological fact that birds ana animals, which had breeding habits similar to those of the passenger pigeon, have reached or approached extinction when their numbers were appreciably reduced. The few re- maining members of the colonies seem unable to hold their own. There are instances of a few pairs of passenger pigeons returning to old nesting sites but, though unmo- lested, invariably gradually disap- peared." (At the time we wrote we had but one authentic instance ot Canker in wild birds.) It is a well known fact that ani- mals and birds have their raise and fall as to numbers periodically. Many years ago in one of the New England States grouse were nearly extinct, only a few survived. After- wards they became plentiful. One of our hunters says the snowshoe rab- bit has a period of seven years. Some years ago Potter County was overrun with rabbits, so much so that the Game Commission of the State employed Ed Coyle of Couders- port to take them alive and ship them to Counties where they were scarce. He shipped 240 "Cottontails", most- ly caught in the borough limits. Next year they were very scarce in this section, and Ed was blamed for the scarcity. As a matter of fact they were just as scarce all over the Country as in the section where they were trapped the year before. They have become very plentiful again, but several hunters report killing diseased rabbits this past season, and next year we look for a scarcity again. Five or six years ago there was an unusual supply of grouse in Potter County and the following spring they were plentiful, having wintered well. In two years it was deemed necessary to have a closed season for a year to conserve them. The winter before numbers were found dead in the woods, in one case five under one tree, the other cases one at a time. None of those finding the birds thought enough about it to have them examined by competent skill to determine cause of death, any further than to satisfy them- selves that the birds had not been shot. In talking this matter over with Harry VanCleve, for many years Game Warden for the State, now in charge of the Hull Game Preserve on the East Fork, he stated that he found a num!ber of dead birds thai year. Thery were nothing but skin, bone& and feathers, nothing in their crops, and examination showed a whitish growth in their mouths and throat completely closing the throat. The birds had died of starvation be- cause they could not swallow fooa. This information was given us Feb- ruary, 1921. Canker and Diphtheria are among the ills tame pigeons are subject to, generally brought on by poor sanita- tion, poor food or contaminated ground. In 1878, Edward T. Martin re- cites an experience with 20,000 live wild birds in pens 16 feet square, 1,- 000 to a pen. The birds had clean- ed their feathers, were eating well and appeared strong and healthy, had eaten their half-bushel of corn to the pen. An hour later all the piegons in room No. 1 were dead or dying of canker. In another hour the second and third pens were dy- ing rapidly. Sulphur and alum sav- ed most of the rest. He adds, "could such an epidemic have broken out among the wild birds? But if so what became of the dead? There seems to be no sure answer to the question 'what became of the Pigeons.' and at best any reply would be guess work. In 1914, and article appeared in Hunter-Trader-Trapper relating that an old trapper by the name of Mc- Namie in 1881, passing from Emei- son to the upper waters of Tahque- now River, Michigan, through a pigeon nesting found the ground for several miles littered with dead pigeons, and overhead the birds were nodding their heads and fluttering in a sickly manner, continually drop- ping to the ground where they gasp- ed for a few minutes and lay still, dead. This article seemed to confirm Our own belief in what we had claim- ed for years that the pigeons must have been exterminated by disease and we wrote many letters to Michl- again seeking confirmation. One of these letters fell into the hands of W. H. Merritt of Wolver- ine, the man who had furnished the foundation for the story, he receiv- ing it from McNamie and passing it on to Helmuth Bay, the writer of the article. Mr. Merrit wrote us a very interesting letter on the ques- tion of pigeons and related the sup- position that a camp tender named Crazy Joe had possibly found a couple of barrels of rotten beef in a lumber camp and had poisoned the same for killing bear, that the pigeons are crazy for salt and had fed on the poisoned salt beef, this causing their death. McNamey Is living at Emerson, but we have been unable to get a reply to our letter from him. If the dead pigeons numbered up into the millions, or even hundreds of thousands, the poison theory would not account for all of them — we doubt if it would account for 50,000, and we also doubt if they got a good doze of poison they would in any great num- bers get many miles away. We poi- soned Coyotes in Kansas many years ago, and we never had one get ten yards away from the bit of poisoned suet. Mr. Merritt also doubts the date 1881, it was probab- ly in 188 0. The pigeons nested in other parts of the State in 188 0, we know of no writer that claims there was a nesting in Michigan after 1880. They nested in Michigan in the even years, the beech trees bear- ing nuts in the odd numbered years — every other year — and the pigeons getting the nuts the next year. This story is not satisfactory as to our theory and we have to fall back on a few facts nearer home. Frank Rowland, now and foi the past five years. County Clerk of Pot- ter County, tells us that in 1880 or 1882, he is not certain about the year, (pigeons nested in Potter County, both /ears) he obtained less than a dozea squabs with the idea of keepiufe them for netting purposes when tue oirds came again. When birds first nested there was a great demand for stooiers and fliers from amateur netters and they were worth about fiv dollars each, the regular pigeoneni always had a sup- ply for their ow.i use kept over, and after a day or two of netting live birds untraint old for a little more than dead ones. Frank was young then and had visions of comparative wealth, for a boy, from the sale of his birds, a vision that never mater- ialized. He noticed when he obtain- ed the squabs there was a whitish growth at the corners of and in their mouths. He built a nice pen and coop with water from the spring running through it, followed the ad- vice of pigeoners in taking care of them, but while they seemed to be doing well for a few days they were never well, and in a very short time all were dead except one. The last one, a female recovered and lived for several months becoming quite tame, but finally died. This seems to have been a very clear case of canker. Mr. Rowland also tells us that he had talked with Eldred Woodcock, one of the best woodsmen and trappers in this section, now dead, and he had told of seeing wild pigeons with a "mouth disease," same as Mr. How- land's squabs, but had given it no name and had not connected it especially with the disappearance ot the pigeons. Milo Lyman, one of the most prominent business men of Roulette Township, this county, writes us: In 1880, I hunted pigeons with a friend on the Portage. It was during one of the last nestings in McKean County. We killed about 75 birds. When I brought my birds home, my Mother, in preparing them for cook- ing found them very poor and not plump as pigeons usually were, lumps in their mouths and throats partially filled with a yellowish- white growth, some so near full that it must have been difllcult for them to swallow food. They were unfit for human food and were thrown away. Two years later, in North- ern Michigan, I found a few pigeons in pairs only, nesting in swamps and I killed some of them. On examina- tion found most of them in about the same condition as those previous- ly killed in Pennsylvania — very poor and suffering from, I now believe. Canker. Birds were few and scat- tering. I believe that these birds with their young all died then and there. I have never seen any pigeons since. Mr. Lyman writes that the first he remembers of the pigeons Was in 1854, when a very small boy, a large flock of them came down to his Father's barnyard, from a brolc- enup nesting, many of them dying there, they were so starved. Leroy Lyman, father of Milo Ly- man, Was one of the greatest hunt- ers in Northern Pennsylvania, a geologist of considerable note, and one of the prominent men of Potter County. He died in 1880. He al- ways kept a voluminous diary and from his diaries Milo has given us much information including the fol- lowing: . About the middle of April, 18 54, the pigeons commenced nest- ing west of Coudersport, snow all gone. Soon after came high winds and for several days around zero weather, with snow several inches deep, breaking up the nesting and thousands of birds freezing to death. By May 20, the surviving birds were nesting again. June 20th, Mr. Leroy Lyman visited the nesting and ■ "found thousands of birds sick, dy- ing and dead from some throat dis- ease." At the same time there wer« nestings in McKean County. In 1870 there were nestings in Potter, Mc- Kean and Elk counties, about forty miles in length. They commenced nestings in McKean County. In 1870 middle of April, twenty-sixth of April eggs laid, May 3rd and May 9th additions were made to the nestings 'by birds from the West. On May 26th, Milo Lyman went to the nestings and found where on a prev- ious visit birds appeared healthy now were suffering with contagion of throat disease. Mr. Lyman believes that in 18 54 there were double the birds that ap- peared at any time later, and not more than one to one hundred of them in Pennsylvania later as com- pared with 1830, "according to what my grandparents have told me." We ourselves have been in nest- ings many times and always found lots of dead birds — never examined any of them. If we thought about it at all would have laid it to the wounded birds dying, and the natur- al death rate among so many birds. After 1878, comparatively fe-w birds were trapped and sent to mar- ket, and thereafter there were no S'Uch large nestings as before. But in 1880 there were nestings in Mich- igan and Pennsylvania in which there must have been under ordinary conditions a material increase in the number of pigeons. In 1882 there was a good nesting in Potter County, Pa., (we know of no other nesting this year) )in which there was less than 100,000 killed. There should have been quite a large in- crease from this colony. In 1886 there was a still larger number of birds in Potter County, failing to nest, flew away towards Canada. In 1880 there were several colonies, In 1886, two so far as we know — the birds which left the Eastern part of this county and the two day's flight from the West following them. This year there was a small nesting re- ported in Bradford County. The two or three drownings could only have affected that num'ber of colonies, and it is pretty certain that only one of these occurred after 1878. Even if 50,000 were drown while it would make a big showing on the beach, but not much of a showing in even a single colony of birds. The opinion of the orintholo- gists that they had become so de- pleted that they could not nest as was their custom and gradually died out in probably true, as to the last phase of the birds, but there were pigeons enough in 1886 to make two pretty fair sized nestings of hundreds of thousands of birds each. They did not nest after that neither were any great numbers seen. True for many years there were reports of "large flocks of pigeons," but very rarely was the number estimated as 100, oftener a dozen to twenty, not a handful! to the old flocks say noth- ing of flights. It seems to us and we fully beleive that the birds after 18- 78 became fewer from some other cause than the ruthlessness of man, drowning or lack of numbers to nest according to their custom. Too many of them dropped out of sight after 1880 and 1886. The pigeon was a long lived bird— twenty to thirty years, perhaps more, and had there been no increase from young should not hav^ passed out so suddenly. There was no trapping or killing to speak of after 1880 in the west and in 1882 in Potter County, Pennsyl- vania. It is a well known fact that tame pigeons contracted Canker, why noi the wild ones, although their eu- 10 viroment would make them much less susceptible to the disease. Moul- ton tells of a thousand dying in an hour, confined in pens. This must have been a very unusally virulent form. Milo Lyman's story, and Lenv Lyman's diary shows the pigeons iP Pennsylvania had contracted the di- sease, and Frank Rowland's experi- ence is proof that it was prevalent more or less some years later. Once started may it not have been spreaa gradually from contact or otherwise until it destroyed the hosts. The last flight was to Canadian wilds of vast extent, few inhabitants or travelers we believe the bulk of the birds perished without attract- ing the attention of the world out- side. In this day it could not happen for had any one found any unusual number of dead birds or animals some newspaper reporter would learn of it and spread the story broadcast—but not liable to happen in the '80s. The world was not then so well scoured for news. Dr. Ash- craft, of Coudersport has written his theory "that some germ disease had by contamination of feeding grounds or otherwise wiped out the pas- senger pigeon," but the Doctor gives no instances of the contagious di- sease existing in the wild pigeons. In preparing the foregoing we have to acknowledge credit to French's Passenger Pigeon in Pennsylvania; W. B. Mershow, The Passenger Pigeon; Outing; Forest and Stream; Smithsonian Institution Report, in addition to credits in the body of the article, also to Vesta Thompson Van- DeBoe who rendered much valuable aid in hunting up old reports that I would probably have missed. The following was written some two years ago at the request of John C. French of Roulette, author of the best book on pigeons we have seen, "The Passenger Pigeon in Pennsyl- vania," for the second edition. PIGEON NOTES Nests were roughly made, just sticks laid across, no lining of leaves or feathers. Could see up through the nests. Two eggs was the rule, thouga some nests contained but one— egg dropped, or thrown from the nest, and perhaps, at times, the amount of food available may have had some- thing to do with the number of eggs. Some writers say only one egg. Our own experience and observation In a number of nesting was two. Two or three days time for buliu- ing nests and laying eggs; period of incubation about two weeks; In two weeks more the squabs leave the nest and in a week all old and young have left the nesting grounds. About six weeks completes the nesting. Only about three days for getting squabs by cutting timber or poking them from the nests. Main body birds left as soon as young were large enougi^ to leave while still in the nests. A few remained to guide the squabs when they were able to leave— about one week. Old birds did not feed in or near the nesting. This feeding ground was left for the young. Nesting birds fed once each day, cock flight in the morning, hens later. They fed from twenty to sixty miles away. They took turns on the nests. Not all the birds fed in the same place, in dif- ferent sections of the nesting they fed in different directions, north, south east, or west. The birds were no benefit to ag- riculture as they were not insect feeders. In the Fall they destroyed Buckwheat and other grains. Did the birds nest more than on ,e a year, and did they nest EVERY YEAR, There is evidence that some years they nested (the same birds) two or three times, but not often. We have been unable to find that they nested otlier than in even num- bered years — at least in the North. Every reported nesting we have found that when traced up beyond a reasonable doubt, was in the even numbered years. Personally we never knew of a nesting in an odd numbered year. 11 The birds wintered in the soutn where there were immense ROOST- INGS, but we have seen no accounts of their nesting there, that we rem- ember of. When the beechnuts became sprouted the old birds would scratcu up the leaves near the nesting, ex- posing the nuts and sprouts, prevent- ing growth, and thus furnishing food for the young birds, before they were able to fly sufRcently well to follow the old birds. My first recollection of Wild Pigeons, clear recollections, carries back oxer sixty years. I must hav^e seen thousands of them before but they left no clear impression on my mind. The birds were with us near- ly every Fall and Spring, sometimes only a few scattering scouts and at other times by the millions, it seem- ed. I was a very small boy when one morning lower West Street in Cou- dersport, the gardens, yards, we had not arrived to dignity of lawns as yet, and the commons South, several acres in all, were suddenly covered with pigeons working on the ground. The ground was blue with them. A Mr. Pratt got out his shot gun for the purpose of making a slaughter- ing, and thinking he could get more by shooting on the wing frightened them to a raise. It seemed as though every bird took wing at the same time, and the noise was like a strong wind blowing. Pratt fired both bar- rels but never got a bird. Probably shot under. He explained that the birds were nesting somewhere West of here and were "Worming." The idea he conveyed was that at a cer- tain age of the young birds the old ones for a few days fed on worms, or grass roots, or both. I know that several years later when the birds were nesting WeS't of Coudersport it was reported that large numbers of them were covering the flats on Pine Creek, near Manchester, "Worming." I have never seen anything written in regard to "Worming" and only in these two instances heard it men- tioned. Pijaieons Feeding Some years later with a shot gun too heavy by some pounils I started for the top of the hill West of Cou- dersport. At that time the Pigeons were nesting in McKean County and many birds were scattered through our woods. A little beyond the top of the hill in some large timber, principally beech, I heard the "tweat tweat" of a multitude of birds not yet in sight. I stopped beside an old stump to see what was coming, or rather what was doing, as it was ev- ident the woods in the distance were full of Pigeons. In a very short time the birds appeared in plain sight as the woods were open and the leaves not started. I had never seen the like before and for that matter nev- er happened to see the like again. The birds were coming in a body about twenty rods front and to a depth of five or six rods, the air fill- ed with Pigeons to a depth of five or six feet above the ground, seemingly rolling over and over, and feeding on Beech nuts, and all the time making the "tweat tweat" cry that coiila have been heard a quarter of a mile or more. I think the cry was only made by the Pigeons in the air. The front line was as straight as the line of a body of well trained soldiers marching, the rear line of birds con- tinually raising, flying over those in front and dropping down a foot or two in advance of the front line on the ground while in between the leaves were flying as the birds un- covered the beech nuts and made their afternoon meal. The birds passed within six feet of me giving me the best possible chance for ob- servation. I do not think I moved enough to wink both eyes at one time from the time they came in sight until I was looking along the last row of them. Long before I had learned that birds and animals while sharp sighted would not notice a perfectly still object. But I wanted Pigeons and as the last were passing I brought up the gun and took a snapshot in the air. The first move 12 sent the birds up with a great roar of wings, as I expected. I made the shot and I picked up just two birds, one with a single slug in the head and the other "all shot to pieces," so there was nothing of value to carry home, the bird being so close that it received practically the whole charge. Powder and shot were scarce and expensive articles for boys in those days, and owning a gun out of the question with those in my class. A sporting neighbor would occasionally loan me his shot gun and any little change that by luck or chance came my way would buy pow- der and shot in small quantities. This day I had borrowed the gun, my money was sufficient to procure four or five loads of powder, but no shot. I had taken the lead slug or filling from a worm-out whalebone buggy whip that had been cast away, pounded it out flat until it was about as thick as a B. shot, and with the kitchen butcher knife cut it into square slugs to be used in place of shot. From the Pigeon shot so bad- ly there was nothing left for food I carefully removed quite a number of the slugs for future use, and I used them. I venture to say that many of the "old boys" remember using any old lead they could get hold of as 1 used the weight in the butt of the old whipstalk. Fee