The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-05-17
MILLIONS OF PIGEONS.
Ulster County Woods Alive With
Sporf-0ne Hundred and Fifty Pie
Johns at n Shot-The Game Carried
OF by the CARLOAD.

OIL by the CARLOAD.
POUGHEEEPSIE, Aril ..
The most astonishing scenes are wit
messed in the woods and mountains of
Ulster County nowadays, and sports.
men are having tremendous "shoot"
in the way of pigeons. Old hunters
are dumbfOuuded. From every sec
ton come accounts of hocks of untold
numbers being seen, while the stories
told of the masses at their feeding and
sleeping places are marvellous and hard
to believe, were not the authority un-
doubted. In the peighborhood of Big
Indian and Shandaken are large " Gods,
where the birds roost at night, and
hunters who have visited the place as
sert that the feathered denizens are
millions in numbers. The weight of
the masses which copgregate upon the
trees is sometimes so great that huge
limbs break off ami fall to the ground,
crushing many of the birds to death.
To hunt them it is only necessary to
go into the woods and pointing your
gun upward blaze away; each dis
charge is sure to bring many fluttering
victims. The roaring sound made by
them when they go in fiocks to settle
down at night or take their flight in
the morning resembles thunder, while
the light of the sun is darkened as
if q thick cloud fioated between it and
the earth. From the Wawarsing section
also come astounding stories on the
same subject. Every day the fight of
flocks innumerable are recorded, and
sporismen are Paving rare times. The
chief rendezvous in that direction is
said to be the headwaters of the Never
sink, where a tract Of woods, four
miles in width by fifteen in length,
has been taken possession of by them.
1t would be vain to estimate the num-
Der, but it can safely be said they reach
millions. OF course these numerous
fiocks attract hunters from a long dis
lance, and the crack of their guns is
heardeontinually. Many make bust
ness ofkilline,, he birds for theNew York
market. Along the line of the Rondout
and Oswego Railroad the excitement is
intense. Yesterday, from early in the
morning till dusk, there was one con-
tinual succession of focks numbering
FROM ONE THOUSAND TO TEN THOU
SAND IN EACH FLOCK.
They flew SO low that q good marks.
man could easily bring them down. In
the towns of Give and Shandaken
every other man was out hunting, and
tire ground was fairly covered with
nets, while the stool pigeons and flyers
were worked necessarily. Many thou.
sands of pigeons were caught. One
man had wagon-load in three hauls,
while many a good pigeon-hunter
managed 10 get $50 or 200in one throw.
On Sunday the woods were also
crowded, and
THE INCESsANT CRACK OF THE HUNT
Frs GUNS
sounded like the firing of a skirmish
line. These pigeons are resting above
Big Indian, covering tract of woods
about eighteen miles square. They take
trip out morning and evening. Nat
uralists say they go TO salt water and
return every day.
A WARNING. o.
1t is feared that in the excitement Of
the hunt, sportmen forget the Law of
1871, Section 10: No person shall
kill, catch, or discharge any firearms
at any wild pigeon Will. on its resting
ground, or break up or il any manner
disturb such resting ground or the birds
therein, or discharge any firearms at
any distance within one-fOurth of a
mile of such resting place, under q
penalty of S25 for each offense.n
Kingston boasts a celebrated pigeon
hunter; his name is Henry w. Whine.
His friends say he has double-barrel
gun which brings down 80 at each dis
charge. 4 farmer in the neigbborhood
of the Big Indian resting place had two
tons of hay standing out of doors. He
didn't watch it closely and the pigeons
carried away every spear of it to build
nests with. A family in Wawarsing
were terribly scared on Saturday.
While sitting quietly in their domicile
the sir suddenly became dark and
filled with a loud rearing noise. The
family huddled in the corners of rooms,
thinking the day of judgment was
coming, but when they learned that
the cause of their fright was an i'm
Inense flock of pigeons, their fears sub
sided. Southern bound boats and cars
are carrying thousands of the birds to
your city, and the sport continues
Ne1O York Standard.