, 1874-07-08
TIE GREAT PIGEON ROOST.

Forty-Etght Square fItlos OF n1tchaa
gun Covered by Ecntncrs-The Gxcnt-
cat Gathering Ever Kno1vn-xaow
tho sirds Arc Caught md Killed. |
Frankfort ae". tJu9s ~; ee,ysspoHd<'ee Of tas sse
ITO : description Of the tunny, flahery IL Mis-
trala Caendas, thrilling and picturesque aH IL
Is, would not tranBceud tho description Of The
| great pigeon roost Of 1874 in this (Donzie) oouu-
~. ~ ihe noeno ls novel TO an Eastern visitor.
and 90 account @ ot i, though falling far below
| BY m Eastern reador.. Tho number of tho birds
this spring has exceeded evon anything recorded
IN the traditions Of hunters anu oldest iuhab-
1taats. m The misaSulo4s digit Of quaila that fell
other sdo, and two ,cubits high upon tho faoe Of
tho .eearIh, ia as nothing to The II 1otsoy nvor
nostitng Imagine It yon cap, tract Of land.
bough 10 occupied by dozen uosta and hum
drcd birds, where the air wliirra from dawn till
asfR VIII eossoless "tngs goiug and coming,
whore tho flights that sottle cover square acres
With living carpet, whore from $50 to 400 men
nave Tor six weeks or more boom engaged iu
trapping and killing without enssation Or lat,
ana yet not made tho numbers appreciably loss
imagine 30 square miles Of pigeons. and that ia
Tho acene. Az. the old birds loavo Or arc de-
stroyed by millions, millions Of young ones t4ke
| tho wing, aud almost daily atnaiaH Of runforce-
| ments fly norshward from tar-away Kontucky
and Missouri, the beat OF whose wings aud wlosa
| countless numbers obscure the skY and omit q
hollow roar as 1t a tornado or thunderstorm
wsre approaching.
| There arc throo rogu1ar "nghts"a day-tvo
"tom-1'ghta" aud QUO hon-night." ii early
| dawn tho maio birds sot out ly1ng to tho cast
aud north to seok broakfast Of aeodA and ber.
| RIGS, tou, twenty, or fifty milcs away, aud BY
| Or half-past 0 the skY ia black with tho dophrt-
considerable hoight, each Sheet of biris~sbeoi w /
Ia the word that boss doRcrlbos thom-wayoring
q moment like tho needle OF TIM compass Wien
disturbed, then taking flight in tho appointed
Of speea that would make one boiioSe
that every. bird was animated by tae
same impulse at tho SAME instant. Al
hour later not bird IL to be seon but towards 5
Squadron aItor squadron arrives, cleaying tie air
with unweariod wings and uufaihnR sense. tut.
tering, wheeling, aud descending. oaoh division
itH own district each bitd oyor the nest Of ita
turns to take hIs trick at the domestic helm,
hon after - hen " rises upward, and tlla
armies Of tho Amazons go out to Tie east aud
north. Towards O'Clock the sceue Is ludo-
sori6able; i is very atmosphere OF wlngs,
era aud tho oyo gazeH down yista1 Of pigeons ia
far horizoua Of SQUAD plea and saIanis dc tourtea
saurages. Metropolitan readers will imagine
tr9ct Of woodland twice the width Of Manhattan
Island aud twice as loug ~ rrom tue Battery to
arod thousand, birds departing IN flights az uu-
merous very Broadway Of the s.r, extending
over whole county. Dy aud by the last femals
suilraglBt dsparss, and tho meek males remain IN
cnbating with fathfulneys and ameuability to
domestic diAolpiina that wontd delight the stern-
est untoathered Biator. In tho middle OF thu
afternoon tho "henH" return and tho "toms"
depart to make an eYouing Of It, returning be-
fore Or about sunset. The late birds, who stay
out TIL dusk. having apparently the latoh-key
to their several nests, Beum bothered whom rs-
turning, and fly very low, sweeping aloug tho
ground until they get their bearings. Then be-
Poles aud clubs are the Toapon1, and at every
sweep a dozeu birds, braiued. csinplod, Of
MANNED, tumble to tue earth. Scarcely less
simple aud efficient il the practice Of fakius
branches Of treos whore they rooBt. Lot it bo
said that the birds ofton settle 80 ttckly thai
boughs AZ large in circumference AZ Q mau'a
thigh arc broken of by the weight and that tho
bent nass. Tho foxes. aud. later in the ysar,
the hogs fatten on the uugathored hecatombs
that are lott dead or 10 die in the grass.
The shot.gua and t tho net are tae principal
woapona affaotod by the hunters. The beach Of
Crystal Lake, where the waters were lowered
Inst ycas, afrordlng shoot OF lovol saul somo
25 miles round AMI noar1y half milo wldo,
is thicxly dotted with the stands Of tho hunters
-slnall nuts Of pine. .boughs ia which the hunter
slse with bis guns. At tinlos poles arc placed for
roosts without and decoys employed to inducn
the birds, like Dilla to coma aud be killed, q
rakinE discharge sweeping them from the poles
Ut regular occurrence. there is nothing IL do but
to b1axe away aud pick up the doad. The neta
do moro Wholesale execution, but require larger
capital. 1sonnd D woodland sp.ing, where tho
birds will stuop to drink, the smooth ground is
abundnutly spread with corn mingled NTH salt,
the Wator OF tho spriug bofng also sa1!ed with 4
liberal land. For several days tho birds TINT 70
thitAcr 10 sesrol, Of food arc allowed to tako
growing bold by 1abit.' they como not auga
spies. but In battallonH, aud settle down TO
"work" " the ground systematically. They all
vance en- cchclon, with this advantage, that being
blessed with wings tho rearward cohlpaneH, az
taeY flna corn scarce. ny over the Aeads OF tho
front companies aud sotsle upon unoccupled
ground, III turn to become again the rear guarti,
You may Layo noticed how pigeons feod, gath;;
advancing all tho while. The regularity aud ra-
pidisy Of this successive hght and sottlinR re-
| mind one OF All expert doaler "throwing
monte" It ia, in the language Of tho aar.l~
sharper, tone over, one under, QUO, two. thres,"
When, therefore, this salted ground beoomen
the regular resort OF flights OF oirts 1000 or
6000 stlong the woodland frsa.lunuh syasem Ia
sbollsl.ed, and tho birds are Male to my with
thoir porsoua," as the French would say Tho
nets suspended on stakos round tho ground arc
struck, thoro Ia hurried aua thundorous roar
Of Miugs a. those most happy fly on. and The
earth t8 coV6Feu Win q Carpet OF dhfK b!le, VQh
not rustles aud undulatoa with the efforts OF tho
imprisoned birls to escape. Thea the trapper
comes ont and roloAaes them ono by QUO. II ho
ID tapping for market he wringn their nooAs, aud
they are barrolol aud oarted away. II II IL in
tonlol to Boll them alive thay are placed in ooops
aud shipped, or stored iu burns ana houses Tho
biggest catch Of the yoar Inns boon BJ0 birds,
though 1t ii Of record TINT ono trappof secured
nearly 1900 ~ ono strike. This probably would
have boan exceeded by hlr. Fisher low days
ago when he struck into flight so thick that tho
birds raised nota, stAkos, aud all, breaking tha
meshes and flying or by hundreds. Some idea
OF tue extent Of tho operations may bo formed
wl,an 1t IL said that probably 1000 bushels each
OF salt aud corn have been used in preparing tho
| foad-beds this soaAon. Tho Nav York Btate
Hports.nen's Association haa taken 4D, 600 or 46-
600 1--we birds from Frankfort. and Fisher L Sons
! alive and dead, aa many OF moro, anl az fos
small dealers aud Individual lantory, 1t IL l1n-
possible to nay low many barrets and ooops thoy
send away weekly.
Gnribnlli.
| Sgnor De Tivoll, the roador Of tho italian
language at Oxford, writea to tho London Times,
inoloaing tho following extract from private
| letter Of tuna l3, In Taference to uariualdi'a
hcalth. "Qen. Qarlbald ta 10 nnwoll aa uos to