The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-11-30
rHE PARADISE OF sponTsMEN.
| Where Pigeons Roost In Myrlads- Exciting
Soones and General Slaughter.

Where Pigeons Roost In Myrlads- Exciting
Sccnes and General Slaughter.
FROM the Cincinnati Commercial. F
JHrtERsoNvtLLE, IND, Nov. 1l.--In
!. the southeastern; norton Of Scott couu-
t, ty IL one OF the most noted pigeon
roosts IN tho West. Some hundred
acres Of forest are covered by this
roost, and hero come every during tho
bird se0son millions Of wild pigeons.
They commence arriving about 3 o 'clock
III tho evening, and the tide continues
to pour In frequently until after mid
night. At daylight they begin to move
Oft to their fecding places, often hun
dreds OF miles away, leaving in sepn-
rate focks In tho same manner as ticy
arrive, and by 8 o'clock they have all
gone that is, all that have escaped tho
hundreds Of hunters that flock to the
place.
This Scott county pigeon roost ia
known in the history Of Indiana as tho
scene OF terrible massacre. III Sep-
tembcr, 1872, a small colony of hardy
pioneers had settlement near the
roost. 1t was the most westerly sot-
tlement In that direction from the falls
OF tho Ohio. On tho evening of that
day the settlers were attacked by n
gang OF rowing Pottawatomics, out on
the warpath, and twonty-four Of them.
mostly women and children, massa-
cred, their bodies being horribly man
gled and afterwards partially burned
IN their cabins, which were fired by
the savages. Bnt five Of the settlers
cscapcd--two Of tho family Of John
Collins, and a Mrs. Bcadie and her
two small children, which she carried
In her arms and secrctcd in n sink-holc
unit II the Indians had loft tho scene of
their bloody work, when she again
took them in her arms and fed to the
nearest settlement six miles away.
The scenes at this pigeon roost dur
ing the roostimg season are exciting
beyond description. Sportsmem visit
the place from all parte Of the State,
and from kentucky and Ohio. The
hunters provide themselves with torch
cs, shot guns, long poles and sacks to
contain the birds, and thus equipped
go to tho work of slaughter. Thous-
nnds are killed every night. The
birds roost as low down as tho limbs
Of the trees will permit, and it is upon
these the poles arc used. The pigeons
arc literally moved down. The scene
Is Dedla'nlc. In such immense num-
bcrs do the birds gather upon the trees
hat the limbs arc broken down, and
there is Il constant clatter of these
cracking, falling limbs, the whir of
wings as tho birds rise and fly to tho
next tree and crowd off other flocks or
attempt to alight upon them. The rat
tic Of guns, the flashing of torches,
and the shouts of the butchcrs-for
sportsmcn they can not be properly
called-all combine to make the place
viyidly wild and exciting. With tho
morning come droves Of hogs to fat
ten OH the dead and wounded birds
left scattered over the woods by the
excited hunters, who do not ALWAYS
stop the work Of slaughter when their
sacks arc filed.
AT intervals Of many years tho
pigeons change their roostiny place.
but they do not select new localit y
very fir away from the old one. *
few nights ago-sincc the Presidential
clection-the pigeons made change.
Their old roosting place, known to
have been pigeon roost for over
eighty years, is in strong Democratic
ncighborhood. A few nights AGO they
suddenly changed it, moving off a few
miles into Republican ncighborlood.
Significant i'll view Of the threatened
hcgira of the South from tho Demo
S."d" t'~.t! l.. tl'~i. ..o-- s~~, 4s.s,
however, they arc quito as accessible
to hunters as in the old.