Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-03-09
WILD PIGEONS.
The Woods in the Foothills Are Said to
be Full of Them.

| De uu OF 1nems
While the sportsmen and press Of the
country east of the Sierra Nevada are won.
dering what has become of the wild
pigeons that few years ago were seen in
various parts of the country in colonies oi
millions, and speculating as to the proba-
bility of their having been exterminated,
like the buffaloes, the foothills of the
Sierra Nevada and Coast Range are swarm
| ing with the birds. They are seldom seen
in the lower attitudes except in seasons OF
heavy snowfall, like the present. These
birds are now plentiful in the foothills and
even down in the valleys. They have been
seen in great numbers all the way from
Latrobe to Rocklin, and doubtless are nu-
merous north and south of these points
Up about Antelope and at points along the
Ranches del Paso and San Juan they have
also appeared
A few Sacramento nimrods of the pres
ent day will recall the many hours of sport
enjoyed by them in March, 1875 Gust fif
teen years ago), when the heavy SHOWS in
the mountains drove the pigeons down
into the valley in great swarms. They
made their roosting- place for several weeks
in Oak Grove, on the Haggin Tor del Paso)
ranch, and between o'clock in the after
noon and dusk they came there from the
lower foothills in clouds" to rest during
the night.
The roost is about eight miles from town,
and every afternoon crowds of sportsmen
went there to await the birds and pepper
them with shot. They would take position
beneath the oak trees in various parts of
the grove, and from the time the advance
guard of the pigeons came in until dusk
there was constant fusillade andlusually
great numbers were bagged. One news
paper scribe and companion alone killed
ninety-six within a couple of hours one
day.
Among those who greatly enjoyed the
sport were joe Glover of the firm of
Booth & Co., Paul Morril and James
Anthony of the UNION, e. B. Mott, George
Gilbert, John Shore and other old-time
Sacramento sportsmen who have long since
gone to the happy hunting grounds beyond
the dark valley of the shadow of death.
And they were sportsmen of the royal kind,
too-men who scorned to do an act un-
worthy of a gentleman. The custom was
for this congenial ooterie of the knights of
the shotgun to assemble in the grove
couple of hours before the flight of the
pigeons commenced, often accompanied by
the members of their families, and have a
sort of picnic, the spread" consisting of
the best the market afforded, not even
emitting bottle or two of extra dry"
The Legislature was then in session, and
Morris III. Estee was Speaker of the As
sembly. He, too, wss-and still is-an
enthusiastic sportsman, and more than
once called the Speaker pro tempore 10 the
Chair to enable him to reach the pigeon
roost in time for the evening fight.
The week preceding the discovery
of t1o NIL n hot
wild pigeons on the Grant so he went to
Folsom to enjoy pigeon shoot. He
hunted the birds for two days on their feed
ing-grounds, and succeeded in bagging but
three. 1t happened that Chris. Ecklon the
accomplished nimrod of that burg, was also
out, and, being more familiar with the
haunts and habits of the birds than the
venerable Sacramento journalist, had sue
ceeded in loading his wagon with them.
He filled a couple of barley sacks with dead
pigeons, and as Anthony mournfully
boarded the train to come home, Ecklon
threw the game into the baggage-car and
told him to insist that he had bagged it all
himself.
When Anthony reached home that even
ing he sent across the street for Estee-who
was boarding with Secretary of State Melone
in the then Sanderson residence-and ex-
hibited the alleged evidence of his prowess
with the shotgun. The Speaker of the As
sembly became agitated at the sight, spent |
q sleepless night, and the next day left his |
"sub" to run the Assembly, while he hus- |
tied of to Folsom with a companion and |
the avowed determination of bringing |
home four bags of pigeons to Anthony's |
two. He returned the second day, and had |
besides the two dozen birds given him
by Ecklon-just threel Anthony had |
heard of where Estee got his birds, and had |
the laugh on him until the story of his |
own experience came from Folsom. Then |
it was Estee's turn to laugh.
The present heavy snowfall, ike that of
1875, has again driven the wild pigeons
down to the valley but whether or not |
they have established general rocsting- |
place, as then, has not been learned-in
this city, at least.