The Washington herald., 1911-06-25
COPYRIGHT BY JAMES hLVERsoy


All who are old enough to look back
for period of fifty years can testify
that, even at that comparatively recent date
the birds were, at certain seasons, to be found
IN hundreds OF thousands, almost everywhere in
the United States and Canada, between the
thlrtieth and forty-eighth parallels of north
latitude
Whether they were ever plentiful to the
north or south of these lines ] cannot, of my
own knowledge, say, though some writers as
sert that they ranged a1 the way from 25
degrees to G2 degrees but | do know that
within the frst-named belt, their Astounding
numbers might have been at one time more
correctly estimated by hundreds of millions, ra-
ther than by thousands ..
There are many persons yet living who can
remember when in the first half OF this cen
tury, 1t was not unusual to see pigeons pass
ing over, in focks so vast and numbers so
hcacuiable, that for hours at such times the
and when these same focks alighted to rest
or feed, immense tracts of land and great
them. ~
Where, then, have the birds gone? How &C.
count for their almost total disappearance?
DO they still exist in considerable numbers
on any part OF this continent! III 60 where?
Mhat region OF Americas temperate zone has
not been more or less thoroughly explored
end reported upon, and yet, what traveller
of the mystery?
Notwithstanding the fact that, year after
year, IN the olden time, myriads of pigeons
were shot, trapped and otherwise DESTROYED
teniold the greatest slaughter ever made in
Their ranks by man was no more than drop
in the bucket, compared with their total mum.
bers.. Nor can it be reasonably maintained
that, because of incessant persecution. the bird
has merely changed its habitat for this hy-
Pothesis brings us once more to the query,
Where is it?'
No. the wild pigeons have died oH-have be-
come nearly extinct, and, IN my opinion, the
reason is not far to seek
Their nesting haunts, always located in thu
heart OF dense forests in the depths o.
great, dry swamps. have been swept away by
the ak and fire OF an ever-encroaching civiliza-
tion, and the harassed birds, finding no safe re-
treat in which to rear their young, have sim
ply ceased to reproduce
1t may be, too, that in so far as the needs
OF our people are concerned, the pigeons mis-
sion has been fulfilled, for we know that, in
the early pioneer days, the herdless settler
depended upon its annual and frequently upon
its seml-annual visits TO supply no inconsider-
able portion of his spring and summer food
1t may interest the youth OF this generation
to learn from an old-timer how exceedingly
plentiful these birds once were, and will
preface my story by assuring the reader that
every statement herein made is strictly true
and the facts in no manner exaggerated.
Early in the month of May, 1882, when
then residing on large, partly-cleared farm,
in the province of Upper Canada sixteen miles
northwest Of Little York, now Toronto, gave
me permission to join several other boys and
party OF grown ,men-our scattered neigh
bors-in an expedition to pigeon roost ("
which, we were informed, was in the town
ship OF Calderon, twenty miles north of our
home.
At that time the country between us and
our objective point was, for the most part,
an unbroken forest OF hardwood timber-small
clearings being met with only at long inter
walls.
To boys, in these days of easy locomotion,
such tramp would appear quite an arduous
undertaking; but to US it seemed mere trihe,
and was accomplished in part of a single day
though il is only fair to add that, as we had
elk pack-horses with us, any one who became
tired could ride whenever he chose.
] think / may safely say that no set of
youngsters ever more thoroughly enjoyed
themselves than did we on this raid OF all
the fun we had in passing through the woods
have no space .to. speak, but one notable in
cident was the killing of fine deer by our
guide, who was in advance of the party, and
another was the capture by us BOYS of a
young black bear, not much bigger than
cat-of which more anon.
We had commenced the journey at day
break in the morning, and, despite our ,lei
surely mode of travelling and frequent stop
pages, arrived at our destination about four
o'clock in the afternoon, Then we witnessed
spectacle worth going hundreds of miles to
sec, though it was as nothing compared to
that which followed.
In front of us, and extending to unknown
distances on either hand, stretched vast area
of primeval forest, composed of heavy
growth of decduous trees, and on every pos
sible restingplace of every limb of each tree
was built a rude shallow structure of crossed
sticks, each one containing two fat squads
Scattered over several acres, in the imme-
diate vicinity, were a number of roughly
built log shanties and bough huts, temporarily
occupied by men and boys, many of whom
Dad come all the way from the older settle