Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1915-06-04
COMMUNICATIONS.
WILD GAME TRAPPING.
BY Alice Jennings Fiske.

One of my Oldest pupils telling me re-
Gently that he had shot a wild pigeon
brings this story, told me many years
ago, very vividly to mind. Fifty years
ago there were acres and acres of un-
cleared forests. Hunting turkeys,
pigeons and quail, trapping for furs
were profitable business.
The forests abounded with nuts that
were food for birds, hogs and man.
Many hogs were fattened on acorns and
other nuts which they found while
roaming in the forests. My father said
that the sweeter ones were very saw
DRY. They were often husked, dried
or pounded and ground into meal.
But the destruction of the forest and
with it the beech trees with their mast
for the wild pigeon has banished that
prince of all delicious game birds from
all this beech timbered North America.
Many of the older people looked for
ward with longing anticipations for the
spring time coming of our migratory
pigeons. They came also in the au-
tumn, but their visit was so early that
the cold weather drove them farther
south before the nuts had fallen.
! remember in particular about the
great clouds of pigeons which my
father told me came over in millions so
closely focked together that not a
sparkle of sunshine could pass between
them. The roar of their futtering
wings was like the roar Of an approach
ing wind storm or like distant thunder.
They would sometimes light on the
trees in such vast numbers that their
weight would break down great branch
es and sometimes the whole tree tops
were stripped of branches. Their meat
was highly palatable and brought a
good price on the market. The men
and boys who knew heir roosting
places would 90 into the forest with
their shot guns and lanterns. The
birds seeing the lanterns made fiut-
tering noise, enabling the hunters to
locate them, and couple of discharges
from double barrel shot gun was sure
20 bring down large number of birds.
Nets like fish seines were set up on a
cleaned patch of ground. A rope was
fastened to stake at one end and the
other end was passed to a man who was
hidden in brush shield Sheled corn
or grain was strewn upon the cleaned
patch Of ground. A stool pigeon was
let loose with a string tied to one foot,
the other end was held by the man in
hiding. When the flock of pigeons were
seen, the stool pigeon was thrown up.
1t would fly toward the approaching
drove which would see it descend. BY
a strong pull of rope the net was
thrown over the flock which congre.
gated closely even on top of each other
scrambling to get the grain. The net
covered hundreds of pigeons. They
We're then carefully killed, bruisinl
only the heads. The birds were ther
carried away in sacks or baskets.
My father said that when beech mas
failed here the pigeons sought new
feeding countries. These events hap
pened on the banks of the Lemon Fai
IN Shoreham. Rpton was another tow
where they congregated in great mum
bers. But thousands of them perishe,
in the attempt to get food. Many un
dertook to cross the Atlantic ocean
following the steamships and nearly al
persisted in their effort, for they coul
not travel by night. Many were caugh
and killed while they endeavored t
light upon the ships.