John James Audubon （b. 1780,d. 1851）. This celebrated American ornithologist was born in Louisiana. When quite young he was passionately fond of birds,and took delight in studying their habits. In 1797 his father,an admiral in the French navy,sent him tParis tbe educated. On his return tAmerica,he settled on a farm in eastern Pennsylvania,but afterward removed tHenderson,Ky.where he resided several years,supporting his family by trade,but devoting most of his time tthe pursuit of his favorite study. In 1826 he went tEngland,and commenced the publication of the "Birds of America," which consists of ten volumes-five of engravings of birds,natural size,and five of letterpress. Cuvier declares this work tbe "the most magnificent monument that art has ever erected tornithology." In 1830 Audubon returned tAmerica,and soon afterwards made excursions intnearly every section of the United States and Canada. A popular edition of his great work was published,in seven volumes,in 1844,and "The Quadrupeds of America," in six volumes,-three of plates and three of letterpress,in 1846-50. He removed tthe vicinity of New York about 1840,and resided there until his death.
1.The multitudes of wild pigeons in our woods are astonishing. Indeed,after having viewed them soften,and under smany circumstances,I even now feel inclined tpause and assure myself that what I am going trelate is a fact. Yet I have seen it all,and that,too,in the company of persons who,like myself,were struck with amazement.
2.In the autumn of 1813 I left my house at Henderson,on the banks of the Ohio,on my way tLouisville. In passing over the Barrens,a few miles beyond Hardinsburgh,I observed the pigeons flying ,from northeast tsouthwest,in greater numbers than Ithought I had ever seen them before,and feeling an inclination tcount the flocks that might pass within the reach of my eye in one hour,I dismounted,seated myself on an eminence,and began tmark with my pencil,making a dot for every flock that passed.
3.In a short time,finding the task which I had undertaken impracticable,as the birds poured in in countless multitudes,I rose,and,counting the dots then put down,found that one hundred and sixty-three had been made in twenty-one minutes I traveled on,and still met more the farther I proceeded. The air was literally filled with pigeons;the light of noonday was obscured as by an eclipse;and the continued buzz of wings had a tendency tlull my senses trepose.
4.Whilst waiting for dinner at Young's inn,at the confluence of Salt River with the Ohio,I saw,at my leisure,immense legions still going by,with a front reaching far beyond the Ohion the west,and the beech wood forests directly on the east of me. Not a single bird alighted,for not a nut or acorn was that year tbe seen in the neighborhood. They consequently flew shigh that different trials treach them with a capital rifle proved ineffectual;nor did the reports disturb them in the least.
5.I can not describe tyou the extreme beauty of their aerial1evolutions when a hawk chanced tpress upon the rear of a flock. At once,like a torrent,and with a noise like thunder,they rushed inta compact mass,pressing upon each other towards the center. In these almost solid masses,they darted forward in undulating and angular lines,descended and swept close over the earth with inconceivable velocity,mounted perpendicularly sas tresemble a vast column,and,when high,were seen wheeling and twisting within their continued lines,which then resembled the coils of a gigantic serpent.
6.As soon as the pigeons discover a sufficiency of food tentice them talight,they fly round in circles,reviewing the country below. During their evolutions,on such occasions,the dense mass which they form exhibits a beautiful appearance,as it changes its direction,1Aerial,belonging or pertaining tthe air.
now displaying a glistening sheet of azure,when the backs of the birds come simultaneously intview,and anon1 suddenly presenting a mass of rich,deep purple.
7.They then pass lower,over the woods,and for a moment are lost among the foliage,but again emerge,and are seen gliding aloft. They now alight;but the next moment,as if suddenly alarmed,they take twing,producing by the flappings of their wings a noise like the roar of distant thunder,and sweep through the forests tsee if danger is near. Hunger,however,soon brings them tthe ground.
8.When alighted,they are seen industriously throwing up the withered leaves in quest of the fallen mast2. The rear ranks are continually rising,passing over the main body,and alighting in front,in such rapid succession,that the whole flock seems still on wing. The quantity of ground thus swept is astonishing;and scompletely has it been cleared that the gleaner whmight follow in their rear would find his labor completely lost.
9.On such occasions,when the woods are filled with these pigeons,they are killed in immense numbers,although napparent diminution ensues. About the middle of the day,after their repast is finished,they settle on the trees tenjoy rest and digest their food. As the sun begins tsink beneath the horizon;they depart en masse for the roosting place,which not unfrequently is hundreds of miles distant,as has been ascertained by persons whhave kept an account of their arrivals and departures.
10.Let us now inspect their place of nightly rendezvous3. Oneof these curious roosting places,on the banks of the Green River,in Kentucky,I repeatedly visited. It was,as is always the case,in a portion of the forest where the trees were of great magnitude,and where there was little underwood. I rode through it upwards of forty miles,and,crossing it in different parts,found its average breadth1Anon,in a short time,soon.
2Mast,the fruit of oak and beech or other forest trees.
3Rendezvous,an appointed or customary place of meeting.
tbe rather more than three miles. My first view of it was about a fortnight subsequent1 tthe period when they had made choice of it,and I arrived there nearly twhours before sunset.
11.Many trees,twfeet in diameter,I observed,were broken off at ngreat distance from the ground;and the branches of many of the largest and tallest had given way,as if the forest had been swept by a tornado. Everything proved tme that the number of birds resorting tthis part of the forest must be immense beyond conception.
12.As the period of their arrival approached,their foes anxiously prepared treceive them. Some were furnished with iron pots containing sulphur,others with torches of pine knots,many with poles,and the rest with guns. The sun was lost tour view,yet not a pigeon had arrived. Everything was ready,and all eyes were gazing on the clear sky,which appeared in glimpses amidst the tall trees. Suddenly there burst forth the general cry of,"Here they come!"
13.The noise which they made,though yet distant,reminded me of a hard gale at sea passing through the rigging of a close-reefed vessel. As the birds arrived and passed over me,I felt a current of air that surprised me. Thousands were soon knocked down by the pole men. The birds continued tpour in. The fires were lighted,and a magnificent as well as wonderful and almost terrifying sight presented itself.
14.The pigeons,arriving by thousands,alighted everywhere,one above another,until solid masses,as large as hogsheads,were formed on the branches all round. Here and there the perches gave way under the weight with a crash,and falling tthe ground destroyed hundreds of the birds beneath,forcing down the dense groups with which every stick was loaded. It was a scene of uproar and confusion. I found it quite useless tspeak or even tshout tthose persons whwere nearest tme. Even the reports of the guns were seldom heard,and I was made aware of the firing only by seeing the shooters1Subsequent,following in time.reloading.
15.The uproar continued the whole night;and as I was anxious tknow twhat distance the sound reached,I sent off a man,accustomed tperambulate1 the forest,who,returning twhours afterwards,informed me he had heard it distinctly when three miles distant from the spot. Towards the approach of day,the noise in some measure subsided;long before objects were distinguishable,the pigeons began tmove off in a direction quite different from that in which they had arrived the evening before,and at sunrise all that were able tfly had disappeared.
1Perambulate,twalk through.
