to stultify the
pigeons. They will flutter off before the hunter can get his long pole
within reach, whereas with a very brilliant light, he may approach
almost near enough to lay his hands upon them. As there were no
pitch-pine-trees in the neighbourhood, nor any good torch-wood, we were
forced to give up the idea of a night-hunt.

During the night strange noises were heard by several who chanced to be
awake. Some said they resembled the howling of dogs, while others
compared them to the screaming of angry cats. One party said they were
produced by wolves; another, that the wild cats (lynxes) made them. But
there was one that differed from all the rest. It was a sort of
prolonged hiss, that all except Ike believed to be the snort of the
black bear, lice, however, declared that it was not the bear, but the
"sniff," as he termed it, of the "painter" (cougar). This was probable
enough, considering the nature of the place. The cougar is well-known
to frequent the great roosts of the passenger-pigeon, and is fond of the
flesh of these birds.

In the morning our camp was still surrounded by the pigeons, sweeping
about among the tree-trunks, and gathering the mast as they went. A few
shots were fired, not from any inclination to continue the sport of
killing them, but to lay in a fresh stock for the day's dinner. The
surplus from yesterday's feast was thrown away, and left by the deserted
camp--a banquet for the preying creatures that would soon visit the
spot.

We moved on, still surrounded by masses upon the wing. A singular
incident occurred as we were passing through a sort of avenue in the
forest. It was a narrow aisle, on both sides walled in by the thick
foliage of the beeches. We were fairly within this hall-like passage,
when it suddenly darkened at the opposite end. We saw that a cloud of
pigeons had entered it, flying towards us. They were around our heads
before they had noticed us. Seeing our party, they suddenly attempted
to diverge from their course, but there was no other open to them,
except to rise upward in a vertical direction. This they did on the
instant--the clatter of their wings producing a noise like the continued
roar of thunder. Some had approached so near, that the men on
horseback, striking with their guns, knocked several to the ground; and
the Kentuckian, stretching upward his long arm, actually caught one of
them on the wing. In an instant they were out of sight; but at t