e trees upwards of a hundred nests were
found, each containing one squab only; a circumstance in the history of
the bird not generally known to naturalists.[11] It was dangerous to
walk under these flying and fluttering millions, from the frequent fall
of large branches, broken down by the weight of the multitudes above,
and which in their descent often destroyed numbers of the birds
themselves; while the clothes of those engaged in traversing the woods
were completely covered with the excrements of the pigeons.

"These circumstances were related to me by many of the most respectable
part of the community in that quarter, and were confirmed in part by
what I myself witnessed. I passed for several miles through this same
breeding-place, where every tree was spotted with nests, the remains of
those above described. In many instances I counted upwards of ninety
nests on a single tree; but the pigeons had abandoned this place for
another, 60 or 80 miles off, towards Green River, where they were said
at that time to be equally numerous. From the great numbers that were
constantly passing over our heads to or from that quarter, I had no
doubt of the truth of this statement. The mast had been chiefly consumed
in Kentucky; and the pigeons, every morning a little before sunrise, set
out for the Indiana territory, the nearest part of which was about sixty
miles distant. Many of these returned before ten o'clock, and the great
body generally appeared on their return a little after noon. I had left
the public road to visit the remains of the breeding-place near
Shelbyville, and was traversing the woods with my gun, on my way to
Frankfort, when about ten o'clock the pigeons which I had observed
flying the greater part of the morning northerly, began to return in
such immense numbers as I never before had witnessed. Coming to an
opening by the side of a creek, where I had a more uninterrupted view, I
was astonished at their appearance: they were flying with great
steadiness and rapidity, at a height beyond gunshot, in several strata
deep, and so close together that, could shot have reached them, one
discharge could not have failed to bring down several individuals. From
right to left, as far as the eye could reach, the breadth of this vast
procession extended, seeming everywhere equally crowded. Curious to
determine how long this appearance would continue, I took out my watch
to note the time, and sat down to observe them. It was then