The Arrival of 8,500 Pigeons in Time for the Coney Island Tournament - How they were Trapped and Transported to this Market.
There arrived on Saturday night, at a place near Jersey City, a car containing 8,500 wild pigeons that had been shipped from Atoka, Indian Territory. They are the first installment of 20,000 which W.F. Thomas of Phillipsburg, N.J. contracted to supply the New York State Sportsmen's Association. The pigeons were placed in pens, from which they will be taken as wanted. These pens are simply low, clean sheds. An inclined plane of slatted framework in each pen furnishes the pigeons with a roost. They are very shy. A slight noise on the outside of a pen produces a loud whir on the inside. When the trap door of a pen was cautiously opened yesterday to allow the reporter to peer inside, the twitter and rustle made up a strong volume of sound.
"They make a good deal of noise," said Mr. Thomas, "but it is nothing to the din at the pigeon roost where these were trapped. I have heard the cackling of the pigeons, as they were setting on their nests in the evening, fully a mile away."
Mr. Thomas makes a business of trapping pigeons for field sport. He will get four more car loads from the Indian territory, making a total of 20,000 pigeons.
"The business will not be a profitable one this year," he said, "because we have had to go so far to get them. Heretofore the pigeons have roosted in Pennsylvania or Michigan. But this year, owing to the late, cold spring, they did not come as far north as usual, and they made a roost in the Pottawattomie reservation of the Indian Territory, 110 miles away from the nearest railroad station. I had to transport all my lumber and supplied from Atoka, and the pigeons had to be hauled there for shipment. At one time I had fifteen wagons on the road. There are several streams to be crossed, but most of the way the road is pretty level. It took a wagon about three days to make the trip from the roost to Atoka.
"The roost is the largest I have ever seen. The country there is thickly grown over with what they call post oak timber, from the fact, I suppose, that tree trunks are just about post size. The acorns are so abundant that it is a splendid feeding ground for them. I went into the roost for about ten miles without finding any signs of an end. Every tree was thick with pigeons, the branches bending down with their weight. When the birds have been coming home from the feeding grounds in the evening I have seen a stream about a mile broad flow through the air for two hours thick enough to hide the sun, and making a noise like thunder. I should judge the roost to be about twenty miles long and fifteen broad.
"There has been little or no shooting, and that has been a good thing for us, as shooting makes the birds scary and harder to trap. There is plenty of deer and turkeys on the reservation, and the Pottawattomies do not care for pigeons, so they do not hunt in the roost. The Indians were very friendly, and some of them are working for a St. Louis firm that are catching squabs and shipping them to market. Men go about with poles punching the squabs out of their nests. They are packed in barrels with ice, and sent to all the large cities as far north as Boston. My business was altogether with the live pigeons, which we caught in nets."
Mr. Thomas explained the methods of the trappers. The nets used will cover a space of 40 feet by 30. One end of the net is fastened to a rope, which is drawn taut, so that when let go the net is thrown out like an arrow, falling upon the pigeons that have gathered in front of it. The pigeons are generally caught on their feeding grounds of their water beds. When a good feeding ground is located the nets are set, and the trapper puts himself in a hut of boughs at one end of the net line. Pigeons are saved from one season to another for use as decoys. When a flock of pigeons is seen coming, a pigeon is thrown up into the air to attract the attention of the flock, the bird being pulled down again with a string. This bird is called the flyer. Another decoy called the stool pigeon is made use of at the same time. He is tied to a perch on the free end of a strip of iron band about four feet long. As the flock approaches a string is pulled which makes the spring bounce him up and down, and he flaps his wings to keep his balance. He presents the appearance to the approaching flock of a bird hovering over a feeding ground, and they settle down around him.
"How many pigeons have you caught at one time?" the reporter asked.
"I once saw sixty-seven dozen caught at one cast of the net," said Mr. Thomas, "but thirty or forty dozen is an average big catch. Sometimes there will only be a dozen or so. I have seen the net lifted up on the wings of the pigeons until it bellied out like a balloon. A number of pigeons toward the edge are apt to get out, but the men are quick, and work around the edges, stowing the birds in crates as fast as they can get them out, and rolling the net up as they work in, until they have got all the pigeons, when the net is set again for another cast."
The pigeons are caught on water beds as well as on the feeding grounds. A water bed is made by filling an excavation with water. The pigeons on their way home from feeding will stop to drink, and are caught under the nets. Sometimes salt is used. "This season," said Mr. Thomas, "the acorns were so plentiful that the birds did not have to search for feeding grounds and they did not decoy well. The water beds did not draw well, either, as they had the Canada River, the water of which is alkaline, so that salt also had no attraction for them. We caught the most on gravel beds along the river as they would settle down for stones to put in their crops to grind up the acorns."
Pigeons are methodical in their habits in these great roosts. Early in the morning the Tom flight occurs. This is composed of the male birds on their way to the feeding grounds. When they have fed and drunk, they return to the nests, and the female birds go to feed. The hen flight takes place between 8 and 9 o'clock. In the afternoon there is another Tom flight, and toward evening another hen flight. The bird stop for gravel or water on their way home from feeding.
The crates in which the birds are put when caught are simply large flat coops. The netters are spread over an area of twelve or fourteen miles. Every evening teams make a round and collect all the crates. It is now necessary to get the birds "on their feed," or else they will die. They are put in pens and given corn to eat, with plenty of water to drink. For several days after they are captured they will hardly eat at all, and it is only after they have become accustomed to the change that they can be again crated and shipped. Two men travel in the car, and the pigeons are regularly fed and watered. The car load which arrived on Saturday night was shipped on Thursday morning, and the birds were fed and watered four times while en route.
Pigeons nest four times a season, having one egg to a nest. "One result of the inaccessible nature of this year's roost," said Mr. Thomas, "is that the increase is larger than ever known before. The number of squabs killed and pigeons netted is insignificant in comparison with the number hatched out. There are millions of them there."
These wild pigeons are smaller than the domestic pigeon. Their plumage is a mixture of slate and gray. They have long tail feathers, and are birds of far quicker and stronger flight than ordinary pigeons. The pigeons now penned near Jersey City will be used in the pigeon shooting tournament at Coney Island next week.
June 14, 1881. New York Sun 48(287): 3.The following graphics were not included in the newspaper article, but are secondary items that are pertinent.
Map of a portion of the Indian Territory in Oklahoma, 1879.
A General Land Office map showing the setting along the Canadian River, including depictions of the "post-oak" woods. Although this map was prepared in August 1899, it is helpful in depicting the landscape of the era.
Showing both the original version and the reprinted version allows a comparison between the two.
Wild Pigeons - An Immense Roost in the Indian Territory
Pigeons for Coney Island - How They Were Trapped and Transported
One night last week a car arrived at Jersey city from the Indian territory, containing 8,500 wild pigeons, the first installment of 20,000 contracted as supply to the New York sportsmen association. The pigeons were in pens like low, close sheds. An incline plane of slatted framework in each pen furnishes the pigeons with a roost. A slight noise on the outside of the pen produces a loud whir on the inside. Then the trap door of a pen was cautiously opened to allow the reporter to peer inside, the twitter and rustle made up a strong volume of sound. "They make a good deal of noise," said Mr. Thomas, "but it is nothing to the din at the pigeon roost,
Where These were Trapped.
I have heard the cackling of the pigeons, as they were settling on their nests in the evening, fully a mile away. Mr. Thomas makes a business of trapping pigeons for field sport. He will get four more car loads from the Indian territory, making a total of 40,000 pigeons. "The business will not be a profitable one this year," he said, "because we have to go so far to get them. Heretofore the pigeons have nested in Pennsylvania or Michigan. But this year, owing to the late, cold spring, they did not come as far north as usual, and they made a roost in Pottwattomie reservation of the Indian territory, one hundred and ten miles from the nearest railroad station. I had to transport all my lumber and supplies from Atoka, and the pigeons had to be hauled there for shipment. At one time I had fifteen wagons on the road. It took a wagon about three days to make the roost to Atoka. The roost is the largest I have ever seen. The country there is thickly grown over with what they call post oak timber, from the fact, I suppose, that tree trunks are just about post size. The acorns are so abundant that it is a
Splendid Feeding Ground
For them. I went into the roost for about ten miles without finding any signs of an end. Every tree was thick with pigeons, the branches bending down with their weight. When the birds have been coming home from the feeding grounds in the evening I have seen a stream about a mile broad flow through the air for two hours, thick enough to hide the sun, and making a noise like thunder. I should judge the roost to be about twenty miles long and fifteen broad. There has been little or no shooting, and that has been a good thing for us, as shooting makes the birds scary and harder to trap. There is plenty of deer and turkeys on the reservations, and the Pottawattomies do not care for pigeons, so they do not hunt in the roost. The Indians are very friendly. Men go about with poles punching the squabs out of their nests. They are packed in barrels with ice, and sent to all the large cities as far north as Boston. My business was altogether with the live pigeon, which we caught in nets." Mr. Thomas explained the methods of the trappers. The nets used will cover a space of forty feet by thirty. One end of the net is fastened to a rope, which is drawn taut, so that when let go
The Net is Thrown Out Like an Arrow,
Falling upon the pigeons that have gathered in front of it. The pigeons are caught on their feeding grounds or water beds. When a good ground is located the nets are set, and the trapper puts himself on a hut of boughs at one end of the net line. When a flock of pigeons is seen coming, a pigeon is thrown up in the air to attract the attention of the flock, the bird being pulled down again with a string. The bird is called the flyer. Another decoy bird called the stool pigeon is made use of at the same time. He is tied to a perch on the free end of a strip of iron band about four feet long. As the flock approaches a string is pulled, which makes the spring bounce him up and down, and he flaps his wings to keep his balance. He presents the appearance to the approaching flock of a bird hovering over a feeding ground, and they settle down around him. "I once saw sixty-seven dozen caught at one cast of the net," said Mr. Thomas, "but thirty or forty dozen is an average big catch. Sometimes there will be only a dozen or so. I have seen the net lifted up on the wings of the pigeons until it
Settled Out Like a Balloon.
A number of pigeons toward the edge are apt to get out, but the men are quick, and work around the edges, stowing the birds in crates as fast as they get them out, and rolling the net up as they work in, until they have got all the pigeons, when the net is set again for another cast. The pigeons are caught on water beds as well as on feeding grounds. A water bed is made by filling an excavation with water. The pigeons on their way home from feeding will stop to drink, and are caught under the nets. Sometimes salt is used. "This season," said Mr. Thomas, "the acorns were so plentiful that the birds did not have to search for feeding grounds and did not decoy well. The water beds did not draw well, either, as they had the Canada river, the water of which is alkaline, so that salt also had no attraction for them. We caught the most on gravel beds along the river as they would settle down for stones to put in their crops to grind up the acorns." Pigeons are unethical in their habits in these great roosts. Early in the morning the Tom flight occurs. This is composed of the male birds on their way to the feeding grounds. When they have fed and drank, they return to the nests, and the female birds go to feed. The hen flight takes place between 8 and 9 o'clock. In the afternoon there is another Tom flight, and towards the evening another hen flight. The
Birds Stop for Gravel or Water
On their way home from feeding. The crates in which the birds are put when caught are simply large flat coops. The netters are spread over an area of twelve or fourteen miles. Every evening the teams make a round and collect all the crates. It is now necessary to get the birds on their feed, or else they will dye. They are put in pens and given corn to eat, with plenty of water to drink. For several days after they are captured they will hardly eat at all, and it is only after they have become accustomed to the change that they can be again crated and shipped. Two men travel in the car, and the pigeons are regularly fed and watered. The car loads which arrived on Saturday are shipped on Thursday morning, and the birds were fed and watered four times while en route. Pigeons nest four times a season, having one egg to a nest. "One result of the inaccessible nature of the locality of this years roost," said Mr. Thomas, "is that the increase is larger than ever known before. The number of squabs killed and pigeons netted is insignificant in comparison with the number hatched out. There are millions of them there. These wild pigeons are smaller than the domestic pigeon. Their plumage is a mixture of slate and gray. They have long tail feathers, and are birds of far quicker and stronger flight than ordinary pigeons. The pigeons are now penned near Jersey city will be used in the pigeon shooting tournament at Coney island.
June 24, 1881. Ouachita Telegraph 16(42): 1. June 29th in the Clearfield Republican. July 1, 1881, Daily Astorian 15(53): 1; and, August 3, 1881 in the Red Bank Register 4(6): 3.