Flight of the Passenger-Pigeon in an American Wood.
Image 4 of 29
Woodcut. In: “Passenger or Wild Pigeons of America,” Parley’s Magazine (January 1, 1844), pp. 52-54.
This rough woodcut with its darkened background appears to show the depredations made by hunters among roosts and nestings of the wild pigeons. Three hunters wield long staffs to knock the birds out of the massive ancient trees. Five hunters with guns flank them, taking aim at the frightened flocks trying to escape. The dead and dying flutter to the ground, where two assistants gather the slain birds. The billowing smoke that illuminates the middle ground recalls the pots of burning sulphur used to suffocate nesting birds that were out of reach of sticks or too shielded by branches to make clear targets for gunners.