Pestilence

 is a mission in Red Dead Redemption.

Story
Abigail asks John to stop the crows from eating all the corn from the ranch silo by scaring them away.

Mission Objectives
To complete this mission, the player must:
 * Shoot crows until they stop eating the corn from the silo. The best way to do this is with Dead eye and preferably using an Evans Repeater.

Mission Details
This mission requires the killing of many crows where the majority sit on the silo. To complete this mission, John Marston must scare the crows before most of the corn is eaten. The most useful weapon to complete this mission is the Evans Repeater because of its large capacity of 22 shots or the Explosive Rifle as one shot can take out a lot of crows. Using Dead-Eye Targeting to shoot them, you must carefully pick the birds sitting on the silo before advancing to the already flying birds and the lucky few who escaped. It is advised that you bring items that restore your Dead Eye as you can easily lose it unless you have the max sharpshooting and hunting skill.

Mission Failure
The mission will fail if the player:
 * Assaults or kills Abigail, Jack or Uncle.
 * Allows the crows to take all of the corn.
 * Destroys the corn (by breaking a lantern, shooting the silo with an Explosive Rifle, or with a stick of dynamite).
 * Abandons the area.
 * Assaults the livestock.
 * Breaks the law.
 * Kills Rufus.
 * Commits vandalism.
 * Assaults or kills townsfolk.
 * Dies.

Tips & Tricks

 * This is an easy mission to earn the Sharpshooter Challenges Rank 9 achievement which requires the player to kill six wild animals without reloading their gun. While in Dead Eye Targeting Mode, target at least 6 crows before shooting.
 * The player can drink Moonshine right before aiming at all the birds, as this will increase the amount of time in which Dead Eye Targeting mode can be used.
 * Watch for the birds trying to fly straight into the silo opening, because this is when the meter will fall the fastest.
 * A trick to completing this mission quickly is to use a Mauser Pistol and hold the trigger to release quick bursts of fire that can eliminate the birds when they gather in a group.
 * A well aimed and cooked dynamite stick will complete the mission quickly, though it is very difficult to pull off without failing the mission.
 * Shoot some of the crows to make the ones that are sitting on the silo take off. There should be hundreds of crows flying around the silo. Then equip the dynamite and go into Dead Eye and mark one of the crows. This would make the dynamite follow the crow and explode on impact and should kill most of them. NOTE: be sure to go into Dead Eye or the dynamite could break a lantern, destroying the silo.
 * Using a Henry Repeater or Evans Repeater and Normal Targeting mode, continue pulling the Left Trigger (LT) or L2 and firing; then letting go to allow the auto-target to work for you, the mission can be completed in less than 50 seconds if done correctly.