RLORIDA (wILD TURKEY. 
HEN I first visited Florida, Wild Turkeys were 
quite abundant even in the near vicinity of St. 
Augustine, and ascending the St. John’s it was not an 
unusual thing to see a flock walking sedately along the 
bank of the river, or on the edge of the woods when 
these did not come to the water; and not infrequently 
one would be killed by a bullet from some passenger’s 
rifle, and the boat’s nose run against the bank to allow 
one of the crew to jump ashore and retrieve the game. 
But in these days, except in the wilder portions of the 
State, where they are still abundant, they have greatly 
decreased in numbers, and like their Northern relative, 
are rapidly disappearing. They were not so excessively 
shy and wary before they were so persecuted and per- 
sistently hunted, and | remember well the first time I 
ever saw a Florida Turkey. I had been hunting deer 
on horseback south of St. Augustine, and night com- 
ing on we decided to camp for the night, and rode 
into a clump of trees and palmettoes near which, on the 
other side, stretched a swamp of considerable extent. As 
I dismounted from my horse there was a sudden rush 
and commotion in front, and a flock of Turkeys started 
away, some to run and a few to take wing. The run- 
ners soon disappeared, but the flying birds took refuge 
in the trees near at hand, and standing motionless, or 
else slowly walking on the large limbs, looked down 
upon us as if wondering what kind of intruders we were. 
They evinced no particular alarm, certainly nothing like 
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