78 BIRDS OF SOUTH DAKOTA 
FAMILY MELEAGRIDA, TURKEYS 
310a. Witp Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris.) 
There are no Wild Turkeys in South Dakota today, but 
until about 1875 they were frequently hunted for food by the 
early settlers in Union and Clay counties. In the diary of Cap- 
tain Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, of date Septem- 
ber 5, 1804, it is stated that, at a point up the Missouri River 
145 miles from the mouth of the Sioux, their hunters brought in 
among other game “some wild turkeys.” The diary also states 
that “3 wild turkeys were secured” at a point just above the 
present site of old Fort Randall. 
The Wild Turkey is about the size of the common Turkey 
but of a uniform color, the plumage being a rusty black with 
the rump and tail feathers a reddish brown, while the larger 
wing feathers are grayish. 
Today the Wild Turkey is nearly extinct in the United 
States and it is doubtful if many of the present generation will 
ever see a specimen of the ancestor of our domestic Turkey, 
which is so much appreciated at our Thanksgiving dinners. 
FAMILY COLUMBIDZ. PIGEONS 
315. PAssENGER Piczon, WiLp PIGEON (Ectopistes migratorius.) 
While the range of the Passenger Pigeon was usually 
farther east, old South Dakota settlers reported its occurrence 
quite frequently in our southeastern tier of counties. 
It can perhaps be said that for one hundred years the 
Passenger Pigeon was one of the most abundant birds in the 
eastern half of North America. Their numbers in migration 
could be compared to those of migrating buffaloes on the western 
plains. It would take hours for either a flock of Pigeons or a 
herd of buffaloes to pass a given point. A flock of Pigeons 
would, for a time, shut off the sun’s rays, while a massive herd 
of buffaloes would often prevent the movement of trains on 
the frontier until the great mass had passed over the track. 
But the fate of the buffalo is the counterpart of that of the Pi- 
geon. 
One of the writers saw Passenger Pigeons in abundance 
in Illinois in the early seventies, but in describing them at this 
