THE WILD TURKEY. 51 



A good turkey-dog is almost a necessity where birds 

 are scarce, and he, like the successful caller and the poet, 

 must be born so, though training will do much for him; 

 in fact, he must be trained specially for his work. No 

 matter how good he may be, however, unless his master 

 is acquainted with the habits of the birds the number 

 brought to bag will be exceedingly small, for the best of 

 marksmen is not always sure of his turkey at a distance 

 of twenty paces, even though it be standing still, and 

 broadside on. Men may wait for hours in a blind, and 

 not get a shot, although the birds may be numerous in 

 the vicinity, and as for stalking them with any positive 

 assurance of' success — well, let any person try it. He 

 may ambush them or kill them on their roosts, but 

 these methods do not equal the pleasure of shooting 

 them over dogs, or even of chasing them on horseback. 



I have heard adepts with the gun say that they missed 

 turkeys more frequently than any other members of the 

 feathered tribe, and that they were by far the most diffi- 

 cult birds they knew to be caught off their guard. In 

 portions of Florida, Texas, Arizona, the Indian Terri- 

 tory, and contiguous regions, where the birds know little 

 or nothing of man, flocks of them may be met with sud- 

 denly, and if they flush they will either sail over the 

 sportsman's head or fly into the first convenient trees. 

 I have even known them, when shot at from blinds, to 

 fly forward at such a low altitude as to afford good wing- 

 shooting. It would be better in such cases to allow them 

 to pass by a few yards before firing than to shoot 

 when they are coming, as the mass of feathers on the 

 breast may turn the shot; whereas it is sure to take ef- 

 fect from the rear. The instances in which turkeys fly 

 towards one are exceptional, for, as a rule, they only come 

 close enough to set persons to speculating about their age 

 and weight, and how nice they would look when roasted and 

 stuffed with fois gras, oysters, walnuts, or bread and sage. 



