62 Wright, Early Records of the Wild Turkey. [j a ^ 



notes along the north coast of Lake Erie, 1 "the great numbers of 

 Turkeys, that we were obliged to eat upon the Spot, for fear that 

 the heat of the Season would spoil 'em." " Upon the brink of this 

 Lake we frequently saw flocks of fifty or sixty Turkey's, which 

 run incredibly fast upon the Sands ; And the Savages of our Com- 

 pany kill'd great numbers of 'em, which they gave to us in exchange 

 for the Fish that we catch'd" Finally, in his list of the birds for 

 the South Countries of Canada, he includes the Turkey. In 1760, 

 T. JefTerys writes that 2 "turkies .... are found (in Canada), — 

 except in the neighbourhood of plantations, where they never 

 come." "The History of North America, London, 1776" credits 

 (p. 235) Canada with " a great number of ... . turkeys . . . . " In 

 1807, Heriot finds "The birds of the southern parts of Canada are 

 .... turkeys, . . . . " 3 In 1820, Sansom gives among 4 " the feathered 

 game, with which these woods and waters abound in their season, 

 .... wild geese,. . . . wild turkies." Fifteen years later, Shireff 

 states that 5 " The turkey is found only in the western district (of 

 Canada) in limited numbers." "The turkey is said to inhabit this 

 district (near the Detroit River) in considerable numbers, and the 

 boy who conducted us out of Chatham plains told me he had come 

 on a hen and her brood a short time before, but this bird was not 

 seen by me." In Canada, Godley says 6 "The only birds which 

 remain all the winter — in the west (are) a few wild turkeys." 

 At Amherstburgh, Canada, " you have .... wild turkeys." Finally, 

 in 1851, Smith (1. c, Vol. II, p. 405) writes of this form as follows: 

 " In addition to these, we have the Wild Turkey, which, however, 

 is confined to the southwest of the Province; .... The Wild 

 Turkey, although the stock from whence our English domestic 

 Turkey sprang, is rather difficult to tame, even when taken young 

 from the nest, or reared from the eggs, under the fostering care of 

 the domestic hen; and unless closely watched, they are apt to 



1 LaHontan, Baron. New Voyages to North America. London 1703. Vol. I, 

 pp. 99, 82, 83; Vol. II, p. 237. 



2 Jefferys, T. The Natural and Civil History of the French "Dominions in North 

 and South America. London, 1760. Part I, p. 39. 



3 Heriot, George. Travels through the Canadas, etc. London, 1807, p. 516. 



4 Sansom, Joseph. Travel in Lower Canada, .... London, 1820, p. 49. 



6 Shireff, P. A Tour of North America; .... Edinburgh. 1835, pp. 390, 214. 

 6 Godley, J. R. Letters from America, .... 2 vols., London, 1844. Vol. I,, 

 pp. 247, 248. 



