VOl 'l?L5 XI1 ] Wright, Early Records of the Wild Turkey. 63 



make their escape, and take to the woods in the following 

 spring. The Turkey is naturally a very stupid bird." 



New England. 



In New England, most of the records precede 1800. The first 

 note of this region is incidental in its allusion to the turkey. In 

 " The Relation of Captain Gosnold's Voyage to the North part of 

 Virginia" Gabriel Archer writes that on May 18, 1602, l "one of 

 them (Indians) had his face painted over and head stuck with 

 feathers in the manner of a turkey cock's train." The first note of 

 real interest is Champlain's surmise of its occurrence in New Eng- 

 land. In the voyage of 1604 we have the following: 2 " The savages, 

 along all these coasts where we have been, say that other birds, 

 which are very large, come along when their corn is ripe. They 

 imitated for us their cry, which resembles that of the turkey. 

 They showed us their feathers in several places, with which they 

 feather their arrows, and which they put on their heads for decora- 

 tion ; and also a kind of hair which they have under the throat like 

 those we have in France, and they say that a red crest falls over 

 upon the beak. According to their description, they are as large 

 as a bustard, which is a kind of goose, having the neck longer and 

 twice as large as with us. All these indications led us to conclude 

 that they were turkeys. We should have been very glad to see 

 some of these birds, as well as their feathers, for the sake of greater 

 certainty. Before seeing their feathers, and the little bunch of 

 hair which they have under the throat, and hearing their cry 

 imitated, I should have thought that they were certain birds like 

 turkeys, which are found in some places in Peru, along the sea- 

 shore, eating carrion and other dead things like crows. But these 

 are not so large ; nor do they have so long a bill, or a cry like that 

 of real turkeys; nor are they good to eat like those which the 

 Indians say come in flocks in summer, and at the beginning of 

 winter go away to warmer countries, their natural dwelling-plade." 



In "A Description of New England (1616)" John Smith notes 



i Mass. Hist. Soc. CoUs. Third Series. Vol. VIII, 1843, p. 75. 



2 The Prince Society, The Publications of. Vol. 12, 1878, Boston, pp. 88, 89. 



