V0l 'l9l5 XI1 ] Wright, Early Records of the Wild Turkexj. 351 



twenty-five pounds — I have heard of thirty. They are fat and 

 tender: better I fancy, than Norfolk turkeys; but I must not be 

 too positive on this nice point." In 1S17, Fordhani when in 

 Illinois and Indiana, narrates how "game is as plentiful as in other 

 parts of the U. S. east of the Mississippi," l turkeys being among 

 the forms he mentions. Two years later, 1819, Faeron finds 2 

 turkeys in tolerable quantities in Illinois, and in Michigan Dana 

 reports 3 them in plenty. Hulme in a "Journal of a Tour in the 

 Western Countries September •">(), 1818-August 8, 1819" remarks 

 that 4 "On our way to Princeton (Ind.), we see large flocks of fine 

 wild turkeys,. . . . Some of the inhabitants who prefer sport to 

 work, live by shooting these turkeys. ..." In the same year, 

 Richard Flower says that at Albion, Illinois, one can secure, 5 "a 

 fine turkey (for) a quarter of a dollar," and, in another series, he 

 notes " turkeys in plenty, having purchased four for a dollar the 

 preceding week." Along the Wabash River in 1819, John Woods 

 tells how ,; "they killed. . . .some turkeys: these they were obliged 

 to eat without bread, but once they procured a few potatoes at a 

 cabin." In Illinois, he says, "The birds are turkeys,. ..." "Tur- 

 keys are of a large size; we bought many during the winter for 

 25 cents each. At that time they were in general, thin, but in 

 the spring, they get very fat; we bought one in April that weighed 

 more than 201b. for Is 85 d." In 1819, W. Faux reports turkeys 

 from Vincennes and Princeton, Ind. At the latter place, he 

 records 7 " turkeys in sickening abundance." Later, in his account, 

 he says, "Colonel Boon and his party, being without bread for six 

 months, used wild turkey to their meat as a substitute." In one 

 instance, he gives the prejudiced view of an Fnglishman who 

 retorts " You talk about your wild turkies and your game, but they 

 are not there; game is more scarce than in England." At Bain- 



1 Fordham, E. P. Personal Narrative Edited by P. A. Ogg. Cleveland, 



O., 1906, pp. 119, 143. 



2 Fearon, H. B. Sketches of America. . . . 3rd edit., London, 1819, p. 257. 



3 Dana, E. Geographical /Sketches on the Western Country:.... Cincin- 

 nati, 1819, p. 262. 



4 Early Western Travels, X, p. 49 (orig. p. 279). 

 s Ibid., X, p. 108 (orig. p. 30), 124 (orig. p. 13). 



> ibid., X, pp. 263 (orig. p. 147), 291 (orig. p. 196). 



' ibid., XI, pp. 143 (orig. p. 136), 210 (217), 228 (238), 256 (272), 263 (282). 



