VOl 'l?f5 XI1 ] Wright, Early Records of the Wild Turkey. 353 



wild turkey; their voice is exactly similar to that of the European 

 turkey. We could hear them scratching among the dry leaves on 

 the ground, in search of food. If we surprised them, they were 

 generally too far off for our fowling-pieces, loaded with small shot, 

 for they ran away with extraordinary rapidity. Turkey Island 

 seemed to be a favourite place of resort. At the upper end of the 

 island drifted wood was frequently piled up to such a height, that 

 it was difficult to clamber over it, and among this wood there were 

 generally many otters. Here we often found wild turkeys, . . . . ; 

 and it is really a fine sight to see a flock of these wild turkeys fly 

 across the river,...." At Black River, Wabash country, "we 

 were unsuccessful in our chase of the wild turkeys, of which we 

 sometimes saw whole flocks fly across the Wabash." 



In 1S34, H. R. Schoolcraft in the " Natural History of Michigan," 

 writes that, 1 "The gaUipavo mclcagris, or wild turkey, pursues its 

 food in the vast ranges of the new counties of the peninsula, and is 

 still found in the vicinity of this city. It does not extend its 

 summer migrations to the extremity of the peninsula, and has never 

 been seen north of it." The following year, 1S35, Chas. Fenno 

 Hoffman writes, 2 " Here the numerous deer-runways, with the 

 flocks of wild turkeys .... showed us that we were upon the favorite 

 hunting-ground of the Pottawattamies." The same year Patrick 

 Shirreff (1. c, p. 434) finds turkeys in endless numbers in Illinois. 

 Four years later, 1S38, Jas. Hall records that 3 "Wild turkeys are 

 still abundant. They are shy and difficult to shoot, but our 

 hunters kill great numbers of them. In the spring they are found 

 in pairs, but during the rest of the year in flocks consisting of the 

 old pair and the last brood. Fine turkeys may be bought of the 

 hunters for twelve and a half cents apiece." In 1S30-1840 turkeys 

 were plentiful 4 in Michigan. In this region, 5 " A turkey was 

 generally roasted by hanging it up before the fire by a string at- 

 tached to a beam above. A dripping pan was placed under it and 



1 Schoolcraft, H. R. Historical and Scientific Sketches of Michigan. Detroit, 



1834, p. 189. f 



2 Hoffman, Chas. Fenno. A Winter in the West by a New Yorker. N. Y., 



1835, 2 vols., Vol. I, p. 202. 



3 Hall, Jas. Notes on the Western States. Phila., 1838, p. 124. 



4 Mich. Pioneer and Historical Colls., Vol. 6, p. 475. 

 s ibid.. Vol. XIV, p. 436, XIII, p. 548. 



