360 Wright, Early Records of the Wild Turkey. LJuly 



and Mr. McKenzie, accordingly took a great supply with him." 

 Of this trade with the Black feet Indians, he says, " The Company 

 now sends to its trading posts, the tail of the wild turkeys, which 

 are much in request" for fans. At Mandan, N. D., he asserts that 

 "For an arrow wound he (Indian) fastened in his hair the wing 

 feather of a wild turkey." At old Fort Clarke, he discovers dogs 

 gaily clothed with feathers. " In the middle of this mass of feath- 

 ers, the outspread tail of a wild turkey .... was fixed." Near 

 Weeping Water, Kansas, he frequently espies turkies. He states 

 that "We set out early and passed Weeping-water River, landing 

 several times to pursue the wild turkeys, whose note attracted us to 

 their retreats. We often saw these proud birds in the lofty trees, 

 perched up beyond the reach of small shot." Finally, he gives the 

 following Indian names for the wild turkey: 



Dacota (Sioux) sisitscha-kanka (s soft; kail in the throat). 



Mandans mahnu (a rather full, almost as if with superior 



o). 



Minnitanis or sihs-kichtia (run together; *Wi with the point of 

 Grosventres the tongue; ti and d separated). 



Omahas sihsikah. 



Oto wpe-ink-chontjeh (first e barely audible; ch 



guttural; j French). 



SaukiSj Sakis, panah (first a umlaut). 

 Sacs 



Wasaji or Osage suhka. 



In 1833, September 25, Nathaniel Wyeth in his trip to Oregon, 

 reports killing a turkey just west of Black Snake Hills and Rubi- 

 deau Fort. In another place, he says he saw several turkeys. 1 

 A short time later, C. A. Murray (1. c, Vol. II, 45) records that at 

 the mouth of the Kansas River "A lad (of the company) took a 

 ramble with his fowling-piece, and saw some turkeys,. . . but he 

 could not get near enough for a shot." In 1837, Washington 

 Irving writes that 2 " An Indian trader, well experienced in the 



1 Young, F. G. The Correspondence and Journals of Captain Nathaniel J. 

 Wyeth, 1831-36. In Sources of the History of Oregon, Vol. I, Parts 3-6, pp. 217, 

 218. 



2 Irving, Washington. The Rocky Mountains; etc. 2 vols., Phila., 1837, 

 Vol. I, p. 38. 



