354 Wright, Early Records of the Wild Turkey. [f^^ 



remarkably large turkey of the native wild breed: his head was 

 above three feet from the ground when he stood erect; he was a 

 stately beautiful bird, of a very dark dusky brown colour, the tips 

 of the feathers of his neck, breast, back and shoulders, edged with a 

 copper colour, which in a certain exposure looked like burnished 

 gold, and he seemed not insensible of the splendid appearance he 

 made. He was reared from an egg, found in the forest, and hatched 

 by a hen of the common domestic fowl. 



"Our turkey of America is a very different species from the 

 mileagris of Asia and Europe ; they are nearly thrice their size and 

 weight. I have seen several that have weighed between twenty 

 and thirty pounds, and some have been killed that weighed near 

 forty. They are taller, and have a much longer neck proportionally 

 and likewise longer legs, and stand more erect; they are also very 

 different in colour. Our's are all, male and female, of a dark 

 brown colour, not having a black feather on them; but the male 

 exceedingly splendid, with changeable colours. In other particu- 

 lars they differ not." 



The following year, 1792, Belknap in speaking of " Meleqgris 

 gallopavo" gives us the following: ^ " Dr. Goldsmith doubts whether 

 any of this breed have been tamed in America. They certainly 

 have been tamed ; but they are degenerated in size by their domesti- 

 cation, scarcely any being more than half so heavy as those above 

 mentioned. The turkey is a rambling bird, and runs with great 

 speed on the ground. The tame flocks frequently wander, and 

 cannot be fatted till the snow prevents their excursions." Priest 

 three years later, 1795, holds the backwoodsmen and western 



settlers think - " The only bird worthy of their attention is 



the wild turkey. An American naturalist (Bartram) says, 'Why 

 do not the Americans domesticate this noble bird? They are 

 much better adapted to bear this climate than the puny breed 

 their ancestors imported from England. The few that are shot 

 so far to the eastward as to be brought to our markets bear a great 

 price.' " 



1 Belknap, Jeremy. The History of New Hampshire. Boston, 1792, Vol. Ill, 

 p. 170. 



2 Priest, Wm. Travels in the United States of America; commencing in the 

 year 1793, and ending in 1797, etc. London, 1802, p. 90. 



