CHAPTER X11I. 



WILD TURKEY AND DEER SHOOTING. 



OF all the feathered game that runs and flies, 

 the wild turkey of America is the noblest and 

 most beautiful of which I ever heard. In one 

 sense the ostrich of the Arabian desert or the 

 emu of the Australian plains might be deemed 

 an exception. They, however, do not fly; and 

 though their size, plumage, and fleetness invest 

 them with a sort of grandeur, and their feathers 

 are valuable as ornaments for the head-dresses of 

 ladies, they are neither so beautiful nor so useful 

 and excellent as food as the wild turkey. In- 

 deed, the flesh of the latter is hardly surpassed by 

 anything in succulence, richness of flavor, and nutri- 

 ment, and it is vastly superior to that of any tame 

 turkey that ever was fed and roasted or boiled. 

 It is well known that the tame turkey is de- 

 scended from the wild tijrkey of America. Before 

 the discovery of this continent the bird was un- 

 known in Europe, and had never been seen in 

 Turkey in Asia. It may be easily domesticated, 



