226 FIELD SHOOTING. 



until they come near enough to be shot \vith a 

 rifle. 



There used to be many turkeys in the tim- 

 ber at Lake Fort, some seven or eight miles 

 from Elkhart, and a few may be found there yet. 

 In the woodlands of North Missouri the wild 

 turkey is still rather abundant, and it will be 

 found wherever there is timber and brush all 

 through Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, the Indian 

 Territory, and down through Texas. Wild turkeys 

 are also found in .Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, 

 and Florida. They do best in warm weather, 

 though they are furnished with a full coat of 

 feathers, and can stand the cold of our northwest- 

 ern States and Canada. 



I have often found the wild turkey's nest. It 

 is made in the timber, among thick brush, and 

 very often by the side of an old log. When 

 the hen wild turkey leaves her nest, she covers 

 it up with leaves, just as the tame hen- turkey 

 will do when she has made a nest under a 

 hedge or in the brambles near a fence. Some 

 years ago, when wild turkeys abounded more 

 than they do now, great numbers of their eggs 

 were taken from their nests and hatched under 

 hens. The young ones thus obtained were very 



