62 WILD TURKEY. 



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was industriously making his subtle approaches towards them, 

 behind the fallen trunk of a tree, about twenty yards from me. 

 This cunning fellow-hunter was a large, fat, wild cat, or lynx ; 

 he saw me, and, at times, seemed to watch my motions, as if 

 determined to seize the delicious prey before me, upon which I 

 changed my object and levelled my piece at him ; at that instant, 

 my companion, at a distance, also discharged his piece, the report 

 of which alarmed the flock of turkeys, and my fellow-hunter, the 

 cat, sprang over the log, and trotted off." 



On hearing the slightest noise, wild turkeys conceal themselves 

 in the grass, or among shrubs, and thus frequently escape the 

 hunter, or the sharp- sighted birds of prey. The sportsman is 

 unable to find them during the day, unless he has a dog trained 

 for the purpose. It is necessary to shoot them at a very short 

 distance, since, when only wounded, they quickly disappear, and, 

 accelerating their motion by a sort of half-flight, run with so much 

 speed, that the swiftest hunter cannot overtake them. The tra- 

 veller, driving rapidly down the declivity of one of the Alleghanies, 

 may sometimes see several of them before him, that evince no 

 urgent desire to get out of the road, but on alighting, in hopes 

 of shooting them, he soon finds that all pursuit is vain. 



The more common mode of taking turkeys is by means of pens, 

 constructed with logs, covered in at top, and with a passage in the 

 earth, under one side of it, just large enough to admit an indivi- 

 dual when stooping. The ground chosen for this purpose is 

 generally sloping, and the passage is cut on the lower side, widen- 

 ing outwards. These preparations being completed, Indian corn 

 is strewed for some distance around the pen, to entice the flock, 

 which, picking up the grain, is gradually led towards the passage, 

 and thence into the enclosure, where a sufficient quantity of corn 

 is spread to occupy the leader until the greater part of the turkeys 

 have entered. When they raise their heads and discover that 

 they are prisoners, all their exertions to escape are directed up- 

 wards, and against the sides of the pen, not having sagacity enough 

 to stoop sufficiently low to pass out by the way they entered, and 

 thus they become an easy prey, not only to the experienced hun- 

 ter, but even to the boys on the frontier settlements. 



In proportion to the abundance or scarcity of food, and its good 

 or bad quality, they are small or large, meagre or fat, and of an 

 excellent or indifferent flarour ; in general, however, their flesh 

 is more delicate, more succulent, and better tasted than that of 

 the tame turkey. They are in the best order, late in autumn, or 

 in the beginning of winter. The Indians value this food so highly, 



