29 



silence, and set us tlie example himself; for lie 

 walked so lightly over the soil which was covered 

 with leaves and twigs, that you might have sui^posed 

 he had wings on his feet. After circling round and 

 round in the natural paths formed by the cotton 

 l^lants, we came upon some tufts of what is called 

 buffalo grass, which grows about a foot high, and 

 in the midst were strutting about in thorough 

 enjoyment of themselves, about twenty magnificent 

 turkeys* The delight with which, from under 

 cover, I examined this novel kind of game, can 

 only be iniderstood by a true sportsman. My two 

 pointers were full of impatience ; their eyes seemed 

 to start from their heads, and their noses dilated 

 at the scent of the game which they had smelt. We 

 looked at each other, to determine what we ought to 

 do. Should we fire our four barrels on the flock, or 

 walk straight on to meet the turkeys, scatter them 

 among the underwood, and then take them singly-, 

 after the European fashion. We made up our 

 minds for the latter course, and started our dogs 



* This is one of tlie most splendid of the Nortln American birds, and 

 is also the fattest and the best eating. The Jesuit missionaries, 

 whose ■work was to spread the light of the Catholic faith among the 

 Indian tribes, imported this fowl into France. A vulgar error attii- 

 butes the origin of the bird to India, and thence the name d'lnde. 

 At that time, America was called by Columbus and other navigators, 

 Western India, and it is from this India, and not from that which is 

 watered by the Ganges, that this monarch of our poultry yards comes 

 to us. 



