220 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



together ; restraint now makes the prisoner reckless, 

 headlong he dashes against the bars, till exhausted, 

 frightened, and with disordered plumage, he resigns 

 himself to his fate, never for an instant thinking of 

 lowering his head to seek for the spot that afforded 

 him admission. As many as a dozen wild turkeys 

 have been caught by this means at one time. Curiosity 

 is another of their besetting failings, and a knowledge 

 of this weakness in their character is often employed 

 to bring the noble bird within gunshot. While re- 

 siding in Southern Illinois, I had a favourite kitten, 

 which, unless I shut it up, would invariably follow me 

 into the woods when shooting. On one occasion, with 

 this strange shooting companion at my heels, I came 

 across deer tracks so fresh and regular that I felt con- 

 vinced their producers were not far off ; what to do 

 with pussy first occurred to me, and, as I neither 

 wished to lose my pet or have her company, a thought 

 struck me, why not tie her up with a long piece of 

 string I had in my game-bag ? Very few of us have 

 not tied up a dog, and found he had slipped his collar 

 on their return ; a little experience and care will obviate 

 this as far as the canine race go, but to tie up a cat is 

 quite another kettle of fish. At length, however, I 

 succeeded by not only placing a collar round her neck, 

 but also around her shoulders at the back of the fore 

 legs, which, connected by an inch of cord, retained 

 each in its place without puss having the power to 

 slip them. To this connecting link I attached six 

 feet of string, which I made fast to a long horizontal 

 branch, about five feet from the ground. Thus the 

 cat could lie down or stand up, but not go sufficiently 

 far to lay hold of anything with her claws to assist her 



