278 The Turkey Family 



gloriously bright, crisp, windless days which 

 enable one to see distinctly even in timber and 

 to keep comfortably warm without danger of over- 

 heating under pressure. These conditions are by 

 no means the easiest, for, while the bird's feet will 

 sink deeply in new and consequently light snow, 

 a strong turkey can stand miles of such going. 

 The hardest task for the birds is deep wet snow, 

 but this usually means an overcast sky and a 

 consequent very poor light in any sort of cover. 

 Most veteran turkey hunters prefer these rather 

 sombre conditions simply because they are apt to 

 mean easier meat, but a fig for easy meat ! 



What the enthusiast wants is the beauty, the 

 unsullied freshness, of a spotless world illumed by 

 that teacher-light from which we learned about 

 the sparks that kindle under the touch of the 

 daintiest hand. A sunny day in the woods when 

 the shadows lie like velvet upon marble ; when 

 the eye can pierce every snarl of vine or far corri- 

 dor; when the feet are muffled in soft, silent 

 white, when the crack of elfin pistols tells where 

 the frost is working at the sap, surely that is a 

 day to be out, turkey or no turkey ! Brightness 

 is the thing within doors and without. 



Let the sage of the trail smile, an it so please 

 him. He might prefer an easier day ; if so, he's 

 welcome to it. When I go into the woods it is 

 mainly on the trail of pure pleasure and whole- 



