WILD TURKEY SHOOTING. 369 



spent in the creek bottom, I have made the discovery 

 that the turkeys are not feeding there, and so I go to 

 the hills, where, by numerous fresh scratchings, as well 

 as tracks in the soft earth, it becomes evident that they 

 are ranging. The fact is plain to me that, while they 

 range in the hills during the day, they go to the bottom 

 to roost at night, as the tracks next to the bottom are all 

 seen to have been made going and coming, and it is their 

 custom to roost in the bottoms at this season. After 

 looking around among the hills for an hour, a descent is 

 made into the bottom, where, from observations carefully 

 made, it seems most likely turkeys may roost. This 

 is a place where the creek comes squarely against the 

 hills, forming a horseshoe bend, in which there is a 

 shallow pond, of perhaps five acres, full of tall trees, 

 many of them being pecans. Turkeys are fond of roost- 

 ing over water, when they can find good trees. 



Finding a large tree-top, broken off _ during the sum- 

 mer, and now retaining its dead leaves, I slip into it, and 

 happily find it to be a splendid blind, well located, as it 

 is, between the pond and the creek, at a point where the 

 distance between them is about sixty yards. Across the 

 creek, the hills rise abruptly, furnishing a good place for 

 the turkeys to take wing when they go to roost. Having 

 found some smart-weed leaves growing in a protected, 

 sunny spot on the edge of the pond though spring has 

 not yet begun to show any indications of being near 

 a few are gathered for callers. The sun is about half 

 an hour high, when I hide in my blind, and make my- 

 self comfortable. As a general thing, turkeys are very 

 easily drawn to a good roosting-place by yelping, espe- 

 cially if the hunter begin before they have decided to go 

 to any particular place. A few long, whining yelps are 

 given, as nearly like the notes of an old hen as possible. 

 No response; it was hardly expected, my purpose being 



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