: 



THE WILD TURKEY 



291 



;vith the wild turkey happened some time between 1808 

 md 1815." 



The turkey was abundant in the southwestern por- 

 tions of the province of Ontario and occurred through 

 much of New York, in Pennsylvania and Ohio, from 

 which last State it has been exterminated in compara- 

 tively recent years. It is said that a few turkeys still 

 linger in Pennsylvania. Michigan, Wisconsin, south- 

 ern Minnesota and Iowa all once had turkeys enough. 

 They were abundant in Nebraska, reaching beyond the 

 northern boundary of the State, for Captain W. L. 

 Carpenter found turkeys on the Niobrara River, and 

 Dr. Coues speaks of good evidence of their occurrence 

 as far north as Yankton on the Missouri about the 

 same latitude as the mouth of the Niobrara. It is well 

 understood that the turkey was fairly abundant on 

 many streams flowing into the Missouri or its tribu- 

 taries south of the Platte River, and undoubtedly they 

 worked up many of these streams into the mountains. 

 Indians in whom I have confidence have told me of 

 killing turkeys on tributaries of the South Platte in the 

 mountains west of where Denver now stands. From 

 that point south Merriam's turkey was undoubtedly 

 abundant in the mountains. The turkey found on the 

 plains to the south of the Platte, westward until the 

 mountains are reached, is presumably the eastern form 

 (Meleagris gallop avo sUvestris). 



Captain L. H. North, who as a little boy moved with 

 his family into Nebraska in the year 1856, says of the 



