428 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



yards of them. Selecting two big gobblers that were 

 close together, and in line, I gave them both barrels, 

 and maybe there wasn't a racket on that hillside. One 

 of them began to flop and whirl around like a chicken 

 with its head cut off, and the other flew about two hun- 

 dred yards at right angles with the remainder of 

 the drove, that had gone over a high bluff into 

 a ravine about one-quarter of a mile from where they 

 rose. He came to the ground, staggered a few steps, 

 rose, and when he had gone perhaps one hundred yards 

 he let go and came tumbling down dead. I ran to the 

 first one, and hanging him up in a small tree, followed 

 the other, and did the same with him. 



"Just then I heard some dogs on the opposite side 

 of the mountain begin to bark, and a boy encouraging 

 them. I knew this would turn the other turkeys back, 

 so I hurried across a small draw and around to the 

 north of where they came to the ground, and climbed 

 on some large rocks, where I had a good view of the 

 mountain side. In a minute or two I saw two hens 

 coming for me on a dead run, and waited till they were 

 within forty yards. I gave one of them the left-hand 

 barrel, and as the other rose I knocked her a clean 

 somersault. 



"I now had four as fine turkeys as I ever saw, and 

 not caring to hunt any more that day, I hung the two 

 hens over my back and carried them to the gobblers. 



In sections where turkeys still exist, and where snow 

 falls in winter, a favorite method of hunting these 



