

TURKEY SHOOTING 429 



birds is to take a track and walk the bird down. Usu- 

 ally, for several hours the turkey keeps well ahead of 

 the hunter, the man steadily following the track and 

 obliterating the turkey's trail as he goes. After a 

 time the turkey is likely to grow tired, and at length 

 to hide, when it can be flushed and shot on the wing. 

 Sometimes, to be sure, if the ground was unfavorable 

 for hiding, the turkey might fly, but usually it did not 

 go far, and its track could be taken again. A short 

 but well told story of tracking turkeys in the snow 

 was printed in Forest and Stream, October 26, 1907, 

 from a correspondent signing himself "Brinkstine." It 

 took place in Missouri : 



"We walked two or three hours, and not a sign of 

 a turkey. Another hour, and yet no sign. We rounded 

 a deserted field with no success, further than seeing 

 plenty of rabbits and a few squirrels, but we did not 

 want to set the hills quaking by shooting such game. 



"We were tired. Walking in a foot of snow four 

 or five hours steadily, and as silently as possible, is 

 not conducive to a hilarious feeling, as one grows cold 

 and hungry. We built a fire, ate our lunch, rested and 

 warmed ourselves. We were almost discouraged, but 

 started on with some hope of success. We walked 

 two or three hundred yards, and found a turkey track, 

 and a huge one. We had gone a quarter of a mile 

 when the tracks of three other turkeys joined the one 

 we were tracking. One turkey would not satisfy us 

 both, so we were glad to know that there were four 

 turkeys in the woods. Just as we were ready to start 



