THE WILD TUKKEY. 121 



country to the other, having little or nothing to dread from the 

 savage inhabitants of these wild regions, abounding in game, 

 to them, of a much more attractive as well as useful character- 

 Then it was, before the pristine forests and luxuriant plains of 

 this vast Continent had been invaded by the devastating foot 

 of the white man, that this proud and beautiful Fowl roamed 

 in joyous security, unmolested, unharmed in its native haunts. 

 Then it was that the haughty, vainglorious Gobbler, in con- 

 scious freedom, decked in his gorgeous plumage, with out- 

 stretched wings, quivering body, and blustering head, pomp- 

 ously strutted and puffed in mimic grandeur, as it were, to win 

 the favor of his amorous but still unyielding mates, or meeting 

 in battle array with sanguinary fury, avenged their jealous 

 desires. Then it was, hidden away in some choice umbrageous 

 copse, that the anxious mother, without fear, without restraint, 

 patiently hatched and reared her tender brood, and brought 

 them forth with careless solicitude, to feed and wander over the 

 fruitful plains. 



How changed is all this ? scarce a Bird is now to be encoun- 

 tered on the whole northern and eastern Atlantic board. The 

 destroying hand of the white man is stretched forth, and his 

 victims are vainly seeking an asylum far beyond the confines 

 of the " Father of Waters ;" and the time is fast approaching, 

 we fear, when we shall hear of the Wild Turkey as one of the 

 almost extinct species of our land. 



Few or none are to be met with, at this present time, north 

 or east of Pennsylvania, and few, very few, in some of the re- 

 motest portions of this latter State. Some are found in the 

 wild and woody regions of Virginia, larger numbers in Ohio, 

 Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, but only in considerable num- 

 bers in the unsettled tracts far beyond these localities. During 

 the last Autumn, while shooting in the interior of Virginia, in 

 company with our very good friend Andrew Staley, Esq., we 

 encountered a few of these Birds, but they were in such strag- 

 gling parties, and so very wild that little or no inducement was 

 offered to hunt them. We were informed, however, that a Sports- 

 man in that district, who followed this particular kind of game 

 with great zeal and ardor, had killed some twenty or more during 

 the previous season, but even this success, we are well assured, 



