A NEW HUNTING EXCURSION. 2G1 



saddle off his horse, and laid it under one of the beds, 

 tied up the horse to a young tree, shoved a roughly- 

 hewn trough before him, which I filled with maize, and 

 his eager munching proved how well he was satisfied 

 with all the proceedings. CoUmar had come over the 

 hill to invite us to assist in erecting a new house. He 

 had collected all the logs on the spot, and now, accord- 

 ing to American custom, was calhng on his neighbors 

 to come and assist in raising them. S. was his nearest 

 neighbor but one, and lived nine miles distant; the 

 next dwelt eight miles further. 



I promised to come at all events, but it was against 

 Slowtrap's habit to promise any thing two days in ad- 

 vance. Besides, his wife and his youngest child were 

 both unwell. "We shortened the evening with stories 

 and anecdotes. Collmar was off w^ith the dawn to pre- 

 pare for the following day. I took my rifle and lounged 

 into the forest with Bearsgrease to look for a turkey. 

 He drove a gang into the trees, at less than half a mile 

 from the house ; but the wood was so thick and over- 

 grown, that before I could come up to see which trees 

 they had perched in, they had so hidden amongst the 

 branches that there was not a trace of them to be seen. 

 I therefore whistled for my dog, and hid behind a tree 

 to await the time when they would think themselves 

 safe, and begin to call. I had not long to wait; erelong 

 they began to cry, and about a hundred yards in front 

 of me, a large cock raised himself on a branch, where 

 he had nestled without my perceiving him. "Without 

 trying to get nearer, I took aim at once, and hit the 

 turkey, which fell flapping from the tree ; but the bushes 

 were so thick that I should have lost him, had not 



