THE WILD TURKEY. 1? 
it were very sorry to have been compelled to do such a 
deed, but could not help it, owing to the force of circum- 
stances; yet I have seen the winner of a tournament in 
such a rage that it not only killed its rival, but pecked 
out its eyes after it was dead. 
When the victors have won their brides, they keep to- 
gether until the latter commence laying, and then sepa- 
tate, for the males are so jealous that they would destroy 
the eggs if they could, in order to prolong the love 
period, and the hens, knowing this, carefully shun 
them. The males are often followed by more than one 
hen, but they are not so polygamous as their domestic 
congeners, as I never heard of a gobbler having more 
than two or three females under his protection. 
The adult gobblers drive the young males away during 
the erotic season, and will not even permit them to gob- 
ble if they can, s0 that the latter are obliged to keep by 
themselves, genérally in parties of from six to ten, unless 
some of the veterans are killed, and then they occupy 
the vacated places of the bridegrooms, according to the 
order of their prowess. 
Some aged males may also be found wandering through 
the woods in parties of two, three, four, or five, but they 
seldom mingle with the flocks, owing, apparently, to the 
waning of their salacious disposition. They are exceed- 
ingly shy and vigilant, and so wild that they fly imme- 
diately from an imaginary danger created by their own 
suspicious nature. They strut and gobble occasionally, 
but not near so much as their younger kindred. Barren 
hens, which also keep by themselves, are almost as dem- 
onstrative in displaying their vocal powers, airs, and 
feathers as the old males, whereas they are exceedingly 
coy and unpretentious when fertile. 
This fact would seem to prove that ordinary animal 
nature is changed by circumstances. When the love 
season is over, the males are very much emaciated, so, 
