WILD TUEKEY SHOOTING. 351 



No dog that gives tongue while trailing can ever be first- 

 class for turkey-hunting, since turkeys are easily alarmed, 

 and will run like deer, taking care to cross all the 

 streams and sloughs possible, or go to the hills, when 

 chased, from which they can fly off to other hills, very 

 often before the dog gets near them. The best dog is 

 very swift on a hot track, always running still, and hence 

 usually dashes right into a flock before they know he is 

 coming, putting them into the first trees they can reach. 

 He ought to be noisy enough after he flushes them, as 

 this shows the hunter where they are, and also distracts 

 their attention. Then he must be well trained, and kept 

 always under good control, so that he can be whistled to 

 heel, or made to lie like a chunk when necessary. One 

 of the best turkey-dogs I ever hunted with was a dropper, 

 good alike for quail, prairie chicken and turkey — yes, 

 even for squirrels and a crippled deer; but the very best 

 I ever knew, I owned and trained myself (of course). His 

 mother was called a Scotch terrier, and his sire was 

 unknown. After hunting with him three years, it did 

 seem that he knew everything necessary for a dog to 

 know about turkey-hunting, and surely was as devoted 

 to his master and as fond of hunting as any dog could 

 be. When my father wrote me of his death, at ten years 

 of age, it was impossible to hide my grief. 



It is December, and the trees are naked and dead-like 

 on this chilly day. Their ashy-tinted branches had snow 

 on them last week, and they seem to be still shivering as 

 a gentle breeze sweeps through them. The dull, dead 

 leaves cover the earth everywhere, hiding acorn and 

 hackberry and elm-seed, good food for the turkey. A 

 friend of mine. Bob by name, is with me, and we have 

 come horseback, two miles from home, for the purpose of 

 laying in a supply of turkeys for Christmas, and have 

 hitched our horses in the edge of Caney Bottom, which 



