WILD TURKEY SHOOTING. 353 



It is now 11 o'clock, and we cross the creek on a drift, 

 taking a course angling toward the hills, down the Bot- 

 tom; and, before we have gone 300 yards, Jeff begins to 

 sniff the air significantly, and touch his cold, damp nose 

 to a twig or vine here and there, all the while wagging his 

 bushy tail energetically. There are very fresh scratchings, 

 and some tracks seen in the damp soil indicate the direc- 

 tion the turkeys have gone. " It is a cold trail, Bob, but 

 Jeff will find them, sure." The faithful, intelligent ani- 

 mal trots from side to side, keeping the general course of 

 the tracks. Every now and then he stops and takes a 

 good long smell in some moist place where a turkey has 

 walked. After we have gone perhaps 200 yards, it is 

 easy to see that Jeff is getting livelier, and is beginning 

 to settle so well on the scent that he hardly sways from 

 one course. Now he straightens out, stops wagging his 

 tail, and goes as straight as though he knows exactly 

 where the turkeys are, and, before we are aware of it, he 

 is out of sight, though we run after him as fast as we can. 

 All at once we run on him, for he lost the trail, and is 

 busy trying to get it again, which enabled us to overtake 

 him. In a moment he is off again, and we rush after him, 

 only to lose sight of him in a few seconds. Still we run 

 as fast as possible, while I keep one ear turned somewhat 

 to the course we travel. All at once I hear the well- 

 known and welcome "put, put, put," and we stop at 

 once. ' ' Here, Bob, squat light here by me, and cock both 

 barrels of your gun. Keep still." We hear the turkeys 

 flying in different directions, and lighting in the trees; 

 one is seen to stop in a tall pin-oak about sixty yards 

 from us; but I am watching intently under the bushes, 

 for I know what may happen. Long ago I learned the 

 trick turkeys often play on a dog, dodging around and 

 behind him, and funning straight back on the track, with- 

 out taking wing at all. Some are almost sure to try it, 



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