74 HUNTING AND FISHING IN FLORIDA. 
a well-watered country, roosting in a swamp or on the borders of 
some stream or pond. When a native hunter discovers a roost he 
conceals himself near it at night and often kills nearly the entire 
flock, shooting the under ones first, so that the dead bird in falling 
will not alarm the others. 
In the springtime the gobblers may be ‘‘ called” by imitating the 
plaintive piping of the hen, and this is a common method of shoot- 
ing them. Usually a quill is used to imitate the call, but some 
hunters can produce it with their fingers and lips. The hunter con- 
ceals himself and calls softly until the gobbler approaches near 
enough to be seen and killed. Occasionally a flock of turkeys will 
be found feeding in the open ground, and they usually fly to some 
heavy timber and perch themselves high up among the top branches, 
affording a good chance for rifle practise. In following a turkey’s 
trail the hunter must keep up with the dog and go as fast as the 
nature of the ground will permit. A turkey will usually run for 
some distance ahead of a dog before attempting to fly, and if the 
hunter follows fast enough he will stand a good chance of getting 
within shooting distance before he ‘‘ jumps.” I have seen many a 
fine gobbler go soaring away two or three hundred yards ahead of 
me which I probably could have killed had I kept within easy shoot- 
ing distance of the hounds. 
When the dog shows by his actions that the turkey is only a short 
distance ahead that is the time that the hunter must use good 
judgment. 
Now the turkey must be ‘ flushed” or made to fly, but not until 
within shooting distance. If not pushed the turkey will often run a 
long distance ahead of the dog and perhaps escape in some impen- 
etrable swamp. When the scent gets very warm let the dog hurry 
a little, but not go so fast that the hunter cannot keep close to him. 
The turkey, hearing the dog close behind and finding he cannot 
escape by running, goes into the air with much heavy flapping of 
wings, and if the hunter is sixty or seventy yards behind his dog he 
is probably a hundred or more away from the turkey, and his 
chances of bagging that gobbler are extremely slim. 
