THE WILD TURKEY 2g1 
with the wild turkey happened some time between 1808 
and 1815.” 
The turkey was abundant in the southwestern por- 
tions of the province of Ontario and occurred through 
much of New York, in Pennsylvania and Ohio, from 
which last State it has been exterminated in compara- 
tively recent years. It is said that a few turkeys still 
linger in Pennsylvania. Michigan, Wisconsin, south- 
ern Minnesota and Iowa all once had turkeys enough. 
They were abundant in Nebraska, reaching beyond the 
northern boundary of the State, for Captain W. L. 
Carpenter found turkeys on the Niobrara River, and 
Dr. Coues speaks of good evidence of their occurrence 
as far north as Yankton on the Missouri—about the 
same latitude as the mouth of the Niobrara. It is well 
understood that the turkey was fairly abundant on 
many streams flowing into the Missouri or its tribu- 
taries south of the Platte River, and undoubtedly they 
worked up many of these streams into the mountains. 
Indians in whom I have confidence have told me of 
killing turkeys on tributaries of the South Platte in the 
mountains west of where Denver now stands. From 
that point south Merriam’s turkey was undoubtedly 
abundant in the mountains. The turkey found on the 
plains to the south of the Platte, westward until the 
mountains are reached, is presumably the eastern form 
(Meleagris gallopavo silvestris). 
Captain L. H. North, who as a little boy moved with 
his family into Nebraska in the year 1856, says of the 
