OLD INJUN r CHIEF OF THE C0HAR1E 



15 



Mos' folks fergit thet cm- wild turkey 

 hcz er nose ez well ez eyes. An' old 

 Injun knows the smell 11 v man an' his 

 gun, an' don't fergit hit. Be keerful 

 now, we're gittin' inter the turkeys' 

 feedin' groun'. Cum, le's lie clown be- 

 hin' this log." 



lie drew me toward a huge log, 

 which lay on the border between the 

 pine-barren and a stubby, disused 

 streteh of clearing. 



"Crouch low an' jes' keep your eyes 

 on a level with the log," he whispered. 

 "I'm goin' ter call." 



With throbbing heart I grasped my 

 rifle and did as I was bidden. 



Then the old hunter, crouched be- 

 side me, raised the reeel to his lips and 

 began to call in soft, seductive strain. 

 How natural the well-rounded, plain- 

 tive yelps that rose from the reed ! 

 With his lean neck craned forward and 

 his bright eyes searching the farthest 

 recesses of the adjacent swamp, the 

 old hunter was himself strikingly sug- 

 gestive of a huge gobbler. 



Suddenly a twig snapped in the dis- 

 tance, and I was at strained "atten- 

 tion," my eyes glued upon the stretch 

 of stubble. A moment later a flash 

 of bronze greeted my gaze, but even as 

 I trained my rifle upon it, it rose up- 

 ward above the big pines that fringed 

 the swamp. Quick as a wink it was 

 screened from sight by the interlacing 

 pine limbs. Once only, as we swayed 

 our rifles to and fro, and then but for a 

 second, did we catch a full view of the 

 big bronze bird, well beyond rifle range. 

 As we lowered our rifles, a half-grown 

 hen ran into the opening. I took quick, 

 careful aim, sending a ball through her 

 neck. Excitement had doubtless proved 

 her undoing. When we picked her up, 

 we found traces of bronze upon her 

 wings and breast. "Old Injun" had 

 lost a member of his tribe. 



"Dodgast ef I didn't like ter fool 

 him thet pop," observed the old hunt- 

 er. "I never got him thet nigh ber- 

 fore. He mus' be losin' his grip." 



Strongly impressed by the big gob- 

 bler's clever escapade, I could not agree 



with my companion's conclusion. I 

 had never dreamed that even a wild 

 turkey could so swiftly and shrewdly 

 vanish into mid air. Deceived by the 

 call he most assuredly had been, but 

 those bright eyes, unfailing sentinels, 

 had warned him in the nick of time. 



" 'Taint no use ter stay here," said 

 the old hunter; "he's gone down into 

 the Coharie swamp. An' we'd jes' ez 

 well try ter bait old Nick hisse'f es ter 

 go down tha' an' bait thet turkey. I've 

 tried all thet. He ain't goin' ter cum 

 nigh er blind. In fac' I've tried every- 

 thing 'cept callin' him from the top uv 

 a pine tree. But I bleeve we'll git him 

 yit." 



"How do you account for calling him 

 so near to-day?" I asked. 



"Wal, thar's no breeze, an', ez I've 

 sed, he may be losin' his grip. Mebbe 

 sum young gobbler's gittin' him shaky 

 an' he's tryin' ter find new friends. 

 Them wild critters is powerful like 

 folks. W'en they git desprit they're 

 more'n apt ter git bold." 



He led the way toward Coharie 

 swamp, a mile or more distant. He 

 was strong in his opinion that "Old In- 

 jun" was weakening, and that some 

 plan of outwitting him might possibly 

 be devised. 



Arriving at the swamp, we took up 

 our station behind a big clay-root. Then 

 again my companion began to yelp. 

 For a long time there was no response, 

 then a distant yelp quavered through 

 the tangled swamp. A constant inter- 

 change ensued. But the turkey came 

 no nearer. Not a solitary living object 

 broke the smooth vista which stretched 

 out between the bare beech trees be- 

 fore us. 



"That wuz Old Injun," said my com- 

 panion at length, "but you cain't alius 

 fool him twice the same day. I mean 

 ter have a shot at him, though, in spite 

 uv faith. I mean ter set him out," he 

 replied in response to my inquiry as to 

 ways and means. "He mos' ginrally 

 cums out erbout this p'int uv woods 

 late in the evenhT an' goes off ter the 

 big pines ter roosV 



