230 THE WILD TURKEY AND ITS HUNTING 



or brown color, they are going the other way. 

 But do not be deceived, as sometimes a flock has 

 stopped to feed, and they will be turning and fac- 

 ing in all directions while so engaged; occasion- 

 ally one will straighten up, flop his wings, and 

 look back. Have an eye to the band and you 

 will see if many of them look black or gray. If 

 there are gobblers in the bunch, note their breasts 

 which are blacker than the hens. 



There is another way to find the direction in 

 which the turkeys are moving if you cannot see 

 them. When you have found fresh signs in the 

 woods, note the scratches carefully to see which 

 way most of them incline. This is easily deter- 

 mined by the direction in which the leaves are 

 thrown by the birds' feet. Sometimes, if the 

 scratches are made late in the evening, they will 

 look fresh the next morning and thus deceive 

 the oldest hunter. I once saw scratches on an 

 open pin oak and cane ridge; then others at 

 twenty paces, and again at fifty paces still others. 

 After a careful examination of the scratches, I 

 concluded there must be two old gobblers that 

 had made the signs; and, although I knew of 



