NATURAL 'HISTORY. 
40 
bordered at the edges with a bright gold colour. These the 
savages of the country weave into cloaks to adorn their per- 
sons, and fashion into fans and umbrellas, but never once 
think of taking into keeping animals that the woods furnish 
them with in sufficient abundance. Savage man seems to 
find a delight in precarious possession. The hunting of the 
turkey, therefore, makes one of his principal diversions ; as 
its flesh contributes chiefly to the support ot his family. TV hen 
he has discovered the place of their retreat, which in general, 
is near fields of nettles, or where there is plenty of any kind 
of grain, he takes his dog with m, which is trained to the 
sport, and he sends him into the midst of the flock. The 
turkeys no sooner perceive their enemy, than they set oft' 
running at full speed, and with such swiftness, that they leave 
the dog far behind them : he follows, nevertheless, and, sen- 
sible they must soon be tired, as they cannot go full speed 
for any length of time, he, at last, forces them to take shelter 
in a tree, where they sit quite spent and fatigued, till the 
hunter comes up, and, with a long pole, knocks them down 
one after the other. 
This manner of suffering themselves to be destroyed, 
argues no great instinct in the animal; and indeed, in their 
captive state, they do not appear to be possessed of much. 
They seem a stupid, vain, querulous tribe, apt enough to 
quarrel among themselves, yet without any weapons to do 
each other an injury. Every body knows the strange anti- 
pathy the turkey-cock has to red colour. But there is ano- 
ther method of encreasing the animosity of these birds 
against each other, which is often practised by boys, when 
they have a mind for a battle. This is no more than to smear 
over the head of one of the turkeys with dirt, and the rest run to 
attack it with all the speed of impotent animosity : nay, two 
of them thus disguised, will fight each other till they are al- 
most suffocated with fatigue ami anger. 
But though so furious among themselves, they are w r eak 
and cowardly against other animals, though far less powerful 
than they. The cock often makes the turkey keep at a dis- 
tance ; and (hey seldom venture to attack him but with united 
force, w'hen they rather oppress him by their weight, than 
annoy him by their arms. There is no animal, how con- 
temptible soever, that will venture boldly to face the turkey- 
cock, that he will not fly from. On the contrary, with the 
insolence of a bully, he pursues any thing that seems to fear 
him, particularly lap-dogs and children, to both which he 
seems to have a peculiar aversion. 
