WILD TURKEY. 
167 
j.? r eat many are destroyed by tbe hunters, although 
'u r iU ' e ^ len h;ast valuable. 
a i " hen the turkeys have arrived in their land of 
^' l . n< ) a nce, they disperse in small flocks, composed of 
j'hviduals of all sexes and ages intermingled, who 
(.|“ v °ar all the mast as they advance : this occurs about 
middle of November. It has been observed, that, 
these long journeys, the turkeys become so familiar 
^ to venture on the plantations, and even approach so 
l he farmhouses as to enter the stables and corn- 
in search of food; in this nay they pass the 
“titan, and part of the winter. During this season 
P ea t numbers are killed by the inhabitants, who 
reserve them in a frozen state, in order to transport 
to a distant market. 
t; ^“riy in March they begin to pair; and, for a short 
p'P previous, the females separate from, and shun 
jj 1 '' 15 ’ mates, though the latter pertinaciously follow 
1- m, uttering their gobbling note. The sexes roost 
but at no great distance, so that, when the female 
Xle >'s a call, every male within hearing responds, rolling 
after note, in the most rapid succession ; not as 
in 11 spreading the tail and strutting near the hen, hut 
jJ* a voice resembling that of the tame turkey, when 
m '‘ears any unusual or frequently repeated noise. 
0 here the turkeys are numerous, the woods from one 
to the other, sometimes for hundreds of miles, resound 
r u ‘ l this remarkable voice of their wooing, uttered 
j. s Pousively from their roosting places. This is continued 
jP “bout, an hour; and, on the rising of the sun, they 
{ lln tly descend from their perches, and the males begin 
,1 prut, for the purpose of winning the admiration of 
> lr mates. . , 
. *1 the call he given from the ground, the males in the 
lc mity fly towards the individual, and, whether they 
"“fCeive lier or not, erect and spread their tails, throw 
t . ■ ner or noi, .... . 
' e 'mad backwards, distend the comb and wattles, 
x ‘'“t pompously, and rustle their wings and body teathers, 
I the same moment ejecting a puff of air from the 
Un gs. Whilst thus occupied, they occasionally halt to. 
