176 
MELEAGRIS GALLOPAVO. 
/ 
that they are prisoners, all their exertions to escap e ‘ j 
directed upwards and against the sides of the pe°> ^ 
having sagacity enough to stoop sufficiently low to 
out by the way they entered, and thus they becoJ »® ’ ^ 
easy prey, not only to the experienced hunter, but « 
to the boys on the frontier settlements. , .,j 
In proportion to the abundance or scarcity of 
and its good or bad quality, they are small or 311 
meagre or fat, and of an excellent or indifferent flaf®^ 
in general, however, their flesh is more delicate, 
succulent, and better tasted than that of the 3 j, 
turkey : they are in the best order late in the autwjj; 
or in the beginning of winter. The Indians valu® ^ 
food so highly, w'hen roasted, that they call it M 
white man’s dish,” and present it to strangers ® S j (l i 
best they can offer. It seems probable that in M®j S : 
the wild turkey cannot obtain such substantial i 00 ^! 
in the United States, since Hernandez informs liS 
their flesh is harder, and in all respects inferior to 
of the domestic bird. , 
The Indians make much use of their tails as j 
•( 
the women weave their feathers with much art 
loose web made of the rind of the birch tree, arm 11 ' 
them so as to keep the down on the inside, and e* ; 
^ 1 1 . v 1 .1.1 1 1 1A n 4- 1. it. n a r — . it. — A . . _ w, q!" J 
the brilliant surface to the eye. A specimen 
cloth is in the Philadelphia Museum; it was 
to ® 0 
a 
enveloping the body of an Indian female, in the % 
Saltpetre cave of Kentucky. jjf 
Among the benefits conferred by America „,jJ 
rest of the world, the gift of this noble bird s' 
occupy a distinguished place, as unquestionably 
e o\ 
the most useful of the feathered tribe, being cap» bl ° of 
ministering largely to the sustenance and conif° r , pi 
the human race. Though the turkey is surpass®, j; 
external beauty by the magnificent peacock, its 
greatly superior in excellence, standing almost unrP jjjii 
for delicacy of texture and agreeable sapidity. 0® t s, 
account it has been eagerly sought by almost all 113 .jjt> 
and has been naturalized with astonishing rap 
