we do not hesitate to affirm, that .the-manner of running downs Turkeys,
like Hares or:Fox©s,t«so much talked of, is a uEfpre .fable, as: such
a sport would be attended with very« .trifling SupccsS. A Turkey
hound will. sometimes lead his master several miles, before he can a
second time flush the same individual froin his concealment; and
even on a fleet horse, after following, one for hours, it ds'often found
impossible to put it up. » During *a »fall of melting snow, Turkeys will
travel: extraordinary distances, and are often pursued' in vain by-any
desbription of hunters J ^tbey: have then a long, straddling maimer, of
running, ver.y».ehsy#o themselves,abut which, few animals ean equal.
This disposition for running,»during rains, or humid weather, is common
tdiEdl gallinaceous birds.
The males are frequently .decoyed within gunshot, in'the breeding
season, by forcibly drawing the air through» one of the wing bones of
the>Turkey, producing a sound very similar to the «voice-of the female:
but the performer on this simple instrument must commit rio error,* for
Turkeys araquick of hearing, and, when frequently alarmed, are wary
and cunning. .Some of these will answer to the call without advancing
a step, and thus defeat the speculations of the hunter, who must avoid
making any .movement,*, inasfiaucloas a single glance of a'Turkey may
defeat, his hopes of decoying them. By imitating the cry of the
Barred Owl, nebutosa,) the hunter discovers many on their
roosts, as they will reply by a gobble to every repetition of this sound,
and can thus be approached with certainty, about daylight, -and easily
killed.
Wild Turkeys are very tenacious of their feeding grounds, as well
as of thè trees on which they have once roosted. Flocks .have been
known to resort to one spot for a succession of years, and to return
after a distant emigration in search of food. «Their roosting place is
mostly on a point of land jutting into a river, where there are large
traps» When they Rave collected at the signal of a repeated gobbling,
they silently proceed towards their nocturnal abodes, and perch near
each other: from the numbei*s sometimes congregated in one place,
itrWouM Seejflitoiife the*common renfler vous- of the whole neighbour-
ihopd.» ,s !%t4no;tp®sMoii//howiever Secluded or difficult of access,' can
^eâûreihcB^frofofiillMàlMîacks of the-’abtfuLand vigilant hunter, who,
«when theyarC'all^quietly perched-for the nightj takes a stand previously
chosen by» daylight ; .and, -whgfottorising inoon enables him to
takei'sué^ia^^ef(||l<th^KÉ'iâo‘wn:atfeféiurd/sandr;by eaBejMly singling
but.thgsSfOÙ the .lower .brÉnéhe^ifirst^hetniây:seeUre»nearly the whole
flock, neither» hunter, ISiidri-the repctrt«S#fis -guns
intimidating .thè Turkeys,- althoughttl|^a»ppearance o&a single Ôwl
would)ibÂl»ï^®te®â; to «.alarm, the cwholeHa&sp : /.the dropphttgfbf their
companions rfisom.their sides&expittbis*'nothing but fa^bifeing -noise,
whioh^^^atogi^^expBe^ivfiHJof ,surjbris&tham'!fright. TM.st fancied
security, orfoeedlessne^s tofedanger,»whilei atjjébtfSit^isf ’ohhraEcférfetic
of. all the. gÆuHinaeçdus‘ biBdsi^É^BtheAmeriGa.
;'.*The. more commoitentfod^iof taking IThFkeys- is bpmjeans/of pens,
,CQnstru,cte§..wit‘h; do'gs,».;c©ver.ed.«mf at:to,p;*iand with: a » passage in the
earthi uqder-one!r»s.idSe:st>fdt,.jusfeflarg.es enough to admit an/mdividual
when .stooping. lÉpEi^^rbîlndrféhosen'bfor tMs'r*puBpo^e'is generally
sloping, and the passage«,4ut on- the lower side,-widening outwards.
These preparations beingjkompleted, Indian odrnds- strewed for some
.distance around thp pennÆ®;enlâ!ee. the flock,vwhich ^picking up the
grain, pjs, gHadually, leddto^ardstjfhëvpaésageb' and thence into the
enclosure", where a «sufficient quantity. ’of'cèEntisCSpftbâld <to occupy the
■leader until, the greater -, part «of «thfeafifekeÿsïhave entered, . When
they raise their heads and,i<Hste@ye;p that thesf are:.'prisGfoters, all their
exertions to escape are directed upwards and»against't the sides oiHthe
pen, not having sagacity ©ifoughto stoop; sufficiently .low to pass-out
by the »Way thesy. entered; and thus, they .become»‘an-foasy 'prey, not
.only.to theiexperienced hunter,*bub even}"to the boys on thefrontiér
settlements;: « If
^pln‘ proportion.to*the abundance or*,scarcity, of foodv^nd> itéî good or
bad quality, they are?small ;or large, .meagre or. -fat, and of an excellent
or indifferent flavour :i in general, however, their flesh is more deli