Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-01
BLACK WITH TURKEYS.
A Famous Hunting Ground Mt tn,
Head of the Verde.

A Famous Hunting Ground Mt the
Head of the Verde.
D. J. Chadwick, the Les Angeles, at
torney, now in attendance here in the
case of the Government against the ST.
ezra Lumber and Flume Company, and
party of other prominent gentlemen
were at the Grand Tuesday night, telling
hunting stories. One of them told how
numerous the wild turkeys were on the
Pecos river, and that he had killed as
many as forty turkeys in two-days'
search.
'T want to tell you of a strange expert
ence had with wild turkeys at the head
of the Verde river in the White noun
tains of Arizona" said Mr.. Chadwick.
''One day in 1885, while was a special
agent of the Land Department at Wash
on the Verde. 1t was approaching night
Klingham's ranch, which is high up on
the river. l entered scattered grove of
pine trees, when, happening to look up,
I saw what appeared to me to be thou
sAnds of wild turkeys. The trees were
black with them and many of the limbs
were bent down. There was Tapping
of wings and clucking while the turkeys
were getting adjusted.
| PRETTY SIGHT.
''It was the prettiest sight l ever saw
great magnificent birds. I could have
taken stick and knocked off all 1 want
ed to. l didn't, but whipped out my re-
volver and killed couple of them and
rode up to old Joe's with them. Maybe
those turkeys we're not fl i0e eating for the
next day or two.
SIN many places in Yavapai and
Graham counties in those days the tur-
keys were so plentiful that nobody new
what to do with them. They used to 20
in bands of 200 or 300, and thus traverse
a large region. October is the time for
migrating, and private letter which ]
have just received tells me there are Just
as many turkeys there now as when ]
was down there.
"They are now leaving the Brazos and
Pecos river regions in Texas and push
ing forward to the more congenial eli.
mate of Arizona. They walk almost alto
gether, rarely flying except to cross a
river or get on tree, and they move
along just like an army, making from
fifteen te twenty miles day. They live
on pine nuts and various kinds of grain
when they can get it.
| TRAPPING THE BIRDS.
"It is in October that they move in on
the Verde, and there are some old-timers
there who have got the business of catch
ing them down fine. 1t is a novel con.
trivanCe, and never heard of it's use
anywhere else. They build pine pole
pen in the heart of the rendezvous of the
turkeys. This pen is about four feet
wide, eight long and three high. A
small hole just large enough to admit the
body of the turkey is cut in the side OF
the pen near the ground. Wheat is then
scattered for many feet away from the
pen, and trails of the wheat lead into
this hole.
'The turkeys coming along get into
these trails, and follow them up, their
heads down all the time, and thus they
walk up, one by one, and enter the hole.
Once in, then they look up, and immedi-
ately begin walking around, looking
high, and craning their necks trying to
get out. They never think of looking
down. That is not their habit.
"Thus have seen trap full of per-
haps fifteen turkeys, and not one of
them knew how to get out. 1t is very
curious thing, but there are men in
Arizona who do little else than thus
capture wild turkeys and market them
on the railroad and in the outlying min
ing camps. They make good living at
it, too. Some make as much as 800 or
5000 month in this easy way.
| BIG FELLOWS.
'The wild turkey of the Verde and
other parts of Arizona is about four feet
long and has sixty Inch stretch OF
wings. Its color is copper bronze, with
copper and green reflections. Each
feather has a black margin. The heads
are blue and the legs red. The males
usually weigh from fifteen to eighteen
pounds each, but l have known them ia
reach thirty and even forty pounds. The
female usually weighs about nine pounds
The wild turkey of this country is the
origin of all the domestic varieties of
both hemispheres.
wild turkeys are guardians of each
other. Their deadliest enemies are the
eagle and prodigious owl that inhabits
Arizona. When an eagle is spied the
turkey that sees him utters cluck, when
all go on guard. This prodigious owl lie
a more formidable enemy. The motion
of his wings is almost noiseless and he
darts like fash, but the turkey is wary
and just at the moment when he is on
him the latter raises his tail feathers
and the owl glides harmlessly over him.
Turkeys are up to all sorts of tricks,
except that box-trap scheme. But as l
have said, sometimes they roost in such
large numbers and get SO lazy that a
man could almost walk up and pick one
Of them off. They are less afraid of men
than of animals and vicious wild fowls. +"
J San Francisco Examiner.