The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-08-27
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GRANDMA'S TURKEYS.

lal, SAID Emily Howe, pretty black
eyed. rosy-cheeked girl of fifteen. who
lived on farm few miles from the
town of Waterville, in Maine.
Grandma Howe looked up from her
knitting, and said: Seems to me,
Emily. it's early to count your chick
ems: you haven't got hen settin' yet,
hev you?"
"ies, | have just put thirteen eggs
under old Top-knot and mother says |
may have all the chickens she matches
for my own. | shall take good care of
them. and about Thanksgiving time.
when they will be nice and fat, cut off
their heads, carry them to Waterville,
sell them to Mr.. Jones. that's where
father sells chickens. take the money
and buy me red cashmere dress"
well, Emily. you hev got your plans
made a good ways ahead, but / wouldn't
calculate too much on the chickens till
they are hatched: they may turn out the
same way my turkeys did once
''How was that, grandma? Please tell
me all about it while | am resting. l
walked away over to Mr. Porter's to
get the eggs to put under old Top-knot'
did you. dear? Well, | will tell you
about my old white turkey.
''When | was married we went to live
on the Springer farm. about twenty
miles from my fathers. Long in April,
in sugaring time, the year after was
married, l told your grandpa | wanted
to go over to fathers to get some new
sugar-we didn't hev any sugar-place
on our farmland see If mother couldn't
let me hev some turkey eggs to set
under one of my hens. Mother was a
good hand to raise turkeys; some falls
she would hev thirty to sell, and /
wanted to try my luck at turkey raisin.' ;
Your grandpa said we would go the
next Saturday and stay over Sunday.
That he would get Mr.. Baker, he lived
near by. to see to the chores
$50 we went. l remember what
nice sleigh-ride we had, the snow had
gone away considerable, but we started
early in the mornin' before it begun to
thaw, and lib. that was the colts name.
went like a bird. o, dear me. it was
fifty years ago, but / remc:Ab Der just as
well how pretty the snow and Ice
looked sparklin' in the sunshine. We
got over home before noon. and father
was goin' to sugar o # that afternoon. so
we all went to the sugar-place: there
was quite a number of the neighbors
there. and we had fine time.
Il told mother wanted to get sc r
tin of turkeys eggs. She said ! was
welcome to 'em, but like enough they
would get broken goin' home, and bet
ter take the old white turkey, that she
always Matched out a good brood, but
she ginerally stole her nest, and it was
considerable trouble to look after her,
but was welcome to her.
IL told mother knew / could find
her nest, and if she would let me hev
the turkey would bring her two of
my yaller-legged pullets when l came
over again.
''Your grandpa fixed a box and put
the old turkey in it, and we brought
her home. She seemed as contented as
could be, and in few days. when the
snow was gone, she would wander off
into the fields and pastures, but always
came to the barn at night. ! thought
it was time she was laying and hunted
in the barn and shed for her nest.
After awhile she left off comm home
nights, and then knew she was SET
tin somewhere and thought it was in
the pasture back of the house, as she
always came from that way when |
called the hens to be fed, and as so1n
as she was done eatin' she would
go back that way. l followed her
ever SD many times, but just
as soon as she noticed me she would
start up and fly and get out of sight BE-
hind the bushes and trees in no time
hunted the pasture all over for that Old
turkeys nest. l knew if l didn't fi,,d
the nest before she Matched. the little
ones would half of them die before she
got them home: little turkeys are ve:y
tender things. l noticed she always
went in one direction, down toward the
brook. that was at the further side of
the pasture.
Zone day when she came to be fed.
threw some corn on the ground, scatter
ing it about, SO it would take her some
time to pick it up.
"Then l started for the pasture, and
went along in the direction had seen
her go, for some distance, then hid be-
hind a stump Soon saw the turkey
cosnin' and she had passed me and was
almost out of sight. / stepped careful
ly along, keeping behind bushes and
stumps, SO she would not see me if she
looked back followed along in that way
as much as a quarter of a mile and began
to think she hadn't any nest. she was
just wanderin', turkeys are such crea-
lures to wander you know, but along
up by the brook she stopped by a stump,
where some bushes were CROWN round
it, looked round and then crept under
the bushes. l knew her nest was
there, and sure enough it was, with
fifteen great speckled eggs in it. She
came right off the nest when she saw
me, SO had a chance to count 'em.
'Oh! grandma, wasn't you pleased?"
81 guess l was, and couldn't help
laughin' to see what cute place she
had found for her nest. The stump was
hollow on one side at the bottom, pro-
jectin' out above, like little piazza, so
she had nice shelter from the sun and
rain. had on a blue calico apron. |
tore a piece off across the bottom. and
tied it on to a bush, for was afraid
couldn't find the nest again, and knew
had got to look out for the little tur-
keys. l calculated she'd been settin
about week. After that l used to
walk up that way quite often. Some
times ! would take my knittin' and sit
down under a great maple-tree, there
was near by the place where the nest
was. 1t was the last Of May aud every