Iron County register., 1892-04-28
Old Times.

Ed. Register-I often wonder if the
birds sing as sweetly these spring morn
ings as they did years gone by. | can
remember in my younger days of hear
and all the sweet songsters, making
the morning echo with their sweet
songs, and | can well remember how
the woods rang with the drumming of
the partridge or pheasant, and how the
woods roared with the sound of those
old gobblers' gobbling.
Oh. how it used to stir my blood and
how often in the spring mornings with
',Old Betsey'' on my shoulder, would,
way before day, start for the mountains.
As ! would pass some swampy spot of
ground, where the grass was green, see
a herd of deer feeding on the young
and tender grass, and what pleasure to
get one or two shots at those plump
little TOW heads All young deer
were called by the old hunters, ..tow
heads" because their hair was almost
white in the early spring and no game
is more tender and delicious in the
early spring than one of those young
deer. Their flesh is so sweet and juicy
and tender. just cut the ribs up in
hort pieces and with q very little salt
and pepper, then rolled in flour and
fried in fat that is hot. All. it is fit
for queen to eat. Do you know that
Us soon as spring comes the old deer all
scatter off to themselves and the last
years fawns will go in flocks by them
selves? The old bucks will get togeth-
er in the mountains and the does in the
thickets and around the fields. all those
great fiocks of turkeys that you saw to-
gcther in the fall and winter have all
separated one or two in a place, and
you Will find them any and everywhere,
and as spring comes on you will hear
those old gobblers strutting AMI COB
bling all over the mountains, and now
Is the time to have fine sport with them.
With caller made of the small bone
out of the sword point of the turkeys
wing. each end cut off, and you have
caller that can be heard for a mile.
You put one end between your lips and
nIl -, j. cln
around the other end of the caller. As
you give short. quick, kind of sucks
the hollow bone you hear just
such 4 noise as the hen turkey makes.
It sounds this way. turk-turk-turk-
turk Should you make false sound,
no matter how fast the old gObblers 5
coming. or how big he is strutting. he
will detect the cheat and all the calling
in the world won't make him come.
You can just get up and go somewhere
else for a turkey. And then you must
get up above the turkey that you are
calling. | could never make a turkey |
come down hill or across a deep gulch. |
They will go way around the head OF
the ravine or gulch. have often start
I'd out before day, when out where |
thought | would find old gObblers. |
would howl like a wolf and hoot like |
IN owl. and every gObbler in hearing |
would answer. Now, you have located |
your game you get up above the turk
~, if possible, and seat yourself with |
-Our back to a big tree or against a
'ocl so you will be facing the way the
turkey will come. Now, call: if the |
turkey is not an old bird that has been
oOled or shot at before, he will answer
very call and come strutting to you.
Now, as he comes in sight, call very
carefully and easy like. Not too loud
md don't make any mistake. What a
plendid bird he is and what splendid
mark to shoot at is his head as he draws
lis head down and back, as it looks
ust as white as chalk. 4 turkey head
; the prettiest mark in the world to
hOot at.
| shall never forget an old gobbler
hat lived on Cedar Hill for years, and
low many times | have tried to kill
hat bird | don't know. He had a GER
ain place to rOost and could be heard
-lmOst any good morning gob5ling;
nd such a racket as he did make with
lis wings all in quiver and gobbling.
had tried to slip on him. both by day
nd by night, but he was not to be
aught mapping. One lovely morning
heard him just making the wood ring,
s much as 10 say. Come along, / dare
-ou to come | knew the ground and
new just where he was When had
rot in about three hundred yards of
lin he was just over across a deep ra-
inc. | got down on my hands and
,nees, with my gun in one hand, and
commenced crawling towards him. All
his time he was just daring me to
ome. | had got in about one hundred
nd fifty yards OF him. | could now
ee him on top Of the ridge between
wO ravines. What splendid big bird
q WaS with the Ion bp1lSh hanr-