The Somerset reporter., 1898-11-24
A ROYAL SPORT.
WILD TURKEY SHOOTING As IT USED
TO BE.

Always Called Good Gnme-A Sly and
knowing BIrd-TrIcks of the Trade.
How Turkeys Are Trapped-Benja-
min FrankIin'a Idea of the Turkey.
The turkey, like Thanksgiving day,
with which be is inseparably associated
IN the American mind, is, III the Ian
guage of a proud Yankee, lone of the
INSTRUCTIONS. 1t had been homestead
cd and bred in the old world before the
pilgrim fathers landed on Plymouth
Rock, presumably by the Spanards who
captured specimens in Mexico and trans
ported them to Europe In every part Of
the American continent except the frig-
id regions of the extreme north the
earliest settlers found the turkey in its
wild state. The species of fowl which
was regarded as so toothsome at the first
American Thanksgiving was the bird of
today in his unenlightened condition
The pioneers of all parts of the Unit
ed States where there were extensive
tracts of forest found wild turkeys in
great abundance, and even in the days
when deer were plentiful no hunter
scorned this bird as unworthy OF his
prowess. Wild turkey hunting was and
yet Is royal sport wherever the bird
exists. He is considered noble game
and, like the deer and the buffalo, has
rapidly disappeared from many of his
former haunts before the march Of civil
hZation. He is now seldom found in his
native state except in the larger forests
nf no I'D Al
brush lands of Arkansas and the Indian
territory and the jungles of semitropical
Florida.
Within the memory of many sports
men turkey hunting was considered
great sport in southern Indiana and Hi
nois, and the writer, who is lone of the
trade, ''has brought down more than
one of the proud birds by the skillful
use of his father 8 ancient, long barreled
rifle. The methods of taking the turkey
all require the exercise of ingenuity
The bird is timid and regards man as
his natural enemy 1t is and has been
since the turkeys of the country first
observed that a man with gun pro-
duoed great noise and much slaughter
among them impossible to get near
enough to render shot certain of re-
suits without approaching the game I'M
der cover
When turkeys were plentiful in the
great wooded tracts Of the Ohio and the
Mississippi valleys, the hunters in the
daytime sought for their roosts, which
were easily found by means of the
fRces. Then he concealed himself with
in easy range of the place and awaited
sunset, when large flock would ap-
proach the place and one by one fly up
to the almost horizontal branches on
which the birds prefer to roost A shot
at that time would put an end to the
sport. The hunter must wait until the
last of the flock has mounted the perch
and the twilight has so deepened that
he can but just fix by his vision the
muzzle sight of his rifle in the little
nick of the one nearer the breech If he
remains out of sight, he may be able to
secure two or even three birds ere the
darkness puts an end to his sport Then
he gathers up his game and goes home
to return long before the cock crows,
for at break Of day his turkeys will
leave that roost never to return Ii he
is careful, he may get two more of the
flock as result of his early morning
visit.
Then comes another ruse of the hunt
er, by the skillful exercise of which he
may be able to inveigle two or three
moro Of the turkeys to their death In
the wing Of each turkey is hollow
bone that can readily be transformed
into a whistle, the note Of which when
properly blown, very closely resembles
the call of turkey Not far away and
we'll concealed lies the daylight muir
derer accomplish AS soon after their
flight from the perch as the turkeys dis
cover that all has become quiet and the
gobblers have mustered up a little cour-
age, they begin calling for the purpose
of collecting the remnant of the flock
preparatory to permanent departure
from the scene of the massacre The
second hunter softly answers with his
whistle, and the chances are great that
he will by often responding to the in
quiring cry lure the turkey within
range of his gun A sharp report, re-
peated over and again by the echolng
hillsides "a tlutter of wings i'll a'death
struggle on the ground, ~nd the forest
is again wrapped in silet-ue
After an hour of waiting the hunter
sounds his call, then listens for a faint
response. If none is heard, he ventures
again. A third effort is likely to elicit
an answer unless the turkeys have be-
come SO terrified by the last shot that
by common impulse they have fled pre-
cipitately alone or in very small groups
If they have hidden themselves in
clumps of bushes or the tops of fallen
trees to which the withered foliage is
still clinging. the hunter may get an
other shot.
The third method is to entrap the
birds. A strong pen Of logs or rails is
erected in the wood, and trench with
an easy descent beneath the foundation
piece is dug deep enough to admit the
largest turkey without crowding In
the trench little corn is strewn, and
the turkeys walk along eating or look
ing for something to eat as they go un-
til all Of them are within the pen
Then they become alarmed and go tear
ing around the Enclosure with their
heads erect and chirping as loudly as
they can
They never lower their heads enough
TO discover that it is AS easy for sensi.
BILE bird to get out as for foolish one