Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1899-02-23
BEE SAMUEL'S
DANCING TURKEYS
By G. A. Stephens

oy " a. 0t0p0o00
THERE were seven turkeys, all large
ones, six bronze and one white.
On a board over the wire front of their
cage was painted the announcements:
"seven Dancing Turkeys; Exhibited
For the First Time; Round and Square
Dances and the Highland Fling!"
The exhibitor was sallow-looking
boy about IS years of age, with droll
droop of his left eye. In connection
with his cage of educated turkeys"
which he was showing at the county
fair, he had sweet-cider and peanut
stand. The peanuts were excellent, for
he had stove, kept hot with a coal fire,
and roasted ovenful after ovenful. The
stove and fuel box were partly hidden
from the public eye by curtain at one
end; and both stand and cage had just
behind them the high board fence of
the fair grounds.
Few people knew the owner. Those
few called him Bee Samuels. He had
been at the fair the year before with
"whirling table," which, after the first
day, had been excluded by the manage
ment as something too nearly akin to
gambling.
But this time he had brought flock
Of educated turkeys, which spoke SO
well for his patience and skill that his
show was admitted to the grounds
without question.
During the first day the cage did not
attract much attention, for the people
were interested in other novelties; but
soon they began to talk about it.
Beg plan of exhibiting was not the
usual one. He had no tent, but merely
a slide curtain inside the wire front of
the cage. Whenever the passing crowd
raised so cents Bee opened the curtain
and gave brief performance. OF
course many saw it who had paid moth
ing; yet as many newcomers were con-
stantly arriving the plan worked we'll.
During the forenoon of the second
day of the fair my friend Tom and I
and ten or dozen other young peo-
pie contributed the SO cents requisite
to see the turkeys dance.
There was a rafting sound as Bee
pulled the curtain aside, and imme-
diately those seven turkeys began to
hop, first on one foot, then on the other,
constantly shifting and moving around
the cage. One could scarcely say that
they executed regular figure; but
they went round and round, hopping in
a very curious and ludicrous manner.
Moreover, it was hard to guess the mo-
tive for their antics. The bottom of
the cage inside the wires appeared to
be Of old zinc or sheet iron. Occasion
ally Bee either struck the bottom of
the cage or ratified beneath it as if with
an iron rod, ''To change the time of the
dance,'' as he explained.
At once, then, the turkeys began to
leap higher, using their wings to assist
them. At every hop they rose to the
top of the cage, a height of certainly
six feet. Their feet seemed scarcely
to touch the ground at all, so rapidly
did their leaps succeed each other. Up,
up, and up and around they went in
maze of leaping and tapping! This
was the Highland Fling" and no one
who saw it could help laughing.
After minute or two Bee pulled the
curtain, and, thanking us, declared the
performance over. Nearly everyone
went away remarking that there never
was such turkey dance, and in the
course of ten minutes another so cents
were collected. People wondered how
bird SO stupid as a turkey could ever
have been trained to go through such
performance. Music had nothing to do
with it; Bee had merely raped on the
floor as signal for the dance to begin,
and had ratified louder for the '.High-
land Fling
sit must have taken no end of time
and patience to teach them," remem-
Der saying to my companion.
"Maybe; but doubt it, he replied.
II don't like the looks of that 'Bez,'"
he continued. 81 think it's a trick!"
Some discussion ensued; then we
went back to ask him how he had
trained the turkeys.
The fellow looked at us attentively,
and then gave an account of the gift
he possessed of communicating his
"will'' to birds and animals. It re-
quired months, he said; but Kindness
and perseverance accomplish wonders.
We said to him that it was truly a
wonderful gift, and left. we'll satisfied
that he had not told us the truth.
'He's fraud,' remarked Tom. as we
walked away. eff he had said fatty
that he did not wish to tell US about it
I shouldn't have blamed him, for of
course it's his secret. If he wants to
keep it, he has right IT,. wouldn't
spy round to find it out, either; but |
now that he has gone on and told us