The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-04-19
WILD TURKEY SHOOTING.

a Perfect Call and No End of Pa
 tienee.
 On misty mornings, when the dew trickles heavily down the boards of the Spanish moss, when a lazy breeze sWays the damp upper leaves of the trees and dlowsy day spins threads of dun and ashes gray in the loom of the east, the love call of the turkey echoes through the woods. The notes--at once chal- lenge and Wooing-are sWeeter to the ear of the hunter than the "Gobble Duet" in La Mascotte." At all sea sons of the year the turkey may be led with parched corn into a pigeon trap or butchered at his roost as he flies in of nights or perches like black ball against the sky before the moon has set. It is only in the spring time that his warrior instinct is awake and he may be slain as he anWers the defiance of a supposed rival. Calling a turkey cock in March is the same thing as morning bull moose in Octo- Der. In both instances the male ad- vances to do battle.
 The turkeys betrayal of his roost by gobbling, his passion for parched corn
  inability to find his way out of hole are his only weaknesses. All the rest of him is cold intellect. His sense of hearing is phenomenal. His power of scent equals that of the rhinoceros. He is exceedingly swift of foot He will, when necessary lie with his belly to the ground like a quail, while his pursuer passes within five feet. So hidden, the turkey is difficult to dis tinguish from surrounding dark green, grayish and russet foliage. He is ever alert. He has the reasoning faculty in state of high development He is strong of wing-a healthy turkey has been known to fly two miles straight on end-and his caution is abnormal. These qualities are necessary to him and only their possession has prevented his extinction.
 The turkey hunter that is turkey hunter, the man who understands the turkey and himself, who holds one bird fairly killed to be better than a flock butchered, scorns any weapon other than a 22-calibre rifle. The bird, to be scientifically killed, must be struck in the head and the modern .22 in the Sllll WoOuS anu pippCliy ilCiu, VIII S'Vot to the hair at fifty yards This man will be dressed in brownish canvas of no decided tint. His luncheon-cold corn bread and cold broiled quail wrapped in bit of newspaper-will be thrust into the pocket of his shooting coat. He will want no dog and certainly no com- panion. He will take to the woods at sunrise and he will travel four miles from any human habitation before halting. His gun barrel will have been painted black, so that no occasional ray of light, sitting through the leaves, will glint from it. He will walk as if on egg shells, and his eyes will shift ever to and fro looking for signs. If he be a master he will have no call in his pocket He will use only the or gans with which nature has gifted him.
 Having reached part of the woods which shows sign, the hunter who knows how, will select his stand with an eye single to the massive brain of the bird he is seeking. If there be a very, very thick top of dead tree lying near he may select that If he cannot find a natural blind utterly inn tTNlOuS lO tuG cyC iiC III PA"N~ ''-S back against a large pine tree or some tree whose bark nearly approaches his clothing in color and remain up- right and rigid. It is curious fact that in standing for either turkey or deer the man with the gun would much rather be on the side of the tree nearest the oncoming prey. If he be so placed and perfectly quiet, the chances are that the animal will fail to see him. If he be on he further side of the tree he will have to move his head slightly in order to peer around it. and any wild thing will instantly detect a moving object, no matter how slight the motion. Having placed himself, the expert purses his lips and sends out the challenge, inflating his chest and giving force to the breath expulsion. This is repeated at intervals of minute. NO more than half a dozen calls are ut tered. The commonest fault of the tur- key hunter is calling too much. If there be a gobbler in hearing he will answer. He, may be half mile distant, but sound, bounding from tree trunk, to tree trunk, travels far in the woods The trained caller, when he receives his first answer, will wait at least three minutes. Then he will send out his challenge again.
 In he meantime the gobbler has been marching about in a circle, endeaVor- inc to fix the direction from which the first insult came, and getting anxious. When he answers the second call he will he 300 yards nearer and coming fast. Again he is challenged and stops to throw his head aloft and fling back the defiance. He is certain of the direc- tion now. The hunter makes not another sound. All of his vocal skill has been exerted. Caution and straight shooting must now serve him. The badest task of the day is now before him. He must wait moving only his eyes The last answer of the male has told him that the bird is in front and coming straight. Forty yaros away in an open glade twenty feet Ill width. Even at this season it's surface is rrseu win young grass, and the sum light throws on it the dancing shadows of the leaves. They are pretty but bad for shooting Five, ten, fifteen minutes pass, and the shadows still quiver. Nerves strung to the limit are begin ming to crawl and twist. The breath drawn in deeply and held long, mas grown irregular. The heart thumps un- comfortably. An!
 From the woods on the far side of IIo erla bi1TCtc a vision From his