Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-12

place where | first discovered turkey signs
and was sitting on an old tree trunk, we'll
concealed by heavy underbrish, trying to
make up my mind what was best TO be done
when through the trees l saw sight that
mad, every nervo OF my body tingle with
excitement: There, scarce 100 yards in my
very front, was a flock OF fifteen wild tur-
keyi led by the most magnificent gobbler
l ever saw He was full grown and arrayed
in new suit OF feathered armor which
shoni with absolute radiance, the bronze
of his breast scintillating in the rays OF
thu sun like FURNISHED steel. He was lord
and master over fourteen handsome hens
and they seemed to realize that theirs was
q raro privilege to be subjects of such
superb specimen OF their tribe
owl Wrecks Hunters Hopes.
Carried away as had been momentarily
by the suddenness of the focks appearance,
it was hardly a minute before | had my
riffs ia my cheek and my eye glued to the
sigl., dead bead on that prince of COB
ber:. Just as / pulled the trigger an owl
overhead let out an Internal hoot, which
startled me fol second With the crack
OF tho rifle came a whirr OF widespread
wings; black bodies interposed between me
and the sun, shutting ii out completely, and
theI, absolute silence. But there was no
dead gobbler in sight. / shook myself to-
gether and went to the place where he had
stood in all his majesty king over fourteen
wtvec. There plenty of evidence to
convince the most skeptical that turkeys
had been around but few minutes previous
but hunt the ground over as would could
find no trace of even having knocked a
leather out OF his lordship. | went back to
my dead stump and breaking number of
branche, over 1t I succeeded in making
fairly satisfactory bliud.
Il had hardly settled myself down to wait
for twilight to come when l heard a far-off
call OF hen turkey. l was Just getting
ready to give her the call of the gobbler, and
very few men can beat me on turkey call
either with leaf or bone, when heard Just
short distance below me a hens answering
call. They were already on the move to the
place where they had been flushed. 1t was
put a very short time before l saw hen
coming into the open, her short Quick,
quick telling me plainly that she wanted her
liege lord. / waited until she was within
good shooting distance, then fired. There
was no mistake this time, the turkey falling
scarce twenty rods from where l shot her.
got three turkeys out OF the flock and was
satisfied with the days shoot, except entirely
chagrined over my failure to bring the big
gobber down.
NimrOd is Fooled Again.
"a week later 1 met the big fellow under
somewhat similar circumstances, and he had
fourteen hens with him, as when l first met
him. l had a splendid chance at him this
time, but, so help me gracious, when 1 fired
he absolutely seemed to laugh in my face
and was gone before you could say Jack
Robinson. cut out OF his tail at this last
shot beautiful feather, which still have
as memento Of my singular experience
with that turkey. Well, during that season
had as many as dozen shots at the king
Of all the wild turkeys, but with no better
luck. The next year Jared as badly. l saw
him four or five times. still with fourteen
wives, lording it over them, directing their
movements, but always escaping my bullets
For five years this thing kept up.
Hunters in our section, which Is very
sparsely settled, began to believe strange
things about that turkey. The best and
cleverest Of those who could talk turkey and
understand it, too, saw this remarkable
game bird, but their shots, like mine, were
of no avail. He seemed to bear a charmed
life He would lose his wives from out of
the flock, but just as soon as one was killed
he would fill her place and go on the same
round which covered a distance of some
forty miles during the season.
1.-TWO years ago I took party Of Wash
ington and Baltimore sportsmen through the
Cheat river country and gave them all
chance to see my enchanted gobbler. One
of the tenderfeet actually got turkey fever
| when he saw the handsome bird, and swears
to this day that the turkey made as If to bite
him. Numberless shots were taken at the
fellow, but without effect.
Last year-it was getting well on toward
NOyemDer-I determined tn have n nj
the gobbler, and l laid my plans accordingly.
| appreciated the wary character of the bird
and confess to a rather creepy feeling in
his connection. To be alone in the vast soli-
tude Of the Cheat river region, thousands OF
acres of which have yet to know the touch
of the white mans foot, stretching away to
south and west, gives one the shakes some
| times and fills one with the realization Of
how much pioneering is still to be done.
II was prepared for a weeks steady hunt
and having made all arrangements to stop
at small farm house near the backbone of
the Appalachian range In the heart of the
hills, commenced to build series of blinds
within a radius of ten miles. The farmer
had a crop of buckwheat last year and the
stubble was in fine condition when l got
there. He was as anxious as myself that |
should get the turkey. He told me that he
had seen the gobbler but a few days pre-
vious, but half his feathers were missing and
! that probably they had been shot away by
hunters. l placed little credence in this and
began the hardest weeks work of my life
had little luck on my first days hunt, but
saw enough to convince me that turkeys
were about.
"The second day saw me early amongst
the trees and toward noon while taking a
snack of lunch and resting my legs bit
from the continuous scouting got a glimpse
of flock OF six turkeys. all hens. Two of
these / got. 1t was getting on toward dusk
| and was using my bone caller to bring back
| the rest OF the flock when out into the small
opening stepped the Cheat river gobbler. He
was alone. No hens accompanied him, and
he looked as IL he was the last OF the race
OF American wild turkeys. Every sportsman
who has hunted wild turkeys will appreciate
the genuine thrill that went over me at the
sight. got my gun in one of the forks of a
dead bough and then deliberately looked
along the barrel. The gobbler stood out in
bold relief, bronze statuette in the fading
October day. No man ever took more care