Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1900-01-03
BE- SAMUEL'S
DANCING TURKEYS
By G. A. Stephens

THERE were seven turkeys, all large
ones, six bronze and one white.
On n board over the wire front Of their
cage was painted the announcement:
"Seyen Dancing Turkeys; Exhibited
For the First Time; Round and Square
Dances and the Highland Fling"
The exhibitor was a sallow-lOoking
boy about 10 years of age, with 4 droll
droop of his left eye. In connection
with his cage of educated turkeys"
which he was showing at the county
fair. he had a sweet-cider and peanut
stand. The peanuts were excellent, for
he had a stove, kept hot with a coal fire,
and roasted ovenful after oyenful. The
stove and fuel box were partly hidden
from the public eye by n curtain at L
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 Samucls. lie had
been at the fair the year before with 4
'whirling table, which. after the first
day, had been excluded by the manage
ment as something toe nearly akin to
gambling.
But this time he had brought n 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 il.
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 50 cents Be- opened the curtain
and gave a brief performance. OF
course many saw il who had paid moth
ing; yet rs many were con-
stantly arriving the plan worked well.
During the forenoon of the second
day Of the fair my friend Tom and l
and ten or n dozen other young peo-
pie contributed the so cents requisite
TO see the turkeys dance.
There was a rattling sound as Bee
pulled the curtain aside, and imme-
diately those seven turkeys began to
hep. first on one foot. then on the other,
constantly shifting aud moving around
the cage. One could scarcely say that
they executed a regular figure: but
they went round and round. hopping in
n 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 il as if with
an iron rod. ITO 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 a
maze of leaping and tapping! This
was the Highland Fling" and no one
who saw it could help laughing.
After a minute or two Bee pulled the
curtain, and, thanking us. declared the
performance over. Nearly everyone
went away remarking that there never
was such a turkey dance. and in the
course of ten minutes another 50 cents
were collected. People wondered how
n bird so stupid as a turkey could ever