The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-12-04

toward tn" call To investigate They had
ired and tried the ch.illen ging call I'd a
Robher On him. knowing the puRna' i''s
bent of the COCKS at timer. and although
som" skIlful caller among them had n"~
and then aroused IN. ire IL thls suspicious
bird he had never come quite near
enough Ia give the. hunter a shot AZ Nun
The hunters had even ri-s"d IN"
penalty Of III" law. 81 they contess''d to
me. and had hat hunted aud pen trapped
for this cunning old cock, knowing thai
wisdom j. no hsr 90 appetite and hoping
that Wild turkey fondn.ss for corn would
prov. to IL. greater in ihis one than hs
perspICacty
Rating for turkeys il simple and
usually prov.s sure The hunter finds a
place. where turkeys ara roosting and Law
rain uf corn through the woods 10 some
chosen spot wh.r. he can conceal himself
and have the turkeys in full view when
they com" along on that train Az III.
end Of m" decoying corn trail he puts a
good quantity of corn in a small space
on the ground. 80 tina, when the flock
Of turkeys have followed the scattered
train Of kernels TO the hunt ct = mi ,uscade
they will IN. brought together in n close
, group. ts.ir heads in a bunch a. they
/ peck III" corn
TIL" hunter il hidden behind a log or
clumP OF bushes perhaps not more than
thr"" or four Yards away. II il gun is
heavily charged with shot. When tn.
unsuspecting turkeys get their heads to-
Gether ~ the small circle - corn he fires
into the bunch II used 20 h. no trick AZ
all for the hunter to bag half a dozen
turkeys Al = single shot.
Pen trapping consists in building pen
in III. woods where the birds are foraging
with no opening in IL large enough 20 per-
nit n turkey to escape when once in the
pen except by the hole by which IL got in
Wary. resourceful strategic az the wild
turkey is NJ liberty. when one finds itself
prisoner IN one Of these pens il loses ia
head and becomes one of the most help
less and stupid OF creatures.
-Th" turkeys could easily escape bv the
opening thai let them into the pen. hut
I that never seems 10 occur to them. Ths
turkeys ars er+iced INTO ne trap nv Turing
, them with food scattered along through
the woods 20 the entrance ~ the pen.
/ This il a trench dug so that il opens inside
/ ;ha pen 50 that the turkeys following the
I lure Of the feed. have TO step ny ont ~ II
TO get 20 rho floor ~ the interior The
instant turkey gets there il seems 20
know'tha; il is in trouble and mmsdiatel-
begins a search for some place TO got ont.
II looks only upward FOR the hoped for
: exit.
! But neither bait hunting nor pen trap
ping fooled the wise old Fobbler % the
: Juniata headwaters. The hunters whose
&ole aim was 20 GET that aggrava-ing bird
| lured many another turkey 10 follow the
train ~ corn 10 the ambush and the lure
of the pen irap 20 that enclosure time
after time and spared them. So thew
assured me. in hone that such clemency
would by and by allav the suspicious 81
tho sagaciouS old cocsi. But he wasn't
horn To he fooled thar way. Sn when
dropped in among them that time he
Jun ata hunters were much wroth AZ This
persister, defiance Of them by this old
gobblcr.
Remembering that my Id guide Black
JeT a veteran turkey v~lper' and wiser
than hiz generation in The ways 81 the
wild turkey had had exactly similar eS-
, psriencas With slgRcio'i- "'d gchbicr
along Little River. in the piny woods Of
North Carolina and had Mt last proved
himself superior 70 the warinsss OF the
bird by a trick that I believed was skill
ful enough To duplicate. ] set ont TO try
IL Sometimes n wild turkey kin teach
fox how 20 he Smaht said JeT after
ho had rot the best - that smart gobbler
81 his and den a,'In sometimes a rtick!r
calf ain half a. big fool a. a Wild turkey
il
L got into the woods where this turkey
was reported 10 be hanging ont 40 de-
family one morning Just as dav was break
ing had a. part 81 my equipment a
turkeys wing and fan had made out
Of the tail feathers 81 n turkey
The Wild turkey sobbler when he struts
spreads his tail and drags his wings on
the ground just a. the domestic turkey
cock does and che sound made by his
movements while thus on parade - she
same
I got behind a log just suited 10 nv
inirpose II being well screened bv brush
and waited TO hear the sound nf turkeys
calling when day broke. At last 1t came.
TN. cobble Of a cock n long distance away
IN the woods | answered the sound A.
well as | could and was quite amazed
10 hear how close the imitation waS
Whether the volC. mad answered was
that e the aggrav atlng old gobbier ] did
not know. hrt | felt that II was.
a long silence followed INV answer
10 III. FIRST gobbi" then the cry was re-
psat.d. this time so much nearer thar !
felt all IL a tremhl. and could scarcely
shape my mouth TO send hack III" chal-
longing call iut dad 1t ~ last and
waited The Wild tWrkev gobbler ~
always cautious and patient bird and
never hurrirs 70 the answer II call
until Lee ~ satisfied that no danger turks
around j. II might he said that he
comes inch by inch for he stops every
few STEPS TO strut and drag his - ings and
AZ every strut h" gobbl'~-
My second answer was replied 10 almost
al once and a. th. turkey Itf-rIng III. cry
repeated il very soon and before ! had
answered again knew thar h. was strut
ting my way GobhI- and answer passed
80 and fro. and hv and by saw "a bush
i long di=tanc. away moving a. II some
thing was cautiously making its way