El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-11-29

TOT only has the wild turkey the
Nj reputation Of being the shyest Of
i y all game birds, but he deserves
If Lucky indeed is the man who can
say that one Of those splendid birds has
fallen to the crack Of his gun Al one
time the wild turkey was quite nuIneI-
ous in the United States, but clVlllza-
tion. more guns and more hunting nave
steadily thinned out his kind Now IN
many places, the turkey IS but a mem
DRY, and old timers sit ABOUT the IRE
on a winters night and tell the younger
generation Of the sport they used 10
have calling up a smart old gooDler-
Turkey Cunning vs.. Indian Skill
When the noble red man roamed LIs
forest primeval, the wild turkeys mace
many meals for the willy savage, Tor
AGAINST the cunning and stealth OF the
bird were matched the same qualities OF
the indian. In fact. IL was from the
friendly indians that the Pilgrim dLh-
ers learned to hunt the turkey Ihere
Is an old story that when the choice OF
some bird to be the emblem Of Amerl-
can freedom was being discussed, II
was Ben Franklin who heId out IllsI
last and all the time in favor OF the
wild turkey. He wanted the proud and
beautiful bird that came up about the
door Of a Pilgrims cabin, EXTENDED
greeting of tut. tut tut" then scam
pered off to the dark recesses OF the
forest of which II was undlsputeq
king Of birds. The turkey finally 1ost
to the eagle, but although beaten IN
this race, the proud bird was not as
graced- Tomorrow, at any rate II Is
Like the indian. the wild turkey has
given steadily away before the ADVANCE
OF civilization Unlike the Bob Wnlte,
the wild turkey likes to be just as 1ar
from the haunts Of man as he can ger.
Find the toughest mountain side, the
most impenetrable thicksts and cane
brakes, the most impossible swamps,
tod q
places in which to look for the turkey.
Many Ways to Hunt Turkeys.
There are many ways to hunt TINS
beautiful bird. The most fascinating'
without doubt, is that Of calling up the
old gobblers and the hens in what IS
termed the 'yelping" or mating sea
son. This method is also employed IN
the fall when young flock has been
badly scattered Another method is
that Of locating the birds by learning
where they feed, by means Of watch
ing for turkey signs" An old turkey
hunter will note where turkeys nave
been scratching when a novice or even
an ordinary WOOdman would find moth
ing to attract his attention Not only
this. but the old time hunter can tell
how old are the signs and which way
the birds are ranging.
Many hunters prefer to go after tur-
keys with q dog. for the reason that
dog scatters the birds better than can
be done by any other method, and the
Is to call them Up and XIII them. Then,
too a dog is invaluable in trailing
wounded bird Stiu hunting just tip
ping along, watching and listening.
viii get turkey meat sometimes 1t Is
good sport to track a drove through
the snow. Sometimes the hunter 10
Gates a rOOst. waits for day to break
and then picks a few Of them off This
J is a questionable method, however, and
hardly gives the bird a fair chance.
But calling with the 'yelper" is the
thrilling way to pull down a big COB
bier and match the skill Of the hunter
1t is in the mating season that turkeys
that is gObblers-dO most Of their
yelping, and the man who would bag
one must have a good caller and know
how to use II. too. Calling turkeys
was handed down from the indians.
They employed many methods Most OF
them. survive and few good ones have
been added.
Primitive Turkey Caller
A >hOllow cedar box, with resin rub
bed on IL, and the noise made by draw
ing a piece Of shale OF slate on the edge
Of the box, was and still is a success
full method Of calling. A short piece OF
cane tightly fitted into one a little
larger is good Callers can be made by
inserting the smaller bone Of the turkey
wing into the larger one. A blade Of
grass OF a leaf can be made to talk"
just like a turkey in the hands Of an
expert Some callers use nothing arti-
| fetal at all but do the calling with
their Threats. Occasionally one hears
OF a live gObbler from the barnyard
| being used for n decoy in the gobbling
season. An old turkey hunter in a