St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1916-11-18
THE WILD GoBBLER.

(By W01G. kt1&&S, 81.
In the long, long ago when our
forefathers first settled in this coun-
try, It was not an uncommon thing
for them to have on Thanksgiving
Day q wild turkey gobbler for din
ner.
Jeanette expected Captain Lynne
over from the fort to take Thanks
giving dinner and the evening before,
as she was returning home from Wis
itig q friend who lived about two
and one-half miles down The creek
from Jeanette's home, she heard the
yelp Of . turkey gobbler calling to
its mate. She hurried home as fast
az she could and informed her young
brother Of her discovery.
Upon her arriving home she was
very much disappointed to find that
he had gone with a message to the
fort and would not return until dark.
She had oft times heard her younger
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proudest man on earth it he could
only kill . wild gobbler, and she
thought what q splendid opportuni-
ty this would be for his wishes to
come true.
Ralph Somerville loved jeanette,
and had loved her from childhood
and had often told her SO. But if
Jeanette ever returned his love she
did not let him know of 1t, and gave
him but very little encouragement
other than that of real good friend
ship. When he called this particu-
lar evening she told him of the tur
key gobb1er that she had heard down
near the branch, and in the same
breath asked him particularly not to
shoot it as she wanted her brother
to have this pleasure. He looked at
her very seriously for a moment as
il something worried him, and after
few pleasant remarks he took UP
his rifle and started for the branch.
1t was not long after that she
heard of the rife, and a little later
She saw Ralph return empty handed
from the direction where she heard
the turkey call. As soon as Ralph
got within speaking distance of her
she told him, with eyes flashing with
anger, that she was glad that he
missed that turkey, and she did not
want to see him again. With these
remarks she ran into the house leav-
ing Ralph standing with his rifle in
his hands, his eyes cast down, in deep
study.
When Captain Lynne and the other
guests were invited in to dinner
there was a tame goose served in
stead of a wild turkey. Ralph was
also there but Jeanette paid very
little, II any, attention to him, de-
voting most of her time to Captain
Lynne, and she did not fail at the
opportune time, when the guests
were all seated at the table, to tell
them of the incident of the evening
before, laying deep stress upon the
meanness OF Ralph's actions.
When she finished her STORY Cap
tain Lynne twItted him upon his
poor Workmanship. Looking Jean
cite in the eyes Ralph said to her,
"your friend, Captain Lynne, Jean
cite, Is mistaken. did not miss the
turkey, in fact, / have 1T here in my
pocket. IT'S an Indians trick which
10 well known to the iback-woods-
man, that the Red Man will hide in
secluded spot and initiate the yelp
of q gobbler in order to decoy an
unsuspecting hunter, and when he is
sure of his victim he will in this way
add one more white mans scalp to
his warriors belt" And with these
remarks he draw from his pocket a
little plat of coarse black hair tied
at the end with buckskin, and said,
Jeanette, this is surely a Thanks
giving Day. Thank God that your
brother did not go to kill the COB
bier"
And that night when Ralph was
returning home he too thought that
IT was a Thanksgiving Day, for JEAN
cite had given him her hand and
heart as a Thanksgiving Offering.