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9 He remained my guest for a few days; and I frequently hunted in his company. He was one of the best rifle shots I ever met with, and with my rifle performed many wonderful feats in fine bead drawing. He was also a good hunter, particularly after turkies: which he never failed to come up to if once on the track. A turkey hunt, which we had together, in pencil: made in company was very successful. One night he returned to the camp with a fine gobler, and told me that a flock of thirty were roosting crossed out: that night on a beech ridge, within a mile of our shanty.

Accordingly some hours before daylight we were on the ridge, waiting quietly until the morning broke, when the turkies would leave their roost. The Indian had seen them take wing for the trees the night before when he had killed one, and not far, he thought, from the spot we then were. In the interim we lit our pipes sitting quietly on a log amongst a thick clump of beeches. Just as day was breaking, a rustling in the branches of a tree over my head roused me followed by a loud clear call from the same tree. It was instantly answered by another, at a little distance, and taken up by the next, until the woods seemed to resound with the noise on all sides. The Indian, at the first alarum, had pulled me behind the log, where with rifles cocked, we awaited our opportunity. It was just light enough to enable us to look along our barrels, when a commotion in the same tree from whence the first call proceeded warned us to prepare. Now, as the light first disclosed the top of the tree to us, we saw a large dark body descending from branch to branch occasionally uttering a loud cluck. When it came to the first branches, I could plainly see the figure of a large turkey, and was on the point of firing at it, when the Indian restrained me. I soon found the wisdom of this proceeding, for as soon as the bird hopped to the ground a few loud repeated calls brought the remainder of the flock one after the other, running swiftly over the snow & contrasting with their shiny black plumage.

Two or three had joined the old gobler, when the Indian motioned that now was our time: so levelling at the father of the flock, I laid him sprawling fluttering on the snow, where another victim was also soon fluttering, shot by the Indian. The reports of the pieces did not appear to alarm the others, for my companion putting his fingers on his mouth, soon brought them trooping up, by his imitation of the call.