Page 8 - needham_wildturkey

has more than once brought the ".blinding tears" to my eyes. But now sitting room where the gun stood in the -corner with the long, old , fashioned
as I look back Jhro~gh the years··to the graves_ ofthose two men beneath shot pouch hanging on the muzzle. I snatched the pouch and gun and
the wild cherry tree in the family cemetery; and with scattered paths of as I bounded ou~ of the door, I heard the rattle of my cousin's feet on
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the cousins as theY, reach from ocean to ocean, I.would tug at the handle the porch' boards after me; by the time he gained the door I was· well out
of that fan for a year just to have again one day of that long ago experience. in the open yard and' turned on him defiantly, and warned him that if
But it cannot be~ You who are boys today think of this, and while he came near, me I would fire .off the gun and scream and "holler" and
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I would have· you enjoy to the utmost each youthful hour, 1 would also say frighten away the entire flock. He stopped; tried commanding and
be thoughtful and kind to the aged ones with their grey hairs for there comes threatening .to no avail. Then he began to beg, plead and reason that
a ~lay when through tears you will see the little mou~d in the cemetery where I could not kill a turkey and to let him have the gun; but my blood
rests these tired frames. was up and I was "sot" and so informed· him in plain terms while my
It was after a season of sueh enjoyment when I with a heavy 'h~art sisters, who had been attracted to the doors by the rumpus, stood by
had been long turning that hateful crank while Marion,' a cousin, who giggling. He finally gave if up in disgust and said as he turned away,
was in the first flush of young manhood, which always brings that "let the dad'broomed fool go," and I went; keeping well .around to
the:side out of sight of the flock I gained the timber back of the pastures. ,.
estimation of individual importance which borders close upon the
Pushing . the gun through a crack · between the rails of the . f enc~
domineering, was with steady stroke of scoop piling the chaff and grain
in the hopper, and occasionally ·giving my lagging arms , the necessary I clambered over and made a , wide detour, scrambling over fallen logs
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and through brush, vines, and briars and at last came up to the fence '
encouragement by shouting out the command, through the rattle and 1
dust from the machine, "Turn up, Henry!" Was there ever a more opposite to the point where I. supposed the flock of turkeys to be. ,
hateful phrase? It seemed to me that I already had the internal gear of Here a strip of woods had been enclosed 'within the pasture fiield
that old machine whirling and vibrating up to the safety limit, and verily for the shade it would afford the animals, and I crawled up behind the
thought he issued his order just to show his authority. fence at a point where a wood road had been cut through this timber,
as I knew this road would afford me a clear opening to the field beyond.
It was a cloudy morning of the early spring, <!ripping with a mist
How slowly I seemed to move as I scrambled along, flat on the· ground,
of rain. I stood by that machine, struggling with the handle, standing
pushing along the . gun before me. As I neared the 'fence my fluttering
on an upturned box to bring me up to the regulation height; and whjle
heart pounded so furiously against my ribs that I felt the noise would
thus sorrowfully circumstanced, my eyes wandered out 'through the wide
certainly frighten the wary birds. At last I was w,ithin reach of the fence.
opening in the barn, away across the orchard and field to where the
I ca~tiously put the muzzle o'r the gun thr,pugh the crack above the second
· pasture land joined timber in the distance. What was that I could see
rail, and with muscle and mind strung to utmost tension I slowly rajsed
through the mist and haze? Dark spots mov~d here and there where the ' !;""~.., . ~
my head, from which I had removed my hat, until I· could see over the
sheep were grazing; some appearing large a~d round while others were
rails to the fields beyond. ,
but small huches (sic) gliding here and there. A breeze lifted the haze
Would they be there yet? What a question_; more important then
a little, and then I saw the spreading tails of the strutting gobblers and
to me than since when thousands of dollars were ' at stake. I had the
knew that about half a hundred wild turkeys were getting their morning
breech of the gun to my shoulder and eye training down the sights, and
meal in that pasture field.-
as I slowly raised the gun I <;ould see the flock beyond the strip of timber
How the blood thrilled to my fingers' ends. I had killed quail, about one hundred yards away. A large gobble_r was strutting in front
rabbits and squirrels, but never a turkey. Without a word I dropped that of the opening; just as I raised my head I presume h~ caught a glimpse
handle and sped away, through the opening and into and down the lane of something unusual for he instantly low~red his I tail and stood erect,
for the dwelling; chuckling to myself as I passed the open barn gate which looking intently in my direction.
I knew Marion would have to stop to close, and this would give me time I was just on· the point of touching t~e hair trigger, having him well
in the spare. There was but one gun in the house and he was something in range, when a mammoth sheep slipped fair between me and the turkey,
of a nimrod. I heard the shout of "What's the matter?" as I rounded completely cutting him off from my view. Was ever circumstance so
t~e corner of the barn, and in a moment afterward I heard the clatter of exasperating? Should I shoot the hateful sheep? While I debated these
the closing gate and then the regular beat of his feet as he pounded the questions through wnat seemed an age, but what I presume in reality
mud behind me. To me it meant almost a race. for life. I fairly flew over was only a moment, the. sheep walked on and, oh, joy! there stood the
the fence at the back yard, into the long, _back porch, through it into the· turkey still and erect.
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