I struck out and rode a mile or more, but I was not at any time more than a half a mile from the train.  I came to a little ridge.  When I had ridden to the top of it, I saw something in the way of game that was a great surprise to me, as I had not seen any of that kind in several years.  It was a large flock of wild turkeys.  I saw that they had not discovered me as yet.  I looked all around and could see no place where they could roost except a little bunch of timber about a quarter of a mile from where they were feeding.  I got back out of sight and rode back to the train as quickly as I could.  When I overtook the train, the boss was looking for a place to corral, and it was not long before all was in shape for the night.

I asked the boss if he would like to go turkey hunting that night.  His answer was that he always went turkey hunting in the daytime, when he could see to shoot them.  I asked him if he had never hunted them at night, and he said no, and had never heard of any one else doing such a thing.

I said, “All right, I will go to the boys from Missouri and ask them, for I have found a flock of wild turkeys, and I know where they roost.”

When I told the Missouri boys of my find, they were wild for the hunt.  One said, “Do I know how to hunt turkeys by night?  You bet I do, and I have a shotgun that will fetch one every pop.”

I said, “All right, you can have a chance to try your gun tonight, for the moon will be bright tonight, and we will start right after supper, and I think we will have some fun and all the turkeys we want besides, for the flock was a large one that I saw this afternoon.”

When I was ready, I found eight of the boys had their guns all ready and were waiting for me.  It was not over a half a mile from camp to the grove where I felt sure we should find the turkeys.  When we reached the edge of the timber, I said, “Now, boys, I think we had better split up and two go together, and when any of you see a turkey, shoot him.”

In a few minutes all I could hear was “bang, bang” all around me, and once in a while the cry “I’ve got one” as the hunter captured one he had wounded.

I spent most of my time laying at the foot of a tree, laughing and watching the other fellows shoot and chase the turkeys, but the fun did not last long.  In a few minutes it was all over, and when the boys gathered up their game, there were eleven turkeys, and I had not killed a one, but I had my share of the sport in watching the others.

We struck back for camp, all the hunters feeling proud of what they had done.  When we reached camp, we found the cook waiting for us with everything that would hold water and stand the fire that he could get hold of full of steaming hot water, ready to scald the turkeys, and all the men pitched in and helped to dress them.

When we were picking the turkeys, the boss said to the cook, “Say, John, can’t you preserve one of these birds, so it will keep until we get to Santa Fe, and we will present it to Capt.  McKee?”