We got an early start on the road the next morning, and we traveled along all day without anything of interest taking place.
Along in the middle of the afternoon I told the boss that I guessed I would go and hunt some more huckleberries. He said, "I would not exert myself to get any more meat today if I were you. We have enough for supper that was left over from last night."
"Yes, but I want some huckleberries, and I will pick enough for your and my supper if I can find them."
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.