hich we observed sitting very
quietly upon a tree that was dead and leafless, though still standing.
The bird was upon one of the lower branches, and apparently buried in
deep thought; for it sat without moving either head or neck, limb or
wing.

I stopped a little behind, and Ben advanced to obtain a shot. He
possessed some hunter craft; for, as he had told me, he had done a
little poaching in his younger days, and this skill now stood him in
stead. Keeping behind the trunks of the trees, and silently gliding
from one to another, he at length arrived within shot of the one on
which the bird was perched. The simple creature appeared to take no
heed of him, although part of his body was several times within sight of
it, and any English bird would have long before taken to flight. Ben
crept very near, in order to make sure of the shot. He concluded that
we were not likely to meet with many chances, and, as he was resolved
not to go back empty-handed, he was determined to be on the safe side
and not make a miss of it. But if the bird had been dead and stuffed it
could not have awaited him more composedly, and Ben crept on until he
was within about a cable's length from the dead tree. He then levelled
his "Queen Anne" and fired, and, since it was almost impossible for him
to have missed, the bird fell to the shot, as an Irishman might say,
"killed dead."

Of course we both ran forward and secured the prize; though neither of
us knew what sort of game we had got. It was a very large bird--quite
as big as a turkey--and bore considerable resemblance to one, being of a
red colour about the head and neck, and upon these parts having no
feathers.

Ben believed it was a turkey--a wild one, of course; but I could not
agree with him in this point, for I remembered having read that wild
turkeys are found only in America and Australia, and that there are none
in Africa; though there are bustards and floricans, and several other
kinds that bear considerable resemblance to turkeys, and hence are often
called by the name. It might be one of these we concluded, and,
therefore, just as good to eat as a turkey. So, with this idea, my
companion tied the huge bird across his shoulders, and, once more
loading his musket, we kept on.

We had not proceeded more than ten paces farther when we came upon the
carcass of an animal, badly torn and partially devoured. It looked like
it had been a deer, and Ben said that it was one; but,