November 27, 2011

The wild turkey was once one of the most abundant fowl in the Arkansas woods, but the coming of the railroad in the late 1800s harmed the turkey population. Destruction of habitat was a major factor, but the railroad also exposed the birds for market hunting. The railroad exported thousands of the turkeys, making them a staple of the dinner table in many large cities. By the early 1900s, about the time these two Montgomery County hunters took these birds, the wild turkey had been driven to near extinction.