RANCHER SAYS TURKEY GOBBLER'S CALL REASON FOR SELF-DEFENSE IN MURDER TRIAL
Okmulgee, Oklahoma (JFK+50) On April 28, 1926, Associated Press reports that "the imitation of a turkey gobbler's call...forms the basis of the defense" in a murder trial being held here in Okmulgee*.
AP says the gobbler's call is the Indian signal of intent to kill.
A wealthy rancher by the name of Jim Crowell is charged with shooting Willie Brunner, an Indian who the former testified "gobbled three times" and then "attempted to kill him."
AP cites precedent in the Indian Territory where the court ruled "justifiable homicide" in a similar incident.
*Okmulgee, Muskogee word meaning 'boiling waters', is located in the Tulsa metro area in Oklahoma. It is the capital of the Muskogee (Creek) Nation.
SOURCE
"Indian 'Gobbled' Rancher Who Shot Him, Tells Court," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., April 28, 1926, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
