^"Mif"^^] Wright, Early Records of the Wild Turkey. 471 



and ran into a timbered ravine; he still followed out of sight with 

 his horse, but soon appeared again with a stick driving the exhausted 

 bird before him. I expressed much surprise at the facility with 

 which he run down and caught the turkey; but he informed me 

 that they seldom ever fly more than twice before they become 

 exhausted and are easily taken." 



One of the most profitable methods is the so called trap or pen, 

 more generally used in Virginia than in any other region. Bruce 

 (1. c, p. 213) in speaking of Virginia in the 17th century writes that 

 "among the ingenious devices employed for its capture was the 

 large trap built in the midst of the forest; lured by a long train of 

 grains of corn to the hole in the ground which led into the trap, 

 where there was piled up a quantity of the same grains, the turkey 

 entered unhesitatingly, and once in, was too stupid to find its way 

 out of the same hole again." Beverley informs us ^ "There are 

 many pretty Devices besides the Gun, to take wild Turkeys; and 

 among others, a Friend of mine invented a great Trap; wherein he 

 at times caught many Turkeys, and particularly seventeen at one 

 time; but he could not continue it so, as to let others in, after he 

 had entrapped the first Flock, until they were taken out." An- 

 burey (1. c. Vol. II, pp. 340, 343) notes this same practice in Vir- 

 ginia. "Just before we came to Goochland Courthouse, we saw 

 the manner by which the inhabitants catch them: they make a 

 long fence of about twelve feet square, securing the top with heavy 

 logs, but before they covered it over dig a passage from the center, 

 to the outside of the fence, which is covered over so as to admit 

 light, and round about the entrance, and through this passage they 

 strew Indian corn, as well as a quantity for them to feed on when in 

 the trap, the birds seeing the corn in the inside, keep walking 

 around to gather it, till they meet that which is laid to conduct 

 them into the passage, which having consumed, they keep eating 

 on till they get into the trap, and these foolish birds, when they wish 

 to get out, instead of returning the way they came in, keep continii- 

 ally flying up, by which means one or two out of the flock, in the 

 morning are found dead, and they frequently catch a flock of ten or 

 a dozen at a time in this manner." In 1819, Warden (Vol. II, p. 

 178) practically repeats the above for Virginia. 



1 Beverley, Robert. The History of Virginia. London, 2 edit. 1722, p. 252. 



