136 
THE TURKEY. 
first, he may secure nearly the whole flock, neither 
the presence of the hunter, nor the report of his gun, 
intimidating the turkeys, although the appearance of 
a single owl would be sufficient to alarm the whole 
troop : the dropping of their companions from their 
sides excites nothing but a buzzing noise, which 
seems more expressive of surprise than fright. This 
fancied security or heedlessness of danger, while at 
roost, is characteristic of all the gallinaceous birds of 
North America. 
“ The more common mode of taking turkeys is 
by means of pens, constructed with logs, covered in 
at top, and with a passage in the earth under one 
side of it, just large enough to admit an individual 
when stooping. The ground chosen for this purpose 
is generally sloping, and the passage is cut on the 
lower side, widening outwards. These preparations 
being completed, Indian corn is strewed for some 
distance around the pen, to entice the flock, which, 
picking up the grain, is gradually led towards the 
passage, and thence into the enclosure, where a suf- 
ficient quantity of corn is spread to occupy the leader 
until the greater part of the turkeys have entered. 
When they raise their heads and discover that they 
are prisoners, all their exertions to escape are di- 
rected upwards and against the sides of the pen, not 
having sagacity enough to stoop sufficiently low to 
pass out by the way they entered, and thus they be- 
come an easy prey, not only to the experienced hun- 
ter, but even to the boys on the frontier settlements. 
