GOLD-WINGED WOODPECKER. 143 
gun, bent on vengeance, and, forgetful of the benevolent 
sentiment of the poet, that 
Just as wide of justice be must fall, 
Who thinks all made for one, not one for all. 
But farmers, in general, are not much versed in poetry, 
and pretty well acquainted with the value of corn, from 
the hard labour requisite in raising it. 
In rambling through the woods one day, I happened 
to shoot one of these birds, and wounded him slightly 
on the wing. Finding him in full feather, and seem- 
ingly but little hurt, I took him home, and put him 
into a large cage, made of willows, intending to keep 
him in my own room, that we might become better 
acquainted. As soon as he found himself enclosed on 
all sides, he lost no time in idle fluttering, but, throwing 
himself against the bars of the cage, began instantly 
to demolish the willows, battering them with great 
vehemence, and uttering a loud piteous kind of cackling, 
similar to that of a hen when she is alarmed, and takes 
to wing. Poor Baron Trenck never laboured with 
more eager diligence at the walls of his prison, than 
this son of the forest in his exertions for liberty ; and 
he exercised his powerful bill with such force, digging 
into the sticks, seizing and shaking them so from side 
to side, that he soon opened for himself a passage ; 
and, though I repeatedly repaired the breach, and 
barricaded every opening, in the best manner I could, 
yet, on my return into the room, I always found him 
at large, climbing up the chairs, or running about the 
floor, where, from the dexterity of his motions, moving 
backward, forward, and sidewise, with the same 
facility, it became difficult to get hold of him again. 
Having placed him in a strong wire cage, he seemeffi 
to give up all hopes of making his escape, and soon 
became very tame ; fed on young ears of Indian corn ; 
refused apples, but ate the berries of the sour gum 
greedily, small winter grapes, and several other kinds 
of berries ; exercised himself frequently in climbing, or 
