| Richard of Jamestown|
|by James Otis|
|Follow the fortunes of orphan Richard Mutton as he travels to the New World with Captain John Smith and takes up residence with him in the new colony of Jamestown. See the struggles they go through to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table while the majority of their fellow colonists shirk the work of establishing the colony for the pursuit of gold. Observe how their relationships with the native Americans change over time and how, when they are just on the point of abandoning the colony, a new contingent of colonists arrives to bring fresh hope to the Jamestown settlement. Numerous black and white illustrations complement the text. Ages 8-10 |
THE wild turkeys had appeared in the forest in great numbers,
but few had been killed by our people because of the savages,
many of whom were not to be trusted, even though the chiefs of
three tribes professed to be friendly. It was this fact which
had prevented us from doing much in the way of hunting.
Now that we were in such stress for food, and since all had
turned laborers, whether willingly or no, much in the way of
provisions was needed. Captain Smith set about taking the
turkeys as he did about most other matters, which is to say,
that it was done in a thorough manner.
 Instead of being forced to spend at least one charge of powder
for each fowl killed, he proposed that we trap them, and showed
how it might be done, according to his belief.
Four men were told off to do the work, and they were kept
busy cutting saplings and trimming them down until there was
nothing left save poles from fifteen to twenty feet long.
Then, with these poles laid one above the other, a square pen
was made, and at the top was a thatching of branches, so that
no fowl larger than a pigeon might go through.
From one side of this trap, or turkey pen, was dug a ditch
perhaps two feet deep, and the same in width, running
straightway into the thicket where the turkeys were in the
custom of roosting, for a distance of twenty feet or more.
This ditch was carried underneath the side of the pen, where
was an opening hardly more than large enough for one turkey
to pass through. Corn was scattered along the whole length of
the ditch, and thus was the trap set.
The turkeys, on finding the trail of corn, would follow
hurriedly along, like the gluttons they are, with the idea of
coming upon a larger hoard, and thus pass through into the
pen. Once inside they were trapped securely, for the wild
turkey holds his head so high that he can never see the way
out through a hole which is at a level with his feet.
 It was a most ingenious contrivance, and on the first morning
after it had been set at night, we had fifty plump fellows
securely caged, when it was only necessary to enter the trap
by crawling through the top, and kill them at our leisure.
It may be asked how we made shift to cook such a thing as a
turkey, other than by boiling it in a kettle, and this can be
told in very few words, for it was a simple matter after once
you had become accustomed to it.
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