Turkey Legs

So when my grandpa was a young man there was a train accident in Pueblo, Colorado. At least one of the cars was carrying turkeys for market. He and a couple of his brothers (he was one of nine children) went to check it out. I won't say they went to scavenge, but when they discovered the car of turkeys, they talked themselves into taking parts of the turkeys. Parts? Yep. They took the turkey legs. Why just the legs? Grandpa said it was easy to reach into the crates (or boxes or whatever the turkeys were riding in) and pull off the legs. He also said the legs were their favorite part. You know what I didn't ask grandpa about this story? Were the turkeys recently deceased? In other words, had the car contained live turkeys that may (or may not) have perished in the accident? Or were they all dead turkeys on their way to market? I've always assumed dead turkeys, but it does make me wonder.

So as they pulled the legs off the turkeys (please let them have been dead turkeys), they got caught. They were told to stay until, I assume, the cops or official train-type people showed up. One man was left in charge to watch the three brothers. Well, some quick math later, the brothers realized they outnumbered their sole watcher and bid him a fond farewell, taking the turkey legs with them.

The epilogue? They sent some of the turkey legs to their sister Katie who was going to school up in Greeley (it wasn't called the University of Northern Colorado at that time, but I forget just what it was called). They received word that her friends thought the family must surely be of means to send such a fine feast.