I 1
Thanksgiving Baked Meats and the Day
IN tho early your a ot tho soven-
tccnth century almost every eue
ccsslvo fcHllvnl was lti honor of
a different achievement or prin
ciple. Yet it Is illlllcult today
for thoBo who nro confronted with a suc
culent repast, which Itself constitutes their
chief causo for thnnkfulnesH, to reiillzo that
In the dayn ot yoro tho occasion was ono
ot fervid and heartfelt Kratltudo to God
for blessings ranging from a good harvest
to tho illecomlUuro ot a foo, and from tbo
timely discovery ot a plot against tho llfu
ot a UrltUh ruler to tho successful land
ing of n fresh boatload of pioneers on the
rocky eastern const ot Now England.
Tho Hint festival ot this uaturo held In
America occurred soveral yearii provious
oven to what Is commonly understood as tho
date of Its blrtn. It was an August 9, 1607,
old style, that tho Popham colonists, Church
of England men, landed upon Mohcgan,
near tho Kennebec river, and, under tho
shadow of a high cross, listened to a ser
mon by Chnphitn Seymour, In which thanks
wcro extunded to and for "our happy meet
ings and Baffe aryvall Into tho contry."
Good cheer followed.
It was not till fourteen years later, In
1021, tlmt tho people ot the Plymouth col
ony held their first Thanksgiving cere
monies and feast. Tbts was In tho autumn,
In tho year after tholr arrival, and the af
fair was purely a celebration ot a good har
vest. Prom that time till tho merging ot
tho Plymouth colony with Massachusetts In
1C91 theso festivals jvoro ot Irregular oc
currence. They were held as lata as De
cember and as early as Juno, and, while
sometimes It was tor n good harvest that
tho people thanked and ate, In 1623 tho eate
nrrlval ot somo provisions from England
was tho causo of tho; festivity, and In 1689
tho accession to tho throno of William and
Mary proved an equal Impetus,
nrnwth of tliv Id en.
A contury later, however, the custom had
spread' well over tho country and tho harv
est Idea had becomo lndlssolubly connected
with It. For this reason tho lato autumn
bad grown to bo tho accepted tlmo ot ob
servance, and with both theso codicils ot
precedent attached tho festival has come
down to tho present tlmo.
That a holiday which dates back but a
trlflo moro than two centuries and a half
should glvo historians bo much troublo to
naccrtaln Ita exact origin Is extremely
curious and also unfortunate. With tbo
history and llnoago of tho traditional
Thanksgiving edibles no such difficulty Is
encountorod. From the first, or very near
It, Ironbound precedent has dictated the
essential features ot such a feast. Addi
tions to tho potulcnt menu have occurred
from tlmo to tlmo, but no omissions are
noted. Tho same cates which tickled tho
pnlato of Americans for centuries are still
served.
First of all, from tbo tlmo ot tho Initial
feast of tho Plymouth colonist) In 1621
till today, the ploco de resistance ot the
ontlro collation has been turkey. On that
day In December 280 years ago Governor
Dradford sent four hunters out to secure
gamo for tho feast then bolng planned and
thoy returned with scores of wild turkeys.
This was tho principal dlsb, not being dis
placed by tho venison which was the con
tribution of tho great Indian chief, Mas
sasolt, and his ninety Indian braves, who
wore guests of honor on this occasion.
From that day on, then, turkey has been
tho central figure In tho festal ambrosia.
And there are othor portions ot a real
Thanksgiving refection that are nearly as
Indispensable. These are cider and dough
nuts, apples, mince and pumpkin pics, cran
berry sauce and celery and Hubbard squash
with mashed potatoes ot tho Irish order.
Tho style ot preparation ot all tho
cooked foods, too, Is still much tbo same
as at first. When dovemor Bradford's
four huntsmen returned many willing hands
of tho Puritan women woro outstretched
to recelvo tho wild fowl thoy had brought.
But theso birds wcro not plucked, not
singed, not dressed, not cut apart nt the
Joints and fried or stewed. Not they. In
stead a bed of soft, moist clay furnished
nt enco their cleaning and their dripping
pan, while n burrow deep down In tho livid
ombers of a huge open flro was their oven.
Thickly basted, feathers and all, with the
elny till thoy woro mere pear-shaped balls
of smooth mail, tho birds were roasted In
tholr own cssonco till tho rouculent cov
ering grew hard and finally cracked. Then
they wcro removed, tho crust encasing thorn
broken off and with It camo every feather
leaving n Juicy roast turkey. And thoy
still roast them today.
Others of tho creature comforts that are
now lndlssolubly connected with the
Thanksgiving dinner havo become so by
gradual stages slnco the turkey made Its
advent nnd they all cling about It as the
koystono of tho dietetic portion ot the fes
tival. Smi Cmmc for Treplilnt Inn.
Because of this very diversity of tho rec
ognized lleshpots essential to n Thanksgiv
ing feaot, somo persons at ill-advised dis
positions, allowing their fears ot flnanco to
take precedence ot their honest appetites,
are already wondering wbother or not they
should really contomplato with any sem
blanco of Joy tho approach of tho harvest
festival. For along certain lines Thanks
giving viands nro as much as 100 per cent
higher this November than they wcro last,
nnd such exorbitant results of divers "cor
ners" on tho different markots nro ot suffi
cient Importance to placo at a considerable
discount tho simple thankfulness In the
hearts of many of the humbler ones who
contompiaio tno preparation of n holiday
feast of a richness fitting for tho occasion.
I 1 1 n 1 i I tt hnniAiina I.... it It I
"""nttJI liunsivi, lUVUailKUUUIl UlSCIU&e
iuui it is oniy in n very rmv iipnirimnnt.
the extciiBlvo Thanksgiving market that any
excess In prices obtains now. Potatoce,
probably, show tho greatest advance!
"Spuds," which last year could be pur
chased for CO cents n bushel, now cost from
$1.25 to $1.35, a rlso of more than 150 per
cent.
Apples, too, nro very high, ranging from
U a bairel for tho Ben Davis variety up to
$3.50 for Jonathans and others of a similar
stripe and flbor. This trult, by tho way, is
ono of tho most ancient nccompaulments of
n Thanksgiving dinner and tho same va
(Contlnued on Eighth Pago.)
