DAKOTA COUNTY HERALD. DAKOTA CITY, NEBRASKA.
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EXOK DON TUItKEY played a brilliant part In history even before
the Spaniards discovered him, along with Mexico, In 1518.
Long before that he had been worshiped by Aztecs. La'er,
when his religious vogue was past, he was given honorable men
tion as n bird of honor at the marriage banquet of a king. So
.superior a viand was ho considered when first Introduced to
Europe that in a "constitution" set forth by Cmnnier In 1541
turkey is named as one of the greater fowls, of which an ecclesi
astic was to "have hut one in n dlshe." But ho speedily multiplied
to such an extent that no later than 1555 two turkeys nnd four turkey chicks
were .served at a feast of the sergeants at arms in London.
Turkeys at that period were mentioned In connection with cranes and
swans as Important and rich Items of a banquet. A little later, In 1073,
turkeys were used on the tables of English husbandmen for the Christmas
feast. In the meantime they were more than plentiful in their home land,
where turkeys continued to sell for about six cents nplece as late as the
nineteenth century. For six cents in those good old days a turkey weighing
about twelve pounds could be bought by a good shopper. If the family
needed a turkey weighing twenty-five or thirty pounds It was necessary to
pay as much as a quarter. But It must be remembered that six cents in
those days counted a good deal more than It does In this.
The turkey that the Aztecs worshiped was probably either the Mexican
wild turkey, which is known by the white touches on Its tall covers and quills,
or, more appropriately, the ocellated turkey of Honduras and other parts of
South America, whose brilliant plumage, spotted almost as gloriously with
vivid colors as a peacock, somehow allies It particularly with that vivid
early people. The turkey which strolled out of the forests of New England
and furnished so marvellous a banquet for our Puritan forefathers was a
handsomer bird than that of Mexico, In the opinion of some lovers of beauty,
but not so brilliant a one as the Honduras turkey.
The American wild turkey, which really belongs to Thanksgiving, was
the North American wild turkey found throughout tho eastern United States
and Canada. Scientifically it is known as the Meleagris Americana. Its
plumage Is black, shaded with bronze. In the rays of tho sun the bird gleams
In a beautiful hnrmony of black, copper, gold and bronze. And the turkey
likes the rays of the sun. He hates damp weather, not alone because It is
bad for his health, but because It obscures his beauty.
It Is generally believed at present that all the turkeys of the world have
descended from the three forms known ns the North American bird, which has
Just been described; the Mexlcnn bird and the ocellated bird.
Tho turkey which was first introduced into Europe may have been car
ried there by the Spaniards from Mexico or tho Jesuits may have taken it
back across tho waters from one of their scattered stations In the great
wood.j of Canada. In any event, one of Its representatives figured at tho
marrhge banquet of Charles IX and was regarded as of sufficient Importance
to be mentioned In the reports of that festivity.
The Mexican turkey is the wild bird of Mexico, which also came.over the
line Into the southern part of tho United States. Meleagris Gallopava is the
name that is generally employed to describe this turkey. It is somewhat
shorter In the shank than the northern species. Its body color Is a metallic
black, shaded with bronze. This is thought to bo the species that the early
navigators first bore back to Spain nnd England. Tho white tips of Its
plumage also have suggested that it Is to tills bird rather than to the wild
turkey of North America that most of the domestic fowls owe their origin.
The ocellated turkey, Meleagris Ocellata, which Is smaller than the others,
has a bare head and neck. Its body plumage Is bronze nnd green, banded
with gold bionze and varied with spots or eyes of brilliant colors blue, red
nnd brilliant black.
Why the turkey is failed the turkey when Its origin is admittedly purely
occidental is a subject that has puzzled many persons. There are several
reasons given by tho'se who have delved deeply Into this problem, nnd one
Is privileged to take his choice. In the first place, It Is stated that tho turkey
was originally supposed to have come from Asia. Thus nt n time when a
great stretch of territory on the Aslntic continent was called "Turkey" the
bird derived Its name from Its supposed origin. Another speculative chron
icler records that the Indians called the bird "llrkee" and that from tills its
common name was created. Then, ngaln, It Is somewhat generally believed
that the bird named Itself by Its peculiar utterances, which arc translated as
"turk-turk-turkce." Again, still more subtle philosophers have traced the
naming of the bird to Its kinship In the matter of polygamous habits with the
Turks over the water. Certainly no turbaned subject of the sultan, even in
the dnys when harems were considered nn article of the true religion, was
ever more tenacious of his privileges In this regard than the turkey cock of
barnyard or forest. Turkeys wore also at one time supposed to have come
from Africa and they were confused with guineas. Tho errors In their scien
tific naming, are due to this confusion.
When, in 1021, after making their first harvest, the pilgrims decreed that
there should be a three days' festival, which was really the first Thanks
giving, wild turkeys already had become known as a delicious food, and they
furnished the mainstay of the feast. The old pioneers weren't so badly off,
is seems, In some ways as we have been led to Imagine, for although they
were deprived of the joys of tinned meats and vegetables and cold storage
and similar blessings, turkeys were so plentiful thnt It Is recorded It was
customary to refer to them ns bread. Another chronicler sets forth the fact
that the breast of the wild turkey when cooked In butter was esteemed by
oven the epicures among the explorers. But In. spite of their abundance tur
keys were regarded with favor even by the red men, If one Is to judge by tho
following prayer' which they uttered:
"O Great Being, I thank theo that I have obtained the use of my legs
ngaln 80 that I am nble to walk about and kill turkeys."
It was i)t alone In early New England that the bird wns regarded with
such favor as nn edible. Isaac Do Itasleries In 1027 writes n description of
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Ail or nis Eirorts uo
Development of Flavor
the trukey nnd details the method of hunting them In the New Netherlands:
"There arc also very large turkeys running wild. They hnve very long
legs and run so extraordinarily fast that generally wo take savages when wo
go to hunt them, for when one has deprived them of the power of Hying they
yet run so fast that we cannot catch them unless their legs are hurt also."
Turkeys have been called the greatest game bird of this country, and tho
methods of taking them hnve been many. John Hunter, who wns captured
by the Indians and spent some time In captivity, In his memoirs, written In
1S21, tells how the Indians made n denoy bird from the skin of a turkey, fol
lowed the turkey tracks until they came upon a flock and then partially
displaying their decoy and Imitating tho gobbling noise made by the cock,
drew off first one nnd then another of the Hock, who being socially Inclined,
came along to Investigate the newcomers.
Among the Indians the children were expected to kill turkeys with their
blow guns. These were hollow reeds, In which arrows were placed and blown
out with such force that, being directed at the eye of the creature,
they often brought him down. Children as young as eight years
were successful at this sort of shooting. Adrian Van dor Donck says
that turkeys were sometimes caught by dogs In the snow during the
seventeenth century, but generally they were shot at night from
They slept In the trees In large fiocks and often selected the same spot
trees.
ninny nights in succession. At other times the Indians would lay roots of
which the turkeys were fond in small streams and tako the birds as they
were In tho net of getting these roots.
In Virginia the trap or pen was much used. This trap was built In tho
forest nnd leading to It was n long train of corn. The trap was a simple
affair built of logs Inid one upon another and having rough rails laid across
the top. There was a trench dug under the lowest logs which fenced In the
pen. In this trench corn was scattered and the turkey following the trail of
this delicacy for some distance off would finally come to the trench, which
seemed to be quite providentially strewn with nn unusually rich supply. lie
followed the grent bright path of rich food to his destruction. Tho turkey's
Inck of intelligence, when It comes to penning him up, is one of the rensons
why n great many Americans have not been in accord with Benjamin Frank
lin's idea that the turkey and not the eagle should be the bird of our country.
A writer, describing the shooting of turkeys In tho latter half of the nine
teenth century In Michigan, speaks of the use of tho hollow bono of tho
turkey's wing, which In the mouth of nn expert can be made to reproduce per
fectly the piping sound of the turkey hen. Sometimes also turkeys were
hunted on horsebnek. In Virginia, according to an old writer, this was not
uncommon. Ho says,:
"Though we galloped our horses we could not overtake them tho
turkeys, although they run nearly two hundred nnd twenty ynrds before
they took flight." The constant practice of our forefathers In shooting game
developed a great many fine turkey shots, and It Is recorded that In the latter
half of the seventeenth century "a man was thought a bad shot If he missed
tho very head of a wild turkey on top of the highest tree with n single ball."
To "pot hunting" nnd to the practice of luring the turkeys by imitating
the call of the hen In the spring, Sylvester D. Judd of the biological survey
of the United States department of agriculture largely attributes the ex
termination of the wild turkey In muny parts of tho United States where
formerly It wns especially abundant. Trapping the turkeys In pens also
helped along tho extermination.
Although the turkey Is, generally speaking, not a particularly hardy bird,
being subject to various forms of Indigestion, otc.f'ho Is varied In his diet
and usually has a good appetite. Some of the things which tho wild turkey
likes best nnd which tho domesticated bird will by no means scorn arc grass
hoppers, crickets, locusts, tndpoles, smnll lizards, garden seeds nnd snails.
One turkey which was examined by a scientist was found to have partnken
of a meal Including the following viands:
One harvest spider, one centipede, one thousand-legs, one lchnoumnn
fly, two yellowjackets, one grasshopper, three katydids, wild cherries, grapes,
berries of dogwood and tho sorghum, two chestnuts, twenty-flvo whole ncorns,
n few alder calkins and five hundred seeds of tick trefoil. The domestic tur
key's habit of hunting grasshoppers and worming tobacco shows that his
delight In the primitive pleasures of the table has not altered In his more
cnrefully provided for existence.
The chicks both of the wild and the domestic turkey are delicate and
especially must they he protected during the damp weather. Audubon says
that the inolber bird among the wild turkeys thoroughly understands tho
delicacy of her offspring and thnt when It Is wet she feeds the chicks buds
from tho spice bush with medicinal Intent exactly as tho mother of a brood
of youngsters prescribes doses of quinine when Influenza has taken the family
In Its clutches. As soon as the young birds can fly well enough to tako their
place on the roost with their mothers tho most delicate period of childhood,
what might be called tho teething stage, Is thought to bo over.
But, according to a successful turkey farmer, the poults are three months
old before they can he taught nnythlng. They aro then taught that they
should roost high so as to keep out of the way of night prowlers. Turkeys
retain so much of their wild nature that they do not like roosting inside n
house, nnd, indeed, they do not care even for artificial poiches. When pos
sible they grently prefer fall trees as a roosting place to any roost flint lias
been especially constructed for them. This characteristic renders them espe
cially easy victims for night raiders. In addition to tho human desperadoes of
this description there nre the coyotes and hawks always to bo guarded
against In some parts of the country.
In addition to Illnesses Which come from digestive disorders, colds, the
terrible scourge of blnckhends, etc., and the depredations of the night raider,
the turkey farmer always has to consider nlso the feuds among the members
of his flock, which frequently rage high. Nevertheless, tho careful turkey
rancher has found It possible to conserve his birds and mnko a largo profit
from them. A womnn turkey rancher, who has had good experience In tho
business, lost In one season only twelve birds out of u flock of 1,500.
At first tho young turkeys are fed on broad and milk, hard-boiled yolk
of egg nnd perhaps some chopped nlfalfa. Later they aro fed cracked grain,
but as soon as they aro able to tako to the range It Is no longer necessary
to feed them. The range supplies all thnt they need, both green and dry, and
happy Is tho householder who Is able to purchase for his tabic turkeys whoso
habitat has been an oak forest. Nothing Is more delicious than a turkey
which has fed freely on ncorns.
Although there aro many grent turUey ranches and whole communities
which live principally upon the raising of turkeys for mnrket, such iik Cuern,
Tex., whose annual turkey trade preceding Thanksgiving Includes thousands
of turkeys bound for the New York markets, as a rule turkeys are raised In
small groups on farms which nro Interested In other commodities. They aro
often the sole dependence of the fanner's wife for pocket money throughout
the year, and many n fnrmer's daughter also has been able to mako a shining
appearance In her world of fashion principally through tho successful market
ing of the turkey brood.
On tho 5,000,000 farms of tho United States there were, according to
careful statistics taken some years ago, only 0,500,000 turkeys. Texas ltd
among the states, producing 050,000. The other states which were liirge pro
ducers wore Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Indiana. Tho state of Ithodo
Island, noted ns It Is for Its turkeys, produced only 5,000. But the qunllty
of tho Ithodo Island turkeys always has been excellent and they usually bring
prices vastly In excess of those from other parts of the country.
And that ought to bo enough about turkeys to get up a pretty good ap
petite for Thursday's dinner 1
ta-H.t V
Thanks
Inr.annr.ihi
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NOT BOUND OF JOY
Some Few Drawbacks Connect
ed With Simple Life.
Man Who Goes Back to Nature Flnda
That He Has In No Way Escaped
tho Curse of Adam, Laid
on Ug All. ,
Back to nature? Well, what about
It? For twelve hours out of the twenty-four
I am now Immolated in a forest
near Vushon Heights, bordering tho
clammy beach, trying to feed the hun
gry maw of the camp stove, the while
mopping my streaming brow and get
ting back my wind. Tho other twelve
hours of the day I am dashing ncross
twelve miles of water In a saucy craft,
getting to work, working, and dashing
hack again at eventide to prepare the
firewood for the evening repast. Wo
would get along fine In this world were
It not for the fact that wo are obliged
to cat.
My poets have lately referred much
to nature's wondrous beauty that we
of the city lose, nnd I am now engaged
in Investigating the matter, but I find
the little Intimate matters connected
with living close to naturo take so
much of one's time that one has few
moments for nature, except, perhaps,
If one be profane, to swear at the en
tangling brush, the beach barnacles,
and the thickness of the log one Is
trying to saw through.
Some day when I get, perhaps, two
days' firewood ahead, and the panenko
flour, butter and bacon, crackers, tea,
coffee, bread, etc., all In, If the boat
Is not whistling for the dock, I Intend
to lift my weary head from my sodden
task, brush the perspiration from my
eyes, and absorb somo of this beauty
of naluie that I hear so much abotll.
Last night I tore away a few mo
ments from wood sawing to get into
tho waters of the Sound. It was ap
parent nt once that tho Sound wnter
Is experiencing a very late spring, and
that Its winter freshness has not yet
worn off. However, after one Is In
after the first shock one gets recon
ciled to the change, nnd the tonic ef
fect Is highly exhilarating. After tho
dip I sat on tho veranda of my shack
and felt so well that I saw my way
clear to buy my winter's coal and pay
tho last half of my taxes. My good
ness, It would bo worth whllo for ov
eiyorie to take to beach bathing If only
for the optimism It Induces I I can
even stand It to have Willie sit around
and tell mo how to do things. Willie
is only fifteen but he has an enormous,
knowledge on every subject. Ho Is
hero In the wilderness for the first time
In his life, yet he Instructs mo how to
eiiw a log and prepare tho firewood and
on other seasonable topics, and tho
only way I 'can get even with him Is
to send him two miles after milk,
thereby giving him opportunity to get
still closer to nature.
One would greatly enjoy commun
ing with nature, no doubt, If one had
tlmo to communo In this busy, stress
ful business life. And there arc hints
I of It. Yesterday tho sun came up on
, a world as fresh and bright ns though
It had been made overnight; the soft
sea breeze came In through the win
dow, n strange forest bird chirruped
I outside; the lapping of the water on
the beach wooed to further slumber,
nnd I was about to Jake another eyeful
and nnother earful when the camp cook
howled hoarsely for fuel, summoning
mo hastily hack to this material world.
If I can arrange to get nlong without
eating, I think I am going to like this
hack-to-nature llfo of tho camp. So
uttlo Post Intelligencer.
New Thing In Diplomacy.
Just recently, one of tho allied pow
ers, in the process of setting Its house
In order, or, rather, going carefully
over tho ground to see what needed
most to bo set in order, tackled Its
diplomatic service. It found many
things that were out of date, and
many other things that never had been
In date, and It determined to make
many reforms.
Perhaps the most significant was the
one which provided that In future a
working knowledge of stenography
should be an essential pnrvt of the dip
lomatic equipment. More nnd more,
surely Is It being proved true that the
ambassador of tho old order passed
with the advent of the telegraph and
telephone.
Somo one nnco said, Indeed, that am
bassadors nowadays had become
clerks; an exaggeration, of course, but
tho latest "requirement" lends color
to the view. Christian Science
Monthly.
I Farm Gardens.
Tho farm garden idea did not start
with our entry Into tho war, but had
i Its Inception in 10M, when the Worn
i en's Farm Gardens association was
formed. At first the association bus
ied Itself to obtain positions for women
In fnrm and garden work. After wo
got Into tho war and the dangers of a
food shortage threatened, tho associ
ation began work along tho lines of the
department of ngrlculture In England,
which encouraged the tilling of small
pieces of land, going so far as to glvo
uut allotments to thoso who will till
them. The boy scouts and other bod
ies have done much this year along
the lino of war gardening.
United States Life Insurance.
Tho people of the United Stat-.
carry moro than ?CO,0()0,000,000 of
llfo Insurance, the largest record of
any country in tho world. Of this
?!!0,000,000,000 Is government Insur
ance for soldiers and sailors. Leslie's
FHAT CHANCE IN
WOM'S LIFE
Mra. Goddcn Tells How It
May bo Passed in Safety
and Comfort.
Fremont O.- "I wn3 pnsalnp through
the critical period of life, beinp; forty-
six years oi ago ana
had nil tho symp
toms incidcnttotlmt
change heat flash
es, nervousness, and
was in a general run
down condition, so
it was hard for mo
to do my work.
Lydia E. Plnkham'a
Vogotablo Com
pound wa9 recom
mended to mo as tho
best remedy for my
troubles, which it
eurely proved to bo. I feel better nnd
stronger in every way einco taking it,
nnd the annoying symptoms have disap
peared. " Mra. M. G0DDEN, 925 Na
poleon SL, Fremont, Ohio.
Such annoying symptong as heat
flnphes, nervousnsan, Imckncho, head
ache, irritability and "the bluea," may
bo speedily overcome nnd tho system
restored to normal conditions by this
famous root nnd herb remedy Lydia E.
Pinkham'a Vcgetnblo Compound.
If any complications present them
eclvcs write tho Pinkham Medicino Co.,
Lynn, Mass., for suggestions how to
ovcrcomo thorn. Tho result of forty
years experience is nt your service and
your letter held in strict confidenco.
For Constipation
Carter's Little
Liver Pills
will set you right
over night.
Purely Vegetable
Small PHI, Small Dote, Small Price
Carter's Iron Pills
Will restore color to the faces of
those -who lack Iron in the blood,
as most pale-faced people do.
An actress doesn't always faro well
on her farewell tour.
You May Try Cutlcura Free
Send today for free samples of Cutl
cura Soap and Ointment nnd learn
how quickly they relieve Itching, sltln
nnd scalp troubles. For free samples,
address, "Cutlcura, Dcpt. X, Boston."
At druggists and by mall. Sonp 25,
Ointment 25 nnd GO. Adv.
New York finds night travel on
Mi cot and subway cars diminishing.
Cnlc'n CnrliotlNnlio Quickly Hcllc-tCH
nnd lioulu burning. Itching and torturing
skin dlHeuBCH. It Instantly iitops tho pain
or burns tlenl-s without pears 25c and EOc.
Aek your (IrugglHt. or sonil 25c to The J,
V. Colo Co., Hockford, III., for n pkg.Adv.
It Is more blessed to give a knockout
blow than It Is o receive one.
HOW TO FIGHT
i silue:
Ily DR. L. V. DOWEltS.
Avoid crowds, coughs nnd eownrds,
hut fear neither germs nor Germans 1
Keep the system In good order, take
plenty of exerclfo In tho fresh air and
practice cleanliness, llemembern clean
mouth, n clean skin, and clean bowels
are n protecting armour against disease.
To keep tho liver and bowels regular
and to carry away tho poisons within,
It Is best to tako a vegetable pill every
oilier day, made up of May-apple, aloes,
Jalap, and Migur-coated, to bo had at
most drug stores, known nsDr. Pierce's
Pleasant Pellets. If there Is n sudden
onset of what appears like a hard cold,
one should go to bed, wrap warm, take
u hot mustard foot-bath and drink copi
ously of hot lemonade. If pain develops
In head or back, ask the druggist for
Anurle (antl-urlc) tablets. The3o will
flush tho bladder and kidneys and carry
off polhonous germs, To control the
pains and aches take ono Auurlc tablet
every two hours, with frequent drinks
of lemonade. The pneumonia appears
In a most treacherous way, when the
Influenza victim Is apparently recover
ing nnd nnxlous to leave his bed. In re
covering from a had attack of Influenza
or pneumonia the system should be
built up with u good herbal tonic, Mich
as Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discov
ery, made without alcohol from the
root3 and barks of American forest
trees, or his Irontlc (Iron tonic) tnb'cts,
which ran bo obtained nt most drug
stores, or send 10c. to Dr. Pierce' Inn
lids' Hotel, Buffalo, N. Y., for trial
package.
Persistent Coughc
ar cUiiBtroiu. Get prompt relief fr-n
l'iios. btopi irritation; toothing, l 0Vetiv
nnd sufo for young nnd old. No oi-ates j
P. j fa 3 m&y
SHJ i
1
17
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