The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-22
T%ounded on Pilgrim Prayers. =
Thanksgiving Day Celebration in the
= of New

Io-oo-oo~-~~-~-~~~~ o-~~o~o~~~-~-~~~~~~~~~~oN-
To the grand old pilgrim father, VIII
liam Bradford. governor of the original
New England colonies, belongs the
honor of being the first to proclaim In
America q general Thanksgiving day
which should be a festival as well as
day of thanksgiving. The month of
November. 1923. had been a weary one
to the bitterly tried Pilgrims. Their
months of toll and patient waiting for
the ingathering of the harvest seemed
about to end in the deepest disappoint-
ment. The earth was parched, the
whole land cried out for rain, and the
crops were being ruined for lack OF
moisture. Il was under these depres-
sing conditions that Pilgrim Father
Bradford called together the little band
of settlers and set apart a day to be
devoted to fasting and prayer, that the
brassy skies might become cloud-cov-
cred. and the windows of heaven be
opened to give life to the thirst-dying
fields.
1t did not look promising for day
Of THANKSGIVING. and yet circumstances
changed the day appointed for fasting
and prayer to one of rejoicing, feasting
and thankfulness. The Pilgrims We're
in the very act of praying for rain
when rain came. 1t came in such floods
and it came so opportunely that the
Pilgrim Fathers We're convinced that
Providence had smiled on the little
band of forlorn men, women and chill
Gren who. driven from their own homes,
had been forced to pitch their tents on
;,l, n chores Df q
foreign land
That first thanksgiving, celebrated III
the wilderness in 1923, has been repeat
ed once a year ever since, and from
that time 10 the present has carried
its serene joys to an overwhelming cir
Gle but no Thanksgiving day has eX-
ceeded in fervor and genuine thank
fulness that of the one established by
the rare old Pilgrims. The first Thanks
giving day lasted for half week. The
guests of the occasion were the Indian
Chief Massasoit and ninety of his war
riors.
Preparations began on the morning
of Thursday when the Pilgrims were
called together for the prayers, without
which they would never have thought
Of beginning the day. MassasOit and
his red men stood around and listened
to the hymns and prayers with Won
dering awe. II was mystifying to them
that men who fought so fiercely for
their homes should give way to woman
~ feelings. What followed, however,
was something that they could not
only understand, but fully appreciate
1t was a period of feasting and recrea-
ton, romping, merrymaking, friendly
competitions between the white and
the red men, and open-air feasts of
mammoth proportions.
William Bradford, in his proclama-
ton, had called the day feast Of
thanksgiving and the best hunters in
the colony had been securing the adj
jacent woods for wild turkeys and
other game to supply the wants of the
colonists and their guests. The kitch-
ems of the Pilgrims were crude and
rough, but the good DANES did their
best, and the result was a repast salts
flying and sumptuous enough for the
most eXacting. The menu consisted of
roast turkey dressed with beech nuts,
Venison paSties, such as the Pilgrim
mothers knew so we'll how TO make,
saVory meat stews with dumplings of
barley flour, clam chowder served in
enormous bowls with sea biscuit float
ing on the surface, roaSts of all kinds,
broiled fish. salads. cakes and plum
pOrridge. Lastly, there was a bounti-
full supply of oysters, the contribution
of Massasoit and his ninety warriors
to the first Thanksgiving bill of fare.
The greater dinner of the festival was
given on Saturday. the last day of the
celebration. History chronicles that it
was one of the loveliest days of the
Indian summer, and so mild was the
weather that the good Pilgrim DANES
were able to set their tables in the
open air. and in the primitive forests
in the widest country in new and un-
explored world was celebrated the
brightest and most joyous Thanksgiv-
ing on record.
The celebration ended as it had be-
gun, with prayer and hymns, and a
feeling of heartfelt gratitude took pos
session of the settlers whose little col
Ony, now grown to seven dwellings and
four public buildings, had received such
convincing evidence that the hand Of
Providence was ready to aid them In
the hour of their deepest trial.
Thanksgiving day has been peculiar
" an American institution ever since.
Occasionally prOclamatiOns were issued
by the governors of the various New
England states and it gradually be-
came the custom for the day to be set
apart as one OF thanksgiving after
harvest.
These proclamations, however, We're
not issued by presidents of the United
States in accordance with the time
hOnored New England idea until the
term of President Lincoln. Previous
to this two other presidents had pro-
claimed a Thanksgiving day for spe-
cial occurrences, but they were not is
sued in the real old Pilgram Father
spirit. In 1865, when President Lincoln
issued his Thanksgiving proclamation,
the country had reason to give thanks.
The war was nearly over. For years
the men of the North and South had
been slaughtering each other. The
white winged dove of peace, who had
SO long migrated from the land that
people began to wonder if she would
ever return, was lowering in the air
and preparing to alight. The armies
Of the North were closing in on the
dispi1ited Southerners. Grant had
pushed back the forces of Lee and was
enCamped before Richmond, which it
was evident to all would soon hold out
the white flag. Farragut had sealed up
the last Confederate fort but one, and
Sherman was making his famous
march from Atlanta to the sea. The
end was SO clearly in sight that the
worn-out people realized the timeli-
ness of President Lincoln's act and