The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-12-02
OUR REAL NATIONAL BIRD.

Chicago Tines-Herald,


Red of Waite. white OF breast and blue
OF tail. the turkey more than the eagle is
the distinctive bird or America. France,
Germany, Austria. Italy and other countries
claimed the one before America was known.
The DINER, ike america, was supposed to
belong TO the East. Columbus was resolved
TO call whatever land he discovered INDIA
because That name more tnan any otner
suggested riches TO Europe. For like rea-
son the richest OF edible fowls got its name
out Oh the traditional belief that II Was a
native of the Orient. For several hundred
years 1T was known to a large section or
Europe as the hen Of Calcutta"
Oh course Shakespeare was on intimate
terms with the turkey as his fsvorite alder
man with fat capons. The eager carrier
IN my panniers are quite starved" Tne
French have preserved the turkey
medieval misnomer in 'dinde." their brief
for of India" The German chefs accept
the Gallo WORD, and the Kaiser has not yet
banished IL for lese majestic. Archbishop
Trench. a competent judge OF a toothsome
emoody and give permanence TO an error,
as when In America the discovery Of the
ascribed to another eminent discoyerer, but
one who had no title 20 this one, even as he
was guiltless OF any attempt TO usurp IL for
as was assumed by those who so called
them. but from that new world where alone
they are native" Nor is there more reason
Tor aSSuming that any serene high celestial
sultan was more culpabie in this than Amer
icus Vespucius in that.
IL was nttlngly In the zenith OF the renafS-
sance that the other American bird. the
bird OF red. white and blue, made its debut
In Europe, and from that hour TO this ii has
been the pride of The kitchen, the chief piece
of every w~ell-appointed table, the apotheosis
or the culinary art. The suzerainty, so to
speak. of the turkey is not due exclusively
10 Us palatao!e nutritiousnesS. 1t is owing
IN some measure TO its paramount versa
tility. Its adaptable tissue enables the SCI
entiflc cook TO make 1t also the most lux
urlous or v1ands. There Is scarcely a de-
lectdDle incident OF "A symmetrical manl
that will not enter tremendously into a tur-
Key symphony. 1t blends in almost equal
graclousness with all the delicacies of for
est. field. orchard and sea. 1t may be iso-
lated superbiy in its own amber oils. 1t
may wear a coronet of jelly. Its proud
breast may be lined with mushrooms. wal
nuts. bread or pudding. The sybaritic
Fungus. the truffie, which bears to the edible
world the relation of the orchid TO the floral,
has long been Identified with the ceremoni,
Gus presentation of turkey. The goose OF
Strasbourg gives its liver TO enrich a gravy
fed pig of Bohemia slices Itself TO make the
turkeys back more golden. Its dark cuts
are substantial as beef, its light as tender
when Gone to a turn, as honey. Its fttest
sequence or c-oncoinitant is the aristocrat OF
the garden. the artichoke. whether in the
Juice OF Its coralo heart or salad, where
unguent and acid meet and mingle. the only
happy. and indissoluble marriage OF totally
opposite parties.
The turkey. moreover, yields fits fibre TO a
greater number of modes of preparation for
the table than its heavy competitor, the
goose, or Its smaller but not despicable
friend, the right kind of duck. If ta<n in
the pout, 1t broils to a nicely. II fricassee
De wanted, no other filler o<the kettle sup
pies SO much meat with so little waste and
exc so large a volume of digestible LIQUID.
In warm climates ii Is most agreeable
boiled, as in temperate zones under the
dog star. Before Count Rumford became
apostle or the oven the turkey formed a
majestic spectacle on the spit. now it's Fall
stafnan lolnS turning to yellow lumber be-
fore the CHEEKY blaze, anon it's copious
wings scorching to make a hearth brush
for the clean and thrifty housewife. How
many a royal cook watched with unhidden
ecstacy truant rivulets of oyster trickle
from its cracking cavity to tell Of gradual
transmutatfon, a savory but conclusive
tale. FOR your oyster. unlike his betters,
knows when to shut his mouth.
But the turkey ought to be roasted. In
that form II Is without a peer as supreme
factor in a Thanksgiving feast. In that
form IL reaches most American tables after
the frost has crisped the celery and the sill
vering south has sent UP the marsh berries
to glow on the sideboard. 1t must be
roasted to be thoroughly American and to
walt most welcomely on appetite. For. says
Brillat-Savarin. anybody may cook. but
a rooster Is born"
Now and then a disloyal American or am
ateur cook of conscious limitations suggests
that the turkey Is not indispensable TO a
true American Thanksgiving dinner. Let
all such be anathema, and be they most
blessed who remember in act that. as TO
turkeys also, it is more blessed to give than
to receive. For all are not born TO turkey
and many cannot acquire II. Wherever the
American eagle rests this fortunate year OF
expansion of American institutions among
men of good viii let the bird OF the red,
white and blue be thrust. And for many a
year in these lands OF ours there were never
SO many turkeys to go around as this year.
For which God and American labor be
blessed.