Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1900-11-29
A. L. BINFORD.

without good, sharp frost to put an
edge on their appetites. Cold weather.
Thanksgiving, turkeys, pumpkins, ci-
der, "apple sass" and other concom-
itants OF the festal banquet consti-
tute a combination that cannot be sep
arated In the minds Of those people.
But now that we have taken In sew
eral tropical dependencies where frost
is unknown and where hitherto the
Thanksgiving feature has been con-
spicuous by Its absence the opinion ex-
pressed above win have to be modified.
for down in Porto Rico. at least, there
is decided impression that, whether
the inhabitants of that island were or
were not blanketed In under the con-
srrution whM we took over III, .ft
tory, they fell heir to ali the Asl,,
institutions" like Washingtoms
day. the glorious Fourth and espec.s !
Thanksgiving.
The burning question with the.
about this time is how to observe tie
day properly after the Yankee fashion.
"a la Americana Though not gener.
ally known, the island possesses In its
native fauna the requisite resources
for the festal viands. and II the writer
were there he would not ask for a
better bill Of fare than he could pro-
vide IL he were allowed free range of
forest and shore. To begin with, al
though there Is very little game In
Porto Rico (such has been the sharp
competition for q mere living among
the wretched inhabitants), there is
enough to satisfy the ordinary sports
man who knows where to look for It.
There are no wild turkeys. to be sure,
but there are some that have run wild
from the farm and are what are known
as "pavos del monte" or domestic
fowls that have flown the coop and
turned Injun." They are not so large
as our native turkeys and are rather
disposed to be skinny, but their flavor
is good, and, if they have been feeding
on the seeds of certain palms and
shrubs, constitute food fit for any one
to eat
Then there are the wild guinea fowl
occasionally found in the Sungles along
the rivers. where they have left the
farms and taken to the bush. There
is nothing on earth more delicious Of
the fowl kind than nice tender pullet
that has raised itself on what 1t could
pick up in the woods and pastures
without having been made tough and
rank from being overturned.
So there are two kids Of meat indig-
enous to the island which If we were
there we could have for our Thanks
giving dinner. IL you want another,
why there is the armadlllo, which Is
not so very bad IL cooked in its shell
and served up In its own sauce. 1t
takes a native cook, though, to proper
ly prepare the armadillo and remove
from the flesh that distinctly earthly
smell it has acquired through life
time Of digging In the ground.
Then. again, IL one Is not too fastid-
ious. he can lind delicious tidbit IN
the quaillike flesh of the lguana. This
Is a sort OF land hzard, which attains
to the length of Eve or six feet and
looks 80 much like good old fashioned
dragon, such as the Chinese are wont
to depict in their arts. that one might
have qualms about eating It. The
meat is tender, like young chickens,
and, except for Its musky odor. like
that Of the alligator, 1t might be taken
for chicken IL properly served II used,
however, have 1t stewed and as much
as possible disguised by the addition
Of vegetables. otherwise 1t might be
taken for what Sir Walter Raleigh
called 1t once-'.a verie uglie serpent"
Now and then among the sea grapes