Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1903-11-28

and pumpkin pie as the staple luxuries
| of the new holiday.
| The first notice of the holiday was
| given by cannon salute at dawn
ma shortly afterward the colonists
formed IN solemn procession and
Tended their way to the meetinq
house. Elder Brewster, in his long
| nlack coat. carrying the big Bible. the
sergeant in counsel and the governor
were conspicuous in the procession.
After the long service lasting Owe
fiX no rs. the company sat down to
! least which the housewives had
PREPARED for them.
Scare ely had they taken a MOUTH j
WAen an Indian war waoop started
.Aenl. and the men. ever ready to de.
lend their lives, started to their feet
weapons in hand, only to he confront
| ea by the friendly King Massasoft with
" OF his braves, many of tnem bear
ing n &c haHnches of venison. The
lhdians We're given places at the board
nd the celebration and feasting Went
en- with uninterr pied vigor Governor
bradford heightened the time of the
thanksgiving to three days, and the
TIME was spent in various am1se-
ments. The singing of psalms and
nSnns was intermingled with wa
canoes by the Indian braves and mil
ltary drills by Captain Standish's COM
panE.
The different coloni~ts soon took up
the example set by the Massachusetts
eolony, and the custom was observed
from. that time on. although without
any notwithstanding the day
was observed twice in a single year
ana at other times year would be
skipped.
d ring the revolution the CONT
mental congress at different times APP
pointed eight days of Thanksgiving,
ana Washington twice ISIS ed procla.
nations for such days, after the ter
rihle winter at Valley Forge and on
other occasions. Wien Washington
became ef;an president. upon the recommen-
dation OF congress, he appointed No
vember g. 1879, as the national
Thanksgiving day. The manuscript of
this original Thanksgiving proclama-
ton by president of the United
States is now in the hands of Rev.
j. w. Wellman of Massachusetts, who
received it as an heirloom from his
grandfather.
The presidents after Washington
followed his example and issued yearly
proclamations until the war of the
rebellion, when the custom was allow
ed to die. Mrs. Sarah j. Hale decided
to take the matter up in 1859 and have
the governors Issue proclamations and
she wrote letters to each of them ask
MS ehSiii " ISSUE SUCH presentations.
Her efforts were rewarded and every
governor, except two, took the matter
up.
After the battle of Gettysburg, Mrs.
Hale wrote to President Lincoln asking
him to issue another national procla-
nation and he responded by issuing
such document on August s, 1863.
Since that time it has become the
universal custom for the presidents to
appoint the last Thursday in Novem-
Der as the day of Thanksgiving, and
with only one exception this date
has been set aside for the pur-
pose.
AT different times since the found
ing of Thanksgiving day different Gus
toms have been introduced, but the
only one which has prevailed to our
day is the football game in the after
noon, which is without doubt relic
of the old games which the colonists
used to hold on Thanksgiving day. A
big shooting match was always held
in the afternoon, and a turkey rattle
was another indispensable adjunct of
the day for the colonists.