Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1931-11-26

may start on their long journey across
the continent, the milling multitude
enjoys all manner of pastime, from
real turkey trot" dancing to gay cere-
monies characteristic of the South
west.
In the days of the Pilgrims, flOcks
of wild turkeys strutted in unrestrict-
ed pride and splendOr through the for
ests of New England. Doubtless the
red man introduced the early settlers to
the creamy taste of the white and the
succulence of the dark meat of the
fowl. From that good day to the pres
ent the turkey, either wild or tame,
has continued to occupy the place OF
honor at the American Thanksgiving
dinner.
Its Name a Mystery.
Just why this fowl should have been
named turkey" in the English IAN
guage no one seems to know. Inc
realm of his sultanic majesty had no
more to do with the introduction OF
the bird into polite society than did
Greenland. The real turkey is a bird
indigenous to North America and was
from here introduced to the rest of the
world.
The name possibly may be explained
by the peculiar call of the mother to
her chicks, which sounds very much
like turk, turk, turk" AT any
rate, there is no relation between the
bird and the country of the same
name.
The turkey was favOrite fowl
among the aboriginal inhabitants OF
America. 1t had its habitat all over
that vast area, where grew its favor
ite food-Indian corn. When COrtez,
in 1919, reached the realm of the
Aztecs, Montezuma entertained him
with royal splendor, and among the
delicious viands set before the Spanish
invaders was roasted turkey.
North of the Rio Grande the turkey
was we'll known and the adventurous
Coronado found it among the cliff
dwellers and other tribes he met on
his expedition through what is today
Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.
The wild, turkey is credited with be-
ing the progenitOr of all kinds of tur-
keys the world over. Ornithologlsts
accept the view that all turkeys have
descended from the three forms known
today as the North American, the Mex
lean and the Honduras varieties. The
fowl found in certain jungles of South
M tho
although sometimes called the South
American turkey, really belongs to q
different family.
The North American turkey-father
and mother of the whole tribe-is the
original species of the eastern United
States, according to experts of the De
partment of Agriculture at Washing
ton. Its colOrS are black, beautifully
shaded with a rich bronze, illuminated
with lustrOus finish of coppery gold.
All this emblazons the plumage with a
distinctive brightness, and in the rays
of the sun the FURNISHED appearance
comes out with striking brilliancy.
Wild Birds Still Thrive.
To this day wild turkeys may be
found in some of the most unsettled
sections of their former range, espe'
cially in the wooded and mountainous
regions of Arizona, Mexico, Texas, the
large swamps of the Gulf, in Tennes'
see and the CarOlinas. The Great
Smoky National park boasts large
flocks of wild turkeys. Their nests
are discovered occasionally and the
eggs given to farm hens or turkey hens
to hatch, but the chicks, although
mothered in strictly modern way, re-
vert to their wild habits when but 8
few weeks old.
The present demand for Thanksgiv
ing and Christmas turkeys is so enor
nous as to make the business of rails
ing, transporting and selling this gian
fowl large enterprise. Carloads o.
turkeys start reaching market abOu
the middle Of November and continue
well into December. Should there b.
a surplus at Thanksgiving, those I'm
sold are held under refrigeration fol
Christmas.