The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1940-11-21
By WILLIAM E. JACKSON
in Lutheran Young Folks

IN Lutheran Dung FOLKS
When that great Spaniard, Don
fernando Cortes, marched his little
army up to the mountain heights of
central Mexico to conquer the Aztec
empire 400 years ago. he noted in his
journals that one of the few domesti-
Gated creatures known to the Aztecs
was big bird which he called a
''rooster-peacock" In the homes of the
Indians Cortes was treated to stew
made of the meat of this bird COM
bined with many spices. He recorded
that the dish made most excellent eat
ing. The Indians raised thousands of
the birds and they wove the feathers
into capes. Even the bones were saved
to be whitfield into ornaments and
toys for the children.
When Cortes sent back to Spain
boatload of loot from the Aztec en-
pire he included a few specimens Of
this bird he called the rooster-pea-
cock" 1t became a popular barnyard
fowl in Spain and within a few years
every farmer had a few. 1t was called
the fowl Of the Indies because, you
see, the Spaniards were still laboring
under the delusion that the land Cor
ties had conquered was somehow con-
nected with the mysterious Indies.
The fowl of the Indies was taken
from Spain to Turkey, where it be-
came a favorite food of the Sultan,
and it was from Turkey that the bird
got the name we know it by today. In
that early time Turkey, or the Otto
man Empire, claimed vast portion
of the world, including parts of Asia,
Africa and Europe. Morocco, the land
just across the Strait of Gibraltar
from Spain, was then under Turkish
domination. 1t was across the strait
that the first fowl of the Indies was
introduced to Turkish territory. Tur-
key also controlled much of the region
through which the Danube river flows
in southeastern Europe and soon the
fowl of the Indies became a common
barnyard resident along the valley of
the Danube. 1t was from this region
that the bird travelled up the Danube
valley into the Germanic countries.
The thrifty Germans were not long
discovering that this new domestic
fowl was a good source Of food and,
since it had come to them from the
land of the Sultan, they called it the
Turkey bird This name stuck, and it
was as the Turkey bird that the bird
was introduced to England from Ger
many. From England the Turkey bird
found its way to New England, where
it became simply the turkey. 1t is the
very same bird that thousands of
Americans eat when they sit down to
their Thanksgiving feast each year.
To reach US it travelled across the At
lantic ocean, along the shores of the
Mediterranean sea to the Black sea,
up the Danube river valley, to Eng
land, and thence back across the
ocean to New England.
| Of course, we know that the Pill
grim Fathers had turkey for their
first Thanksgiving feast. Those were
wild turkeys, and although they are
similar to the domestic turkeys we
know today, the two are of separate
and distinct species. The turkey we
eat on Thanksgiving Day is traveller
who came to us by very roundabout
route from Mexico.
In the forests of some parts of the
United States there are still wild tur-
keys such as those the Pilgrim Faith
ers shot or bought from the Indians.
In New Mexico and a few other states
wild turkeys are so plentiful that
there is an annual season when they
may be hunted.
The turkey that Cortes mentioned
in his travel diaries is still common
in Mexico. The turkey stew the Aztecs
gave Cortes is still favorite Mexican
dish known as mole. Because of the
mild climate of Mexico turkeys are
easily raised there and the MeXicans
eat great quantities of turkey meat
prepared in various ways. Turkeys
are seldom seen in butcher shops in
Mexico, for they are usually herded
to the buyer alive. The sight of
countryman driving large flock of
turkeys through the street is not un-
common. The cook or housewife picks