Sarah Josepha Hale, an editor at “Godey’s Lady’s Book,” published recipes for turkey, helping fuel the shift to turkey as the national dish. The founder and governor of Plymouth Colony mentioned wild turkeys in his writings over the Thanksgiving feast. While oysters and fish were once sought-after Thanksgiving dishes, the turkey supplanted them after Governor William Bradford’s journals, once lost, resurfaced in 1856. Meanwhile, the turkey’s place at the Thanksgiving table began to grow. The turkeys were hunted commercially, and their numbers dropped dramatically throughout this century. In the 19th century, their popularity grew beyond simply supplying the hunter’s table. By some accounts, they were so unaccustomed to being hunted, they would allow hunters to approach without spooking. Turkeys once numbered in the millions in the U.S. They also have great eyesight, making turkey hunting a challenging sport. They are good runners and can fly when startled, which happens easily. Wild turkeys are much sleeker with feathers ranging from copper, bronze and brown to even a few reds and greens among the males. The Thanksgiving turkeys we know today look little like the wild turkeys found throughout the state. When the first European settlers arrived in the area, they also heavily hunted the wild bird. However, the Quapaw tribe in Arkansas were well accustomed to hunting the bird. Though the pilgrims did sit down to a Thanksgiving meal with the Wampanoag Indians, it is unknown whether turkey was actually part of the meal. The famous first Thanksgiving story taught to every grade school child includes turkey as a main course. Native Americans already raised and hunted turkeys when Europeans arrived. There are six subspecies of wild turkeys in North America, including the Mexican wild turkey, the Rio Grande turkey and the Eastern turkey, which is native to Arkansas. When the first European settlers reached the shores of America, the wild turkey was as common as the buffalo. Though the bald eagle remains America’s symbol, the turkey has a long history in the United States and in Arkansas, where, thanks to the efforts of a rigorous conservation program, the wild turkey can still be found today. ![]() For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America…” History “I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle but looks more like a Turkey. Although the reality is the turkey wasn’t a contender for the role, Benjamin Franklin had nothing but respect for this native bird in a letter he wrote to his daughter about the appearance of the new symbol. The bald eagle is the National Emblem of the United States of America, chosen for its regal appearance, but it has long been thought the wild turkey was once in consideration to be America’s symbol.
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