Though many Americans have non-traditional meals on Thanksgiving, it is still difficult to think of the holiday without thinking about turkey. It is somewhat surprising, then, that many people believe facts about thanksgiving turkeys which are incorrect, and don't know others.
Turkeys at the time were wild birds, and they were quite wily. Wild turkeys have been reintroduced to many areas where they were hunted out, and introduced to other areas where they had not lived in before, but the same is true of wild turkeys today as was true back then. This bird is related to the domestic turkey, but there are so many differences that they may as well be totally different.
Domestic turkeys, what most people eat for thanksgiving today, are rather stupid birds. They've been known to stand in a rainstorm, looking up with their beaks open in apparent awe, and to actually drown from the falling rain.
Wild turkeys, on the other hand, are smart survivors. As large as they get, wild turkeys are difficult to hunt, they blend in well, and they are hardy survivors. The coloration helps them with this, unlike their usually completely white domestic relatives. Wild turkeys also feed well in the autumn and plump up with the abundance of seeds and fruits that are available during this time of year. This makes them nearly ideal for the thanksgiving meal.
There are some little known facts about the thanksgiving turkey that aren't well known, however. For instance, a turkey didn't grace the original thanksgiving table. Native American Indians hunted birds, naturally, and they were adept at it. However, turkeys weren't seen as anything especially terrific. The original thanksgiving table most likely featured venison, rather than turkey.
It is hard to say when the turkey gained prominence, though it was most likely early. The colonists were indeed having trouble finding, gathering, killing, or growing enough food for the sometimes-harsh winters. A large turkey provided meat for many people. There is also little doubt that American Indians taught the colonists how to hunt the bird.
There is some doubt, though, that the pilgrims shared a great thanksgiving feast of turkey with the Indians. Native American people had long since learned how to set in food for the long winter months.
They did have feasts, but these were usually when a large deer, elk, or bear was brought down, providing the people with a lot of meat. Turkeys would have never figured highly in such a feast, because it couldn't feed a large number of people for very long.
However, native people did know how to stretch a meal, stuffing turkeys or other birds with grains, currents, sometimes acorns, and pine nuts. Such stuffing is seldom used today, but it wasn't uncommon then, even for other birds and game.
When turkeys were finally presented to the colonists by a tribe who probably didn't feel it was a great gesture, the recipes for stuffing were likely also given, to stretch the meal. To this day, thanksgiving turkey is usually stuffed, though the stuffing isn't the same, normally.
They also knew the best ways to cook it, and which plants could be used to spice it. The outcome was probably quite good tasting.
By the time Ben Franklin came on the scene, eating turkey was established, though they were still not easy to come by. Ben was so impressed by the bird, he wanted to make turkeys the national bird. He rallied for it, though the bald eagle was eventually selected. This is probably a good thing, or turkey might not be a thanksgiving meal tradition.
There is also little doubt that the pilgrims benefited from eating the turkey. A single turkey may not have been able to feed a tribe of Indians, but it could feed several colonist families for a couple days. This was needed for the survival of the earliest colonists. Thanksgiving was a time for giving thanks for the bounties given, but at the same time, it was the last major feast before the ravages of winter. Though turkeys didn't play an exclusive part in the success of early immigrants to America, they did play an important part.
There are many facts about thanksgiving turkeys that should be appreciated, and many more that have been forgotten. It should be remembered that what we consume for turkey dinner on thanksgiving isn't the same as what was originally eaten. Times have changed, but there are still wild turkeys out there, and in more places than there were when the colonists arrived in America.