THE TURKEY. 



CHAPTEK I. 



THE TURKEY ITS NATURAL HISTORY AND ORIGIN OP NAME. 



BY E. RICHARDSON. 



It is well known that the origin of the name of the do- 

 mestic fowl called the turkey is involved in much obscu- 

 rity. No dictionary that I know of gives its true etymology, 

 but the name is supposed to arise from the belief that the 

 bird came from the country of Turkey. It is the object of 

 the present essay to trace the origin of the bird and its 

 name, showing how the former came from the West and 

 the latter from a far Eastern clime. 



The origin of the turkey is, however, not nearly so uncer- 

 tain as that of its name, for no fact of natural history is 

 better established than that it was introduced into Europe 

 from Mexico ; and as to the date of the introduction, there 

 can be as little doubt, for it is recorded by Prescott in hia 

 "Conquest of Mexico" that the followers of Cortez, soon 

 after their landing, first met with this bird on their march 

 to Cempoalla. It is told how they saw deer and various 

 animals previously unknown to Europeans, and among 

 them pheasants, and a species of peacock, as they described 

 it, which was none other than the Wild turkey, the pride 

 of the American forest and the progenitor of our proud 

 and stately domestic fowl. The introduction of the bird 

 into Europe naturally followed, as soon as circumstances 

 permitted, and not long after, for in the month of July, 

 1519, Cortez dispatched his "first letter" to his emperor, 



