Reprise of the Turkeys

When Lawson visited some of the remnants of the Santee Indian nation, a week or so into his journey, he said that "they made us all welcome; shewing a great deal of Joy at our coming, giving us barbacu'd Turkeys." He mentions wild turkeys a lot, and he talks even about the uses for their feathers: "their chief Doctor or Physician, ... was warmly and neatly clad with a Match-Coat, made of Turkies Feathers, which makes a pretty Shew, seeming as if it was a Garment of the deepest silk Shag."

I found this beautiful turkey feather one day while hiking. I consider it an omen of the highest possible good.

My point, tiny though it may be, is that in them days, turkeys was everywhere. EVERYWHERE. The place was crawling with wild turkeys, and then as now: good eating.

Then we Euros hung around a while and pretty soon, along with the passenger pigeons and the Carolina parakeet, they were about done. Come around 1900 the parakeets were gone and the pigeons were on the way out. The turkeys were down to some 30,000. Think, current populations of polar bears, as explained in this excellent story in the Cool Green Science blog of Nature. 

Fortunately, Theodore Roosevelt and other conservationists got the message. Habitat setasides worked; so did game laws recognizing that the birds were not limitless. Hatch-and-release programs didn't work -- you raise a bird in a barnyard, then fling it into a forest and say "Good luck"? Nuh-unh. But catch and reintroduce into new protected territory programs did. Nowadays wild turkeys number in the millions, with a conservation status of least concern. Hunters love them, and they are notoriously difficult to shoot, being mistrustful and sharp of eye.

An arrow handmade by John Jeffries of the Occaneechi and given to me. A treasured keepsake.

Anyhow. Hunters and conservationists working together -- a story of people finding their common goals and working on them. The wild turkey is considered the greatest conservation success story in the nation, if not the world, and it shows that as bad as things are, we can still make change. A worthy thanksgiving thought, I think. 

Anyhow. The feather above I found as I walked along the Trek, and I considered it a wonderful omen and wore it in my hat for a while. Then I carefully brought it home, where it remains now. The arrow was made and given to me by the wonderful John Jeffries, of the Occaneechi, who is carrying forward not only traditional native American respect for the world around us and craftsmanship but a friendship to all who reach out in good spirit and hope of understanding. I'm glad I found my feather, and I'm glad I met John to show me what a feather like mine looks like put to good use.

Image of these turkeys courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, © Lee Anne Russell.

A final thought. Of course, we all know that Benjamin Franklin thought ill of the bald eagle as a national symbol: " He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly," preferring to steal from other fishers. More, "like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward," easily frightened by the small King Bird. The King Bird, by the way, goes by the Latin name Tyrannus tyrannus. So let's see if we can think of any modern applications: a bird that  looks very big but is terrified of something very small that it allows to tyrannize it. On the other hand, Franklin goes on to say, consider the turkey: "For in Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America… He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on."

​So let's see if we've got this straight. One bird bird bullies other birds and steals their food, though the eagle himself can be bullied by something very small he ought not to give a moment's thought to. Another bird, though a bit vain and silly, is brave and has made his way back from the brink of extinction with the help of good and decent people.

And we take as our symbol the bully bird who proves a coward. As we celebrate a holiday about thanks and sharing at the same time seemingly half our population trembles in fear of refugees, that symbol seems sadly apt. 

As for me I stick with the turkey feather. I believe I may adopt the turkey feather as my own personal symbol. Maybe I'll stick it back in my hat.

Anyhow. Happy Thanksgiving from the Lawson Trek.