TURKEY FOOT A MASCOT.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XX, Issue XVI, 16 April 1898, Page 490

TURKEY FOOT A MASCOT.

DONE IN GOLD, SILVER, AND RIBBONS IT BRINGS YOU LUCK. A NEW CHARM. The rabbit’s foot is not in the race any longer as a charm. What has caused the downfall of bunnie’s hind foot as a protection against all evil and an assurance of perpetual good luck for its happy possessor is rather a puzzling question and one which the fair sex and the advocates of the new fad would find it hard to explain. Perhaps the late Presidential campaign may have had something to do with it. Every one knew that the silver candidate was presented with a rabbit’s foot immediately upon receiving his nomination, and that the mascot complied with all the requirements of the case, for it was ‘ the left hind foot of a molly cottontail, that had been killed in the full of the moon, at twelve o’clock at night in a graveyard, by a red headed nigger.’ Well, the rabbit having enjoyed so great and so long a run a popularity, in the natural course of events the time' has come for him to step down ami out. He has done so, and his place has been taken by one of the kings of the farmyard—the lordly turkey. Fashion decrees that in order to be lucky one must wear in some manner or possess in some shape or other a turkey’s elaw. This fad is so new that it lias hardly reached the counters yet, except in one or two shops which pride themselves upon bringing out all the most exclusive novelties. Of course it will eventually become as common as the craze for rabbits’ feet, but to-day it is a very difficult thing to find a turkey’s claw prepared in the proper style for a charm against bail luck. The most popular style at present is the natural claw, properly treated bv a taxidermist, its shank covered by a silver or gold cap, set with an amethyst, turquoise, or the new green stone, which resembles an emerald. The tip of the nail is covered with a gold or silver cap, with a fine chain to match the eap from the shank to what one might call the wrist of the claw, and a pretty scarlet ribbon Imiw with long ends tied just below the shank.

These new mascots are so arranged that they can lie hung up as ornaments, or used as pajier weights or table ornaments. In one case I saw one profusely bejewelled, which was intended for a cabinet. As dress ornaments they are, so far, but little used, though I was told they were being fashioned into clasps for fastening golf capes at the neck. I asked an old coloured man if he had ever heard of the turkey’s elaw as being an unlucky or lucky charm. ‘ Why, yes,’ he replied. ‘ Down South, where I come from, it is lietter and luckier to steal your Thanksgivin’ or Christmas turkey. I don’t hold with the fashion of stealing anything, but if you can only steal your turkey for the holiday dinner you will have good luck all the rest of the year. In the old days the “ massa ”

would put away a lot of turkeys, and the darkies would go in the nignt, just at twelve o’clock, and steal the birds.’ ‘ But what about the claw * What gisal luek does that bring ?’ ‘ Why, bless your heart, don’t you know that the turkey’s foot is an awful lucky thing ? You must take the claw after you have cleaned your turkey—a stolen one, mind you—dip it in salt, bury it, you better say, in a dish of salt for a whole week, and let it lie there, so that all the bits of flesh which stick to it are cleaned away, and your foot is just as sweet as a nut. Then yon take it out and scrape it and clean it and polish it, until it just shines like a piece of stone. Then you put it up over your door, anil no bad luck,

sickness or anything can come in during the year.’ • Will it keep out death f ‘ No, ma’am, it will not. Don’t you know sometimes death is the biggest niece of good luek that can happen to you r ‘ But do you know why the turkey’s foot is lucky ?' ‘ I never heard but one reason, and that was that after the devil hail tempted Eve and was crawling away after getting her to eat the apple, he came across the turkey’s path and the turkey lifted up bis right foot and struck at Ins head. The blow was so hard that the devil was stunned for a moment. And that is the reason of the turkey’s right foot Iteing lucky against bad fortune.