Barbecue

bar'be-ku, a West Indian word applied to a platform of sticks, supported by posts. It is interesting to trace the history of the word. In Cuba, it is a platform of poles on which corn and fruits are stored. Next it is a scaffold on which to dry or smoke fish and fresh meats. Then a huge gridiron on which joints of meat may be roasted. Still later it is the carcass of a sheep, hog, or ox roasted whole, and finally a large social or political meeting at which a barbecued ox forms a prominent part of the entertainment. In the hard-cider, log-rolling presidential campaigns of William Henry Harrison's day, barbecues were a prominent means of awakening jollity and enthusiasm. While the political barbecue has not been abandoned entirely, it is not so popular as it once was. See Hecatomb