120 THE WHALEMAN ; OR, 



rus, or a deer brought in. But whatever other 

 good qualities the food might have had, it was 

 all eaten raw ; at least this was the case with the 

 more northern settlements, and particularly the 

 one in which we spent most of the winter. The 

 natives farther south exhibited some slight im- 

 provement in the manner of preparing their food ; 

 yet on the whole, the difference was very small, 

 and not worth mentioning. 



At the time of our meals, if they can be called 

 such, all the members of the hut would gather 

 around a large dish, or tray, or trough, as much 

 like the ordinary hog's trough as it could well be, 

 and then each one would either help himself to 

 what there was in it, with his hands and fingers, 

 or receive his piece of blubber from the head man 

 of the hut. In this manner the natives took 

 their meals. From the necessity of our condi- 

 tion we had to conform in a measure to this foul 

 and disgusting custom, to say nothing of the 

 filthy nature of the food ; we were compelled to 

 eat or starve. 



The bread used among the natives was made 

 by boiling a vine, which they find on the ground 

 in those places where the snow melts off during 

 summer. This vine is somewhat bitter. They 

 make a practice of collecting it during the sum- 

 mer months. After it is thoroughly boiled, they 



