Nichols. — Seldom Marketed Salt-water Fishes 281 



enormous quantities, particularly by the Frenchmen, not only in New 

 York, but in Connecticut and other New England states. 



Prof. L. L. Dyche, Pratt, Kan. : It seems to me there are a great 

 many things good to eat that we do not eat because we have not been 

 accustomed to them. Between 40 and 50 years ago Indians were 

 camped near my father's farm in Osage County, Kan.; and I did not 

 think much about Indians being different from other people. We used 

 to go to the Indian camps and T ate about everything that could be put 

 on an Indian bill-of-fare. I ate turtles roasted in the fire, muskrats, 

 and I am not sure but that I ate snakes and many other things I did 

 not know much about. In later years we learned to eat opossum ; and 

 if any animal is unfit to eat on account of its promiscuous food habits, 

 we believe it is the opossum; but the "possum" meat tasted pretty good. 

 A few years ago we collected about 50 skins of the large striped 

 skunks; and one day we caught two fine fellows, two-thirds grown. 

 The scent glands are two balls about three-quarters of an inch 

 in diameter. These were carefully removed and there was no more 

 odor about those animals than about an opossum, a raccoon or a small 

 pig, and perhaps not so much. My assistant, Mr. E. D. Eames, and I 

 conceived the idea that they might be baked for Thanksgiving and that 

 we might have a big "possum" feed. We had the banquet, and after 

 the guests ate we told them what the meat was, but we could hardly 

 make them believe it. The meat was tender, juicy and sweet, and with 

 no foreign or suspicious taste. We had eaten the same meat before 

 and knew that it would be good. 



On the coast of Greenland I ate a number of things that people 

 are not accustomed to eat. The Danes in south and central Greenland 

 are accustomed to eat whalemeat and especially the skin of the smaller 

 varieties of whales. Eskimos are very fond of it and eat both meat 

 and skin raw. When an Eskimo harpoons a small whale he always 

 gets the tail in addition to his regular portion in the division of the 

 meat. We travelled with these Eskimos and ate what they did. We 

 ate seal meat and shark. I never cared for shark. There is not much 

 flavor to it. But I think if it could be cooked with good Kansas or 

 Missouri bacon to give it a flavor, it would be much improved. Whale 

 skin, when boiled or scalded in hot water, turns white, and it is pretty 

 good when eaten with vinegar or sour dressing. We have eaten the 

 raw skin of the whale while in company with Eskimos. It was a good 

 food, but with no particular taste. A piece as large as your two hands 

 would satisfy an ordinary appetite. It has no bad taste or flavor, and 

 inasmuch as the Eskimo prized it highly we considered that it must be 

 a good food. We ate several things on the Greenland coast, such as 

 seahawks, gulls, shearwaters, guillemots, etc., that people do not often 

 eat. The Newfoundland sailors are more or less superstitious and would 

 not eat a mouthful of bear meat. But they did eat what seemed to be 

 salt horse meat that had been packed in barrels. They would eat that 

 old, strong and tasteless meal in preference to nice, juicy bear steaks 



