The Home of the Wolverene and Beaver. 4 1 



forming this office for themselves, but all, without 

 exception, gesticulating and speaking with a 

 volubility that defies description in a jargon of 

 mixed French, English, and Indian, that is nearly 

 deafening and utterly incomprehensible. 



One word here, regarding " hominee," for it is the 

 sole diet given by the Company to their canoe men, 

 and ought to be good stuff to keep up the strength 

 of these hardworking people. Hominee is nothing 

 more than Indian corn and melted fat. The former 

 is prepared before shipment, by boiling it in a 

 strong alkali, which takes off the outer husk ; after 

 being well washed and carefully dried, it is fit for 

 use. Corn is the cheapest provision that the 

 Company can procure, but from the expense of 

 transport it cannot be landed at the Grande Portage 

 under twenty shillings the bushel, and a man's 

 daily allowance is a little less than one twentieth 

 part of this, or about ten pennyworth. To prepare 

 it for use, a quart of corn should be boiled for two 

 hours over a moderate fire, in a gallon of water ; to 

 which, after it has been on a little while, should be 

 added two ounces of melted suet, which causes the 

 corn to split, and in the time mentioned above 

 makes a pretty thick pudding. Salt must be 

 added after, not during the boiling process, with 

 which it would sadly interfere, and the hominee is 



