AN OLD-TIME CARIBOU HUNT 156 



shreds and scraps of fat, making a sort of sau- 

 sage, which is also smoked. The stomach is emp- 

 tied of about half its contents of partly digested 

 moss, and all the blood that it is possible to col- 

 lect from the animal, is dipped out of the chest 

 cavity and poured into it and the orifices tied up. 

 It is then hung up inside of the camp, where it 

 is exposed to the heat of the camp fire. Fermen- 

 tation soon takes place and it begins to swell with 

 the gas. The squaw then pierces it with a 

 wooden skewer and allows the air to escape. In 

 about a week it dries into a red brick-colored 

 mass, and is ready for use. A few eat it in this 

 dry state, but the usual way is to make it into a 

 stew. Water is set to boil, a piece of this com- 

 position of moss, blood and caribou hair is then 

 broken into it and flour added until it becomes of 

 the proper consistency. It is then eaten like 

 soup. All the bones, principally the leg ones, 

 are then collected and broken with an axe, and 

 set to boil in a large kettle. As much of the whole 

 marrow as comes to the surface in boiling is col- 

 lected and laid aside to cool. The boiling of the 

 bones then continues for several hours, generally 

 all night. In the morning it is placed outside, 

 where the fat usually comes to the surface and 

 solidifies. It is then skimmed, more bones put 

 in and the same process gone over. When suffi- 

 cient fat and marrow are collected to make a large 

 cake, they are melted, the marrow chopped into bits 



