724 THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 



" The confectioner was a toothles old hag, who mixed the in- 

 gredients in a wooden dish dirtier than anything I ever saw before, 

 and filled with reindeer hairs, which, however, were not conspic- 

 uous when well mingled with the half-churned grass and moss. 

 She extracted the oil from the blubber by crushing it between 

 her old gums, and spat it into the dish, stirring it with her fingers 



IJEUT. SCHWATKA AND HIS MEN TRAVELING IN KING WILLIAM LAND. 



until the entire mass became white, and of about the consistency 

 of cottage cheese. I ate some, merely to say I had eaten it, a*id 

 not to offend my entertainers, but I cannot say I enjoyed it." 



A very clever reason may be assigned for the gluttonous, or 

 improvident, character of the Esquimaux, and that is the neces- 

 sity for quick consumption of the flesh they obtain in order to 

 prevent its putrefaction. This statement appears unreasonable 



