NELSON] MEAT AND FISH CURING 267 



FOOD 



Being a race of hunters and fishermen the food supply of the Eskimo 

 is essentially composed of game and fish, which are prepared in a 

 variety of ways. But little attention is paid to cleanliness in the 

 preparation of food among these people. The flesh of reindeer, moun- 

 tain sheep, bears, seals, walrus and other large game are commonly 

 boiled in sea water to give it a salty flavor. 



Meat is frequently kept for a considerable length of time and some- 

 times until it becomes semiputrid. At Point Barrow, in the middle of 

 August, ]881, the people still had the carcasses of deer which had been 

 killed the preceding winter and spring. This meat was kept in small 

 underground pits, which the frozen subsoil rendered cold, but not cold 

 enough to prevent a bluish fungus growth which completely covered 

 the carcasses of the animals and the walls of the storerooms. 



Meat killed in summer is often dried, as are also the various kinds of 

 salmon, which are split down to the base of the tail and hung on wooden 

 frames until dry. The smaller species of salmon, known as dog salmon, 

 are tied in bunches of twenty when dry and placed in storehouses for 

 future use. 



The large flakes of dried king salmon are usually packed away in 

 bales or bundles. Tomcod, sculpin, and whitetish also are dried, the 

 smaller species, such as tomcod and sculpin, being hung upon strings. 

 The roe of herring is gathered on the seaweed during spawning time 

 and some of this is dried and preserved for winter use, when it is boiled 

 and eaten with great relish. 



On the lower Kuskokwim and thence to the Yukon the people try 

 out the oil from a species of whitefish found there and store in bags 

 for winter use the clear white fat thus obtained. 



Fish are boiled and sometimes are roasted over an open fire as is 

 frequently done with meat, but boiling is the usual method of prepar- 

 ing both fish and meat. Fish taken in winter are usually placed in 

 grass bags and kept frozen until required, when they are eaten raw, 

 while still frozen, or are boiled. Crabs, mussels, and ascidians are boiled. 



In the district between the Yukon and the Kuskokwim, the heads of 

 king salmon, taken in summer, are placed in small pits in the ground 

 surrounded by straw and covered Avith turf. They are kept there during 

 summer and in the autumn have decayed until even the bones have 

 become of the same consistency as the general mass. They are then 

 taken out and kneaded in a wooden tray until they form a pasty com- 

 pound and are eaten as a favorite dish by some of the people. The 

 odor of this mess is almost unendurable to one not accustomed to it, 

 and is even too strong for the stomachs of many of the Eskimo. 



The back fat of the reindeer is cut into small pieces and chewed by 

 the women until it becomes a pasty mass, which is put into a wooden 

 dish. When enough of this has been prepared, a quantity of snow and 



