FEEDING THE SICK FOLKS 



nipko. No, I will not take it home, because if I do 

 the meat will be eaten up. Keep it here, and have 

 it dried ; then you will have some good nipko for 

 next winter, to give to the sick people if there are 

 any." 



I wonder are the Eskimos unique among the 

 nations in their disregard of vegetable foods? I 

 sometimes saw them getting young willow shoots 

 and one or two other little bits of green, and eating 

 them as a relish to their meat; but they make 

 absolutely no attempt to till what soil there is, and 

 they do not even make the most of the plants that 

 grow. During the short weeks of summer the 

 vegetation springs up in a perfectly marvellous 

 manner. I was astonished at the profusion and 

 variety of the wild plants and flowers that cover the 

 hillsides. Surely among this wild scramble of plant 

 life there must be some things that are good to eat ! 

 I know that there are plenty of dandelion leaves, 

 and I have tasted worse things in my time, but the 

 people never touch them. It was a marvel to me 

 how the Eskimos managed to keep free from scurvy, 

 eating so little green food; but the settlers on the 

 coast say that seal meat does instead of vegetables, 

 presumably because there are similar salts in it, and 

 so eaters of seal meat are able to keep healthy. It 

 is very likely true, for the Eskimos, whose main 

 food it is, are practically free from scurvy. We 

 Europeans could never take to seal meat ; it looks 

 very black and nasty, and has a queer, inky, fishy 

 taste that goes against a fastidious palate ; but the 

 people only smile at our lack of appreciation of their 

 greatest delicacy, and tell us " Mamadlarpok " (it 

 tastes fine). 



