4 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 9. 



Fridtjof Nansen in his "Eskimo Life" writes: "Meat and 

 fish are eaten sometimes raw and frozen, sometimes boiled, 

 sometimes dried .... Among other dainties I must mention 

 the skin (matak) of different sorts of whales, especially of the 

 white whale and porpoise, which is regarded as the acme of 

 deliciousness. The skin is taken off with the layer of blubber 

 next to it, and is eaten raw without further ceremony . . the 

 skin is as tough as India-rubber to masticate, so that the enjoy- 

 ment can be protracted to any extent . . A delicate dish which 

 does not however rival matak, is raw halibut skin. It has the 

 advantage that, by reason of its toughness, it goes such a long 

 way . . ." "The Greenlander is also very fond of raw seal 

 skin with the blubber." In another place again in describing 

 their physical characteristics he writes: "He has a . . broad 

 mouth; heavy, broad jaws; which, together with the round cheeks, 

 give the lower part of the face a great preponderance in the 

 physiognomy. When the mouth is drawn up in an oleaginous 

 smile two rows of strong white teeth reveal themselves. One 

 receives the impression, upon the whole, of an admirable chewing 



apparatus " Another author, Mr. H. Whitney 1 , relating 



his experiences among the Highland or Northernmost Eskimos, 

 writes: "While Eskimos eat much of their meat raw and relish 

 it so, they prefer it cooked when conditions permit of cooking. 

 It can be understood how difficult it is to cook it when it is 

 remembered that the only fire they possess is the one supplied 

 by the stone lamps." "The skins (of the little auk) are first 

 thoroughly dried, then the women chew the flesh side until all 

 oil is extracted and the skin is soft and pliable and ready 

 to be sewn into the garment with sinew. In preparing seal 

 and other skins for sewing the women always resort to the chew- 

 ing process." "The main feature of the feast was an uncooked 

 meal." " They get sustenance too by eating hard frozen raw 

 walrus and seal meat or blubber." " A stone lamp was set up, 

 but the seal blubber frozen hard had to be thawed before it 

 could be burned. This was done by the Eskimos chewing 

 and spitting it when softened, into the lamp." "Even little 



J See "Hunting with the Eskimos," by H. Whitney. 



