NELSON] MEAT AND FISH CURING 267 
FOOD 
Being a race of hunters an 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, 1881, 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. Tomeod, sculpin, and whitefish also are dried, the 
smaller species, such as tomeod 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 with 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 
