370 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [100] 



hung in the smoke to dry, and when cured looks very much like citron. 

 It is somewhat tougher than pork, but sweet (if the whale has been re- 

 cently killed), and has none of that nauseous taste which the whites 

 attribute to it. When cooked it is common to boil the strips about 

 twenty minutes, but it is often eaten cold and as an accompaniment to 

 dried halibut. 



" From information I obtained I infer that formerly the Indians were 

 more successful in killing whales than they have been of late years. 

 Whether the whales were more numerous, or that the Indians, being 

 now able to procure other food from the whites, have become indifferent 

 to the pursuit, I cannot say ; but I have not noticed any marked activity 

 among them, and when they do go out they rarely take a prize. They 

 are more successful in their whaling in some seasons than in others, 

 and whenever a surplus of oil or blubber is on hand it is exchanged or 

 traded with Indians of other tribes, who appear quite as fond of the 

 luxury as the Mal<ahs. The oil sold by these whalers to the white 

 traders is dog fish oil, which is not eaten by this tribe, although the 

 Clyoquot and Nootkan Indians use it with their food. There is no por- 

 tion of a whale, except the vertebrae and offal, which is useless to the 

 Indians. The blubber and flesh serve for food ; the sinews are prepared 

 and made into ropes, cords, and bowstrings, and the stomach and in- 

 testines are carefully sorted and inflated, and, when dried, are used to 

 hold oil. Whale oil serves the same purpose with these Indians that 

 butter does with civilized people 5 they dip their dried halibut into it 

 while eating, and use it with bread, potatoes, and various kind of ber- 

 ries. When fresh it is by no means unpalatable; and it is only after 

 being badly boiled, or by long exposure, that it becomes rancid, and as 

 offensive to a white man's palate as the common lamp oil of the shops." 



