428 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



it is covered with a linen cloth to prevent the steam from 

 escaping. When the whole is cooked each one helps 

 himself without ceremony. These feasts are delicious 

 beyond description, and it is said no one is ever made 

 ill by them. In former times the most renowned war- 

 riors came from afar to take part in them ; and now 

 they are attended by persons of the highest social 

 standing, sometimes to the number of several hundreds. 

 Here is another more detailed description : — The clam- 

 bakes are a Rhode Island institution ; and although 

 " society " at Newport turns up its nose at them, gentle- 

 men go often to enjoy them at the various resorts along 

 the shores of Narragansett Bay. To get up a " bake," 

 large clean stones are laid closely together in a circle, 

 and a hot wood-fire is kept up on them until the stones 

 are thoroughly heated. The ashes and coals are then 

 swept from the stones, which are covered with damp 

 fresh seaweed. On this are placed several bushels of 

 clam, green corn, and sweet potatoes, which are covered 

 with a layer of damp seaweed, and over all is thrown a 

 covering of sail-cloth, to keep in the steam generated by 

 the wet seaweed and the hot stones. Meanwhile accom- 

 plished cooks are busy at a neighbouring stove making 

 chowder, baking fish, and frying onions. On a round 

 table beneath the shade of a grove, or in a shed the sides 

 of which are removed, are plates heaped with brown bread 

 and crackers, bottles of pepper-sauce, and other bottles 

 not containing pepper-sauce. The veteran epicures 

 watch the progress of the " bake " with a critical eye, 

 and when the man in charge says that it is "about done," 

 they repair to the tables, where they first enjoy plates of 

 clam or bluefish chowder. A little brandy-and-water is 

 then taken medicinally, and then come the clams, brought 

 in baskets from the smoking " bake," and emptied on 

 the table. Each person is also supplied with a cupful 

 of melted butter, which is seasoned with pepper-sauce. 

 The clams, the shells of which have been opened by' 

 the heat, are then taken by the fingers of the left hand, 

 the upper shell is torn off by the fingers of the right 



