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A General History of the Fur Trade. 



taking some trout or pike, whose eyes he instantly scoops 

 out, and eats as a great delicacy ; but if they should not be 

 sufficient to satisfy his appetite, he will, in this necessity, 

 make his meal of the fish in its raw state ; but, those whom 

 I saw, preferred to dress their victuals when circumstances 

 admitted the necessary preparation. When they are in that 

 part of their country which does not produce a sufficient 

 quantity of wood for fuel, they are reduced to the same ex- 

 igency, though they generally dry their meat in the sun.* 



The dress of the women differs from that of the men. 

 Their leggins are tied below the knee ; and their coat or 

 6hift is wide, hanging down to the ancle, and is tucked up 

 at pleasure by means of a belt, which is fastened round the 

 waist. Those who have children have these garments made 

 very full about the shoulders, as when they are travelling 

 they carry their infants upon their backs, next their skin, in 

 which situation they are perfectly comfortable and in a po- 

 sition convenient to be suckled. Nor do they discontinue 

 to give their milk to them until they have another child. 

 Child-birth is not the object of that tender care and serious* 

 attention among the savages as it is among civilized people. 

 At this period no part of their usual occupation is omitted, 

 and this continual and regular exercise must contribute to 

 the welfare of the mother, both in the progress of parturi- 

 tion and in the moment of delivery. The women have a 

 singular custom of cutting off a small piece of the navel- 

 string of the new-born children, and hang it about their 

 necks : they are also curious in the covering they make for 

 it, which they decorate with porcupine's quills and beads. 



* The provision called Pemican, on which the Chepewyans, as well as 

 the other savages of this country, chiefly subsist in their journies, is pre- 

 pared in the following manner. The lean parts of the flesh of the larger 

 animals are cut in thin slices, and are placed on a wooden grate over a slow 

 fire, or exposed to the sun, and sometimes to the frost. These operations 

 dry it, and in that state it is pounded between two stones : it will then 

 keep with care for several years. If, however, it is kept in large quantities, 

 it is disposed to ferment in the spring of the year, when it must be exposed 

 to the air, or it will soon decay. The inside fat, and that of the rump, 

 which is much thicker in these wild than our domestic animals, is melted 

 down and mixed, in a boiling state, with the pounded meat, in equal pro- 

 portions : it is then put in baskets or bags for the convenience of carrying 

 it. Thus it becomes a nutritious food, and is eaten, without any further 

 preparation, or the addition of spice, salt, or any vegetable ©r farinaceous 

 substance. A little time reconciles it to the palate. There is another sort 

 made with the addition of marrow and dried berries, which is of a superior 

 quality. 



