328 



ACCOUNT OF THE INDIANS* 



like an egg, which I have called, in my Journal*, 

 shad berries, as I have heard them so denomina- 

 ted in New England, which they dry in the sun, 

 and either boil them in broth* or mix them with 

 pounded meat . and fat, in making pimican. But 

 the Carriers prepare these berries in a different 

 manner, in order to preserve them. They make 

 a kind of tub, which will contain twenty or thir- 

 ty gallons, of the bark of the spruce fir tree. 

 Into the bottom of this tub they put about a peck 

 of these berries, and upon the top of them stones, 

 that are nearly red hot ; they then put another 

 layer of berries, and upon these, a layer of stones, 

 and so on until the tub is full. They then cov- 

 er it up, and let it remain in that situation for 

 about five or six hours, when they will have be- 

 come perfectly cooked. They are then taken 

 out, and crushed between the hands, and spread 

 oh splinters of wood, tied together for the pur- 

 pose, over a slow fire ; and, while they are drying, 

 the juice which ran out while they were cooking 

 in the tub, is rubbed over them. After two or 

 three days drying, they will be in a condition to 

 be kept for several years. They are very pala- 

 table, especially when a few whortleberries are 

 mixed with them. The above described methojj 

 of cooking berries, is far better than doing them 



* 



