462 Cookery* 
persons who have eaten this article of food in the woods, speak of 
it as a great luxury. “ An agreable barter ensued (says judge Hen- 
ry) we gave salted pork in exchange for two fresh Beaver-tails, 
which when boiled, renewed ideas of the May butter of our own 
country.” p. 23. 
Of all meats the bear’s meat is the most nutritive ; and \(^hen 
not exceeding a year old the most delicious. I mean of meats 
usuallye aten here. The tail of the beaver, is not usually found in our 
markets, but bearmeat is ; and opossum also is occasionally 
met with ; a very nutritive animal. A bear ham, cured as com- 
•snon gammons are, with salt and salt petre, smoked and dried at 
my request in Mr. P’s family, when dressed, measured six inches 
of fat, and about inch of lean. The fat while hot, was so trans- 
parent that you might almost read through a slice of it half an inch 
thick. But the bear was old, and the meat too strong. 
Next to bear is pork : the meat universally prefered by hard 
working people. It was also the food of the Athletse of old. 
Next to pork I shohld rank beef : and next to beef, mutton. It 
has been ascertained by direct experiment, that game birds are 
sooner digested than common meats ; and are probably not so 
nutritive, if we may judge by the analogy of venison. The cir- 
cumstance related to me by Capt. Lewis, which I have had re- 
peatedly confirmed on other occasions, as to the want of nutriment 
in venison, explains the reason why venison, and game generally 
are so fashionable at the tables of the rich ; viz. because much of 
this kind of food can be eaten, without overloading the digestive 
powers. 
These considerations lead us to conclude, that the greatest 
quantity of nutriment under the least weight, can be put up in the 
form of bacon fat, moderately salted, to be eaten with tossamanonny, 
or Indian corn just ripe parched to a light chocolate brown colour, 
and grounds To make variety, portable soup might be added; 
which if well seasoned, I think preferable to the salted lean or 
muscular part of pork. Bread cut in slices and gently baked to a 
chocolate brown, and then ground, might be substituted ; but it is 
.’by no means equal weight for weight with parched Indian corn ; of 
which about a handful mixed with water, is a day’s meal for an 
Indian. A small bag of tossamanonny and a bottle of bear’s oil, 
will suffice an Indian for a week’s journey. 
, Were I to recommend the greatest quantity of wholesome 
3iutriment, sufficiently varied not to pall upon the palate, and con- 
