338 
FOREST AND STREAM 
March 15, 1913 
In Camping-Supplydom—III. 
Some More of the Little-Known Camping Conveniences and Travel-Foods of Other Nations 
TASAJO—THE UNSALTED SUN-DRIED STRIP BEEF OF 
IBERIC-AM ERICA. 
UR own Indian pemmican oft has a whiff of 
the odor of seini-taintedness. It is also 
prepared by some Western packing houses, 
and may be eaten—at a shift—dry, when about 
half of the semi-granular coarse powder-like stuff 
appears to be of a roughly ground horny nature. 
This shows the need of boiling to soften it. On 
opening cans of it, the whiff of partly-tainted 
meat is sometimes noticed. 
The Latin-American tasajo, or jerked beef, 
is alwa3"s cleanly to handle; is ever free of the 
suggestion even of taint; can be carried in 
leather or cotton or even paper hag, or crammed 
into a coat pocket, and may, in thin sheet or 
lariat form, be eaten just sun-dried as it is. It 
has just a good dried meat odor. The tough 
strip beef of course requires boiling. 
Tasajo can be obtained of the many Spanish- 
American importers in Manhattan, and is su¬ 
perior for camping to the canned pemmican. 
About 2,000 tons are annually brought to Man¬ 
hattan alone for provisioning long-distance sail¬ 
ing vessels to the ‘‘four corners of crackdoni.” 
SUN-DRIED OYSTERS (ORIENTAL OVERLAND TRAVEL). 
Throughout the China Republic, in the big 
cities, the visitor observes the sun-dried oysters. 
They look like so many withered dates, and are 
sold loose as dates might be sold, or spitted on 
split-bamboo sticks, or in wreath form. This 
last shape is for convenience in selling from the 
arms or necks of the human push cart peddlers 
of Chinese bazaars. They are also sold in quan¬ 
tities in Alanhattan’s Chinese quarter at about 
twenty-five cents per pound. In stewing, they 
By L. LODIAN 
swell up to about triple—or at least double—the 
size as illustrated. Of course, they are “not 
a patch on" the fresh oyster; have always a cer¬ 
tain unsatisfactory leathery feel in the mouth, 
and are scarce worth carrying on a camping trip, 
hut are instanced here as a curious and well- 
known food product of the inland Asiatic 5,000- 
mile caravan transport parties. 
RIPENED EGGS. 
This is another queer travel food of the 
China Republic. We illustrate a couple of speci¬ 
mens, as daily obtainable at Gotham’s Chinese 
groceries. They are nigh a jet-black inside, 
quite evil-odored, and our own pure food of¬ 
ficials would doubtless rate them as a "filthy, 
decomposed and putrid product.” Yet are they 
any worse than our high-blown bear or venison 
steaks, or fully-ripened duck meat, or limburger 
cheese? Come, let's be consistent, and don’t 
sweepingly condemn the Oriental because he goes 
in for gamy eggs instead of gamy game. 
UMBRELLA TENTS OF SOUTHERN FRANCE. 
These are just giant umbrellas, the ribs of 
wood, and can be set up in a jiffy. You can 
stand upright inside, even when the ribs are 
attached closely to little pegs driven into the 
ground to keep out the cold wind and wet—if 
you like to stand between the cross ribs. But 
usually the French camper is content to squat 
or sit under the cross-ribs, which are utilized 
for suspending or drying things. This dome¬ 
shaped umbrella-tent withstands enormous wind 
pressure. I never saw one blown down, the 
pressure of the wind forcing the ribs tighter 
to mother earth. Ingress or egress in wet 
weather is in a crouching position through a 
low-down slit with flap attachment (woven close¬ 
ly as for waterproof cotton canvas). 
THE REINDEER BLOOD RYE BREAD OF THE TRAVELING 
LAPLANDER. 
In a previous article on camping and travel 
breads and hardtacks of the nations, profusely 
illustrated, an illustration of the singular “palt- 
brod" of the Laplander was omitted. This means 
blood bread, because made of the blood of the 
reindeer—blood instead of water being mixed 
with the rye flour. This combination makes the 
darkest-hued bread known to the globe. It is 
the second most sustaining bread of the world, 
due to the blood-albumen content. The first is 
the oat bread in sausage form (with its fat-sea¬ 
soning) of the Scotch, and the third is the tallow 
bread of some of the Siberian tribes. That is, 
with reference to breads of cereal foundation. 
Of course, European fish-roe breads would about 
rank with the Caledonia sausage form oat bread. 
The banana bread of tropical America would 
rate out at about the same nutritive value as 
maize bread. There are regularly made so-styled 
meat loaves in Manhattan by some pork 
butchers of the so-called (and mis-called) ‘‘head 
cheese’’ stock. They are baked like ordinary 
nickel loaves, are of about the same size, are 
very solid and satisfying and tasty, and retail at 
about thirty cents per pound. They would not 
keep for summer camping, but would do for 
the winter outdoor-lifer, and, properly canned, 
would make one of the most sustaining articles 
of the camper’s dietary. 
* 
All the matters mentioned and illustrated in 
this paper are readily purchasable any time 
REINDEER BLOOD RYE BREAD. 
COMPRESSED TEA. 
SUN DRIED OYSTERS. 
RIPENED EGGS. 
