Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-10-23
ESKIMO DIET.
IL Is Calculated to Produce Dyspepsia I'm
Any Other Human Being.

IL Is Calculated to Produce dyspepsia In
Any Other Human Being.
| had read about Eskimo eating
'habts-hOw once upon a time, for
instance. an Arctic explorer offered
some Eskimo girls some sweetmeats
which were rejected, while tallOw
candles were eagerly accepted and
eaten. Now wish to see an Eskimo
eat. With many smiles, Peter en-
tered the cabin and sat down at the
table. / should have apOplOgized to
him on account Of the scantiness Of
our fare, for we had no candles and
there wasn't bit Of tallOw on deck
even, let alone in the cabin. but |
noticed that the butter plate was
heaping full, the sight Of which made
me wish for some Of my friends so
that we could make a pool on the
number of bites he would take In
swallowing the roll. Then Peter sat
down and without ceremony helped
himself to a lot Of baked beans, a
piece Of dry bread and large piece
Of very lean. salt beef all Of which he
bit into and swallowed as a hungry
'lOngShOreman might have done.
Then he took more beans and more
bread and more lean beef and with
them several cups Of coffee with a
great deal Of sugar to each cup. He
was a long time getting to it, but he
finally began on the butter. He had
poured his last cup Of coffee and was
looking about for something 10 eat
with it, when his eyes fell on a plate
Of cake. Taking a small piece he put
small lump Of butter on it and
slowly ate the combination with the
coffee. TO the reader Of a geographic
cal magazine it may seem strange,
but the fact is, until ! saw this man
at the table, | had really expected TO
find the ErkimOS Of South Greenland
showing the habitSa and tastes Of those
living a thousand miles further upthe
coast. had not quite expected to
find them living in snow houses, but
! had a misty idea that an Eskimo
was a little black Indian whose chief
delight among the things brought
from a civilized country was the tai
low candle. The staple food is seal
meat and blubbcr. Next to that is
the little fish taken in the ford and
dried for winter Use. known to them
as the augmatfat and to the learned
as SQlnO rllONS. 4 fay0rtc way Of
eating the dried augmatfat is to take
it by the tale, poke it into the oily
blubber for while. and then chew it
down. Awful, isn't il? 1t is almost
is bad as eating sardincS. There is a
deal in Il name Blubbcr is disgust
ing; oil, if for use on n salad is de-
liciouS and Indispensable. | have
eaten seal oil and found it very I'M
eXpectedly) good. had supposed it
would have a flavor Of fish oil. There
is no such flavor about il. 1t is equal
~ the best extract Of cotton seed
that quality sold as olive oil in all
American groceries. AUgmatfat and
blubbcr. under French label. would
be esteemed a luxury in New York as
in ArSuk. For the rest. the EskimOS
trade seal oil and skins to their Gov
crnOr for three kinds Of hard tack,
for coffee, sugar and tea. Thcycatch
Arctic Goldfish (mi>arkornak in Eskimo
and god'S norogq in the books and
salmon in the Sca>on>: they shoot no
end of gull> ducks. ptarmganS. and
the Arctic hare; they have eggs in
cndlcs, quantity i'm the season. and
very many foxes are trapped. The
fox is to the Eskimo what the pos
sum is TO the plantation darkcy. He
likes 10 smoke and. under favorlng
circumstances. will swap anything
he, got. including his wife, for rum.
-Goldtbrajfc'S Geographical Nog17uc.