The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-02

Scammon, as a special commissioner OF
the government TO make COLLECTION OF
Indian manufactures for the Philadelphia
centennial exposition. On the morning
of July 2, while we were at anchor at the
village of Howkan, on the Prince OF Wales
islands, the tide being unusually low, l
went ashore in the dingy and while wait
ing for the bostman, Dingy Brown as he
was called, 10 take message from Gap
tain Scammon to Mr.. Dickinson, the
trader / noticed that the ground under
the boat was literally covered with the
holothuria, echina, or sea urchlns, and
red starfish. / got out OF the boat and
gathered some twenty of the slugs, some
of them fourteen inches long, which l
threw into the middle of the boat and
thought had quite q prize to add to my
collections, but when Dingy Brown re-
turned he refused to get IN the boat. He
thought the slugs were snakes and would
bite him / had to throw them into the
stern behind my feet before he would get
in and row me back to the cutter. 1 did
not know at that time how these beche de
mer should be prepared for market, but
| noted in nv journal the fact of their
great abundance and my belief that some
dav they will be utilized with profit. /
tried TO induce the trader at Howkan to
prepare some OF these beche de mer and
send them to Portland, but he did not
seem inclined to try the experiment.
INDIANS EAT BEcHE DE MER.
Two summers since noticed some In
dams on Point Hudson, in this city,
cooking holothurie. They gave me one,
which took to the Chinese house of Lee
Tai It Co., large wholesale Chinese mer-
chants here. They examined it with ID
terest, and after they had consulted to-
gether, they pronounced it "whetong,
the Chinese name for beche de mer. A few
years ago this Chinese house sent some
Cinnamon to the cove just north of Point
no-Point, where the holothuri9 abound.
The Indians gathered them in their small
fishing canoes at 90 cents load. The
Cinnamon put up some twenty barrels OF
dried ones and shipped them to Hong
kong, but they were not properly pre-
pared and all spoiled. Since then have
not heard of any one trying TO cure them.
In order to show that these edible mol
lusks are pretty well known, Will give
some of the names by which they are des-
ignated: The scientific name is holo-
thuria; common name, sea squirts or sea
cucumber; commercial name, trepang or
beche de mer; Chinese, whetong; Clallam
Indians, tchi-quit; Nutka, ta-an-a-wa;
Kuyoquat, tan-a-wa; Haida, ka-noo, etc.
Any one living on the shores of Puget
sound where the holothuri8 are found can
easily Wy tue cAPciAhchs Va CuiihS tneiIi.
Get few, dozen or so, and throw them
into kettle of boiling salt water till they
shrink. Then split them open, boil till
tender, then dry them. A few expert
ments, so easily made, will soon teach any
one not only how to prepare them, but to
select the best kinds for the China market.
Chinese merchants tell me they will pay
$50 ton for them. I believe if some of
our unemployed people would take hold of
this business thew would find ii mueh mora
interesting and profitable than whiting
sticks or spinning yarns In the corner
grocery or saloon, and far less expensive.
The slugs can be prepared as easily and
cheap as the farmers formerly prepared
dried apples and pumpkins for winter
food, and believe the preparation of the
beche de mer for export will yet be valu-
able industry for this state.
JAMES G.. SWAN.