Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-06-18


the fingers of the eaters into the pannikin of
oil. All eat in this manner. and heartily, with a
great sound of soup sucking and repeated finger
wiping ON the hair and scanty clothes of the
feeders. They all eat in silence. Hardly a word
passes and by the lapse of half hour they
have finished, all winding up with deep pulls at
the water pail and pOrcine grunts of satisfaction
The family having dispersed from breakfast
the squaws fill up that kettle again with fish, if
they have it, or, not having it. with anything
else they have in their larder. set it on to stew
again. and when settled to the usual point they
take it OFF and stand it up in its usual place by
the fireplace. There it remains all day. open
and free to every member of the lodge, and all
day long it is being sampled first by one and
then the other and no more cooking is done
until toward evening or shutdown, when the head
OF the lodge returns from the days chase or
fishing. Then. whatever he brings be it flesh,
fowl or fish, most likely it will be served up in
that kettle just as breakfast was prepared, with
the same simple accompaniments.
vESIsoN AND FISH.
But maybe one of the squaws takes a fancy
to roast piece of venison or to roll fine fish
in grass and green leaves, then to bake it in
the hot ashes and Goals of hardwood fire.
She knows how to do this and do it very well,
but it makes her great deal more work when
she has to prepare food in this fashion for If
teen or twenty ravenous mouths. She thinks
about il. and if she thinks twice she usually
resorts to the stew kettle.
such in brief the routine Of an Indian
kitchen year IN and year out, and it will be OBJ
served that the great bugbear of dish washing
never troubled Mrs. Lo. But freedom in this
respect did not save the aboriginal woman from
far heavier burdens and toll than that ever
borne by her white sister.
Il think outside of the buffalo feasts Of our
red men that the only real unslloyed pleasure
that they ever took in eating was when they
went at stated seasons of the year for berries
and nuts and when they were able to pick and
truly epicurean, as We understand it, and the
pleasure arose in their minds because there was
no kitchen work connected with the serving of
these items"
DON'T LIKE CONDIMENTS.
Indians like the cooking of the whites in
every respect save the use Of pepper, much salt
or pickles; they did not like our salt mea ts but
cornbeef hash is a great favorite. Bread.
when soft and warm. is highly relished, and
pastries and sweets of all kinds. Tea and coffee
they cared for very little, but acquired O taste
for rum rapidly. Usually it was spit out quickly
when first taken into their mouths with look
/ Of great surprise and disgust, but when the
peculiar effect on their brains was understood
they invariably became earnest beggars for
spirits.
/ Indians never had regular meal hours; they,
after rallying in the morning at breakfast, ate
again whenever they felt hungry thereafter dur
| ing the day, men, women and children. II the
family kettle became emptied by the lack of
/ provision during the day the hungry members
( of that lodge would go into a neighboriug one,
if not far of, and freely help themselves there.
| IL the stores were exhausted in all
directions then the effort of going
to bed supperless nothing for
I them-it only served to stimulate them to
energetic hunting, and they never referred to
he nhfa 1o,x 81,
fault Of any that there was nothing to eat in
the house, but rather regarded it as something
( that ought to happen once in q while.