Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-07-22
AN INDIAN KITCHEN.
HOW THE FOOD OF THE RED
MAN is PREPARED.
They Never Wash Their Cooking
Utensils, aud Consequently
Everything las Mixed
Smell and Taste


tween British Columbia and Mexico,
up and down the Rockies, but l can
say, in all honesty, that l have never
seen or smelled an Indian stew or roast
that l wanted to partakc of it in all my
wandcrings," said gentleman to
Washington Star wri:er. "No, not
that-that's not the reason at all, for l
have been hungry enough, often, but
the fact is simply this: an Indian wants
great deal to eat and cares little about
the details of cooking, while a white
man is more concerned about the manner
in which his meal is be served than he is
about the quantity of it.
"a great deal on nonsense has been
written about the depraved appetites oil
Indians, what nasty messes Of putres-
cent meat, fish and oil they make way
with, and other like feasts but just
stop moment. Go down to that res
taurant across the street from us and the
chances are that if you are not used to it
l can order up a dish of Limberser
chesc that will turn your appetite adrift
or a plate of ''gamey" deer meat which
will drive you from the scene.
"With the exception Of rotten fish
and roe rcpasts l have never smelled any
thing worse than the odor of a portion
Of tina. particular cheese I have just re.
ferred to in any Indian spreai that has
been under my eyes. An Indian,
strangely enough, likes putrid fish, but
he does not relish his flesh after that
fashion or his fowls; a distinctly rotten
egg he never eats, but eggs that are
we'll advanced toward Matching ne rather
prefers; shell fish are always eaten fresh
by savages, and l know that if there was
any method not involving great care and
labor by which animal and fish oils
could be kept sweet by their savage con-
sumers these oils would be, for they
know and appreciate the difference just
as keenly as we do n The case OF sweet
or rancid butter. Oh takes the place OF
butter with them; but though they know
how to render the fats, and how to pre-
serve the product thereof 50 a. to be
sweet, yet the labor is never undertaken,
and the strong smell which hangs over
all the Indian kitchens, is due to this
oil itself or its residuum in the unwashed
wooden or metal utensils where it is
kept.
"Indians have a marked liking for the
entrailS of all birds, beasts and fishes
these are the real glout morceaux; they
pluck and siDge the feathers from most
of the land fowls and skin ducks, geese
and other water birds, and all animals,
and scale all fishes which are distinctly
scaled; no bird, animal or fish is ever
wasted after these steps arc taken by the
souaws, who either put the result OF
their dressing into stewpan or spit 1t
for roasting before the Goals or under the
embers; they object to washing the
game or fish, saying that the water
spoils it They use no salt in cooking
or pepper; no spices; no condiments
whatever.
"The Indian in his daily search fo-
food takes almost anything he comes
acsoss and he has quite large variety,
but when it ',mes out from the kitchen
the result is that it all tastes about the
same-venlson to-day boiled in kettle
where fish were steged yesterday, aud a
goose goes into this kettle to morrow
in vi meantime the kettle mas never
b,en cleaned or emptied fully OF this
days repast ere the material for the next
DAVIS dinner is thrown into it! Natur-
ally, this curious, shiftless cooking gives
an indescribable fiat and repugnant flavor
to everything that comes from the ket-
tie day after day-at least, it is so de-
clared by our palatcs. But the Indians
are satisfed-they simply eat to live,
and the pleasures of the table they CONT
of less value than the ease of their labors
in the cuisine.
"Still Indians appreciate good cook
inc and were in the full knowledge OF
making variety of feast dishes which
were very good. They understood the
making of gravies, thick soups and corn
bread and the baking of fish AMI meats
to turn long, long before white man
ever set foot on the Americ IN continent,
but the wooden dishes, such as plat.ers,
birch bark kettles aud spoons OF maple
or bass wood were usually so charged
with ancient odors as TO make dis
agreeable impression upon everything
that was served in them when offered to
the white visitors, and neutralized all
the skill of the sluaw's culiulry eforss.
The fact was that dish washing was an
undertaking much disliked and seldom
thoroughly done in the Indian kitchen,
and rude scraping Of the kettles was
about all that they ever got before being
recharged with fresh supply OF the raw
material.
ga small FIRE and 4 slow simmering,
stewing Of meats aud fish, vegetables
ard hcrr;es was the invariable feature OF