Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1893-09-16
The Arctic Natives Prefer Beef and Beans
tn Tallnw

to TallOw.
L had read about EsquimauX eating
habits-how, once upon Il time, for in
stance, an Arctic explorer offered some
EsquimauX girls some Swectmcats.
which We're rejected, while tallow can
dies were eagerly accepted and eaten
Now ! was to see an Esquimau eat.
With many smiles Peter entered the
cabin and sat down at the table. |
should have apologized to him on ac-
count of the scantincss of our face
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 pool on the number of bites he
would take in swallowing the roll
Then Peter sat down and without cerc-
mony helped himself to lot of baked
beans, piece of dry bread and large
piece of very lean salt beef, all OF
which he bit into and swallowed as =
hungry 1ongshoreman might have
done. Then he took more beans ard
more bread, and more lean beef, and
with them several cups of coffee, with
great deal of sugar to each cup. He
was a long time getting to it, but he
oll lllc DulltE. lie IlttC
poured his last cup of coffee, and was
looking about for something to eat
with it, when his eye fell on plate OF
cake. Taking small piece he put Il
small lump of butter on it and slowly
ate the combination with the coffee.
10 the reader of Il geographical maga
zine it may seem strange, but the fact
is, until | saw this man at the table, |
had really expected to find the ESqui-
mluX of South Greenland showing the
habits and tastes of those living Il
thousand miles further up the coast. ]
had not quite expected to find them
living in Snow-houses, but | had Il
misty idea that an Esquimau was a
little black Indian whose chief delight
among the things brought from Il civil
ized country was the tallow candle
The staple food is seal meat and blllb-
Der. Next to that is the little fish
taken in the ford and dried for winter
use, known to them as the augnatfat
and to the learned as salmo villosus
A favorite way of eating the dried
augmatfat is to take it by the tail!
poke it into the oily blubber for Il
while, and then chew it down. Awful
isn't it? 1t is almost as bad as eating
sardines. There is deal in a name
Il salad, is delicious and Indispensable
l have eaten seal oil and found it very
unexpectedly good. | had supposed
it would have Il flavor of fish Oil There
is no such flavor about it. 1t is cqtfl!
to the best extract of cotton seed. thar
quality sold as olive oil in all American
groceries. Augmatfat and blubbcr. Un
der French label, would be esteemed
Il luxury in New York as in Arsuk For
the rest the Esquimaux trade seal oil
and skins to their governor for three
kinds of hard tack, for coffee, sugar
and tea. They catch Arctic Goldfish
(misarkornak in Esquimau and gadus
navaga in the books and salmon in the
seasons; they shoot no end of gulls
ducks, ptarmigans and the Arctic hare;
they have eggs in endless quantity in
the season. and very many foxes are
trapped. The fox is to the ESquimau
what the 'poSSum is to the plantations
darkcy. He likes to smoke. and. under
favoring circumstances, will swap any
thing he's got, including his wife, for
rum-Goldwaite's Geographical Maga
zine.