The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1893-11-18
ALASKA INDIANS QUEER TASTE.
They Esteem Decomposed Salmon
Heads and bad Eggs.


The Indians In the far interior of
AlAska, shut off from the outside world
| by towering lines of snow-buried
mountains and monster ice-fields, have
10 depend entirely upon local products
for their food. They keep no live stock
at all, nor do they till the soil, but nature
furnishes them with generous supply
ofprovisions.
From July to November all the streams
and lakes are stocked with an abundance
Of delicious salmon.
After the long and bitter winter, with
the thermometer often at go degrees be-
low zero, the natives are gaunt and hag
gard, but in the carly spring their lean
and wrinkled bodies begin at once to
assume rounder shapes, az soon as they
can ply their gaff hooks and land the
fatted salmon safely on shore. At this
season, all day long the squaws are kept
busily employed boiling fish In big cook
ing pots over log fires. AS soon as the
meal is cooked it is tilted out into q
shallow wooden dish. to be very soon
consumed by hungry group of Indians
armed with big horn spoons.
AS the summer advances and fish be-
come more plentiful the natives seek
variety in the bill of fare and supplies
his gastronomic taste by curious
methods. | have frequently watched
native harpoon salmon, and then having
bitten mouthful from the gristly part
OF its head, fling the fish, mutilated but
alive, back into the stream. In utter
contrast to this strange taste decomposed
salmon heads are deemed natural deli
caCy. In order to irnpart to them the
desired flavor they are kept for several
weeks in wooden troughs, and so highly
priced is the odorous result that the
guest to whom it is offered feels unusu-
ally honored.
| remember at one time visiting little
rocky island in an island lake during
the breeding time Of the seagulls, and
we gathered up IA lot of eggs. 1t was
little late in the season. however, and
only few were quite fresh. An old
Indian, whom we had with us at the
time, eyed US with amazement as we
commenced to throw away the bad eggs;
then as il to rebuke our fastidiousness,
he carelessly broke half n dozen in this
pan, and good, bad and those which
would soon be able to fly were mixed
into an omelet, which was consumed
with such evident relish as to leave no
doubt but that the Indians taste had re-
ceived delicious appeal.
Meat is generally cooked by being
toasted in long strips, and when eating
the Indian stuffs his mouth as full as
possible and cuts off each bite close to
his lips with his knife by an upper cut.
Upon my first visit to Alaska, before /
had experienced the treacherous and un-
grateful character of the natives, as
watched their mode of eating meat felt
fearful lest they would cut their noses
off, but a subsequent acquaintance with
the copper-colored gentry substituted
for the sympathy l originally felt the
hope that such an accident would
happen.
In summer time, when vale and hill
side are rid of winter snow, a luxuriant
growth of wild berries is found through
out Alaska. Dilberres, gooseberries,
raspberries, blucberrics, saImonberries,
and cranberries ripen to perfection, and
in many places delicious wild strawber-
ries are found in abundance, but their
delicious flavor does not appeal to the
Indians palate unless the luscious fruit
is churncd up with rancid oil LChicago
Tribune.