Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-03

| ilization. The principal of these were grass
| roots, certain small bulbs or tubers and
| the inside bark of various trees
" In the winter we ate fish meat and
| berries, which the Squaws dried in the sum
| mer and stored away. Then also the little
bulbs have mentioned came in very hand
lily. L nave forgotten now what they We're
| called, but they, as all old Alaska men
kIow, form the principal food of the tim
Der squirrels of that country during the
winter
-" 1t was by riiing the boards of these
little animals that we obtained our supply
of the bulbs in the winter. Their boards
are always to be found III a solitary spruce
tree in a thicket Of stunted pines. That
was the way in which We located Them.
The reason for this l never knew.
AS a substitute for bread-of course.
the Indians then had no fiour-we ate a
species of pudding made of the blood of
| the game We killed. boiled with dried ber-
ries and sometimes with the little bulbs
from the squirrel boards
Il asked Carmack how the Indians in
those days obtained salt for their meat.
Every one knows that. to a white man at
least, salt is a necessity and not a mere
fiavoring matter. In answer Carmack told
me something that was entirely new to me.
He said that the Indians made it a prac-
tice not to throw away the water in which
they boiled their meat. but allowed it to re-
| main in the kettle. In the course of a short
time, he told me, the water or broth would
become extremely salty, and could then be
! maintained at whatever degree of saline
ness was deemed desirable by the addition
of fresh water to replace some of the salt
broth dipped out and thrown away.
"A little thought will make it plain that
Carmacks story is perfectly plausible. The
blood contains small quantities of salts
among them the salt We call common salt,
chloride of sodium BY evaporation these
! salts were concentrated until they became
sufficiently plentiful to flavor the meat
boiled in the solution, and then the desired
end was attained.
'Of course. the practice of leaving the
same water in the meat kettle for days
would not appeal to white man the
ground of cleanliness. Still. if one had 10
salt the Indian plan would not be to
scorn. l would recommend any who
intends going into uncivilized countries to
bear the process in mind. 1t might prove
valuable in case of emergency.
Another novel practice of the Indians
related to me by Carmack their plan
of boiling meat without a kettle. 1t was
their custom, he said, when without a
proper vessel for cooking to take the stonl-
ach of the animal killed-deer, moose or
bear, whatever it might be-and, dividing
it into halves. sink one of the halves in a
hollow dug in the ground deep enough 10
accommodate it.
"A wthe of willow bent in a circle and
placed inside the rim of the hemisphere
served to keep it from collapsing Then
water was placed in the sunken half and
fire built. In the fire small stones were
heated redhot and dropped into the water
causing it to boil. Then the meat was
placed in the vessel and kept boiling until
properly cooked by the addition of more
heated stones from time TO time.
THE other half of the stomach by the
aid of couple of withes, was fashioned
into a pail in which to carry water for
cooking purposes. one of the withes being
fastened inside the rim and another attach
ed a bail.
Jack Dalton. who was one of the pion-
GERS of Alaska, and the discoverer of the
trail which bears his name,' continued Dr.
Sweeney. gave ME some interesting data
concerning the habits of the Indians and
white men who lived with them in the early
days OF the territory. Dried fish. he told
me- he had found to be the most satisfac-
tory food when game and fresh fish We're
not to be obtained. The Indians, he said
were accustomed to pound the dried fish
up into paste with dried berries, and
used it to the exclusion of nearly all other
foods in the winter.
ut is a noteworthy and interesting fact
that to this very day dried fish and dates
pounded into a paste together. form the
principal food of large number of the
semi-civiiized peoples living along the bar
rem shores of the Red sea. By them ii Is
called pie. the final vowel not being SILENT