The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-07-25
THE PASSING OF PEMMlcAN
An Uninviting Nutritious Dish Of Buffalo Meat Which
Was Fare Of indians.

Was the Common Fare Of indians.
Fifty ago pemnacan the shifting and scant
population Of the northwest what flour in the present day
peoples in most civilized portions OF the
globe the food Of the country The
it always made from the buffalo which covered the
plains The great corporation Hud
Bay bought hundreds bags Of the dark nu
tious compound annually from the Indians for at its
region then
designated Prince Rupet Land Pemmican is Cree word
meaning mixture, something made with fat 1t was
composed Of buffalo and pounded fine,
mixed with melted in sacks made from
the hide OF the buffalo with the hair outside 1t did not
look inviting but in fact wholesome strong food which
would keep for If the buffalo important to the
fur trader the ungain animal life itself the red
for 1t furnished him with everything his heart could DESIRE
or with the of procuring it, And owing to the
the tribe and that of
enemy fresh always obainable pemmicn was
the form in which Indian and laid his
store of provisions against the day of scarcity.
Omtting the excitement Of the hunt and substituting
domestic plains description
Of pemcan making the Indians quarter of century
ago will give idea Of what might have been witnessed at
Duck Lake in the Of 1899 Intelligence that band
or puoe was in the vicinity threw the indian camp at once
into state of violent excitement Men rushed from the
lodges bucng on auvers Of and belts Of cartridges
shouting shy another the horse herd driven
n and in few minutes the bucks mounted their buffalo
runners direction of the chief Of the hunt
moved in silent the On nearing the herd
advantage taken each slight rise dip to cover the
always up the brutes
steathiy they rode, behind
another until conceamen no longer possible Then at
dashed yelling the of their trained horses at the
startled herd
Once with the straning animals, their pace slack
ened the comparatively Onward gaoped
the hunters between the long undulang files of shaggy
backs picking the and the bulls at
their shaft left the swapping bow
went down, the loud,
triumphant the hunter and he tossed
casin beaded rebag beside it to mark his kill and then
flew When the chase the women came with
the ponies and the trailing ravoys the field of
The stripped of their hairy coats the
bones broken extracted and loaded with the
SPOIL the whole party Here, in in
,1v ptn
pole and wind to dry After
day removed and spread the
grass, weather continued fair.
became shingles They were then placed
hide hreshing floor with the sides elevated On short
pegs beaten with fails or between
until the meat reduced almost to powder The
thing that properly handled the flesh seldom
ever all tainted tho in other than the dry
pure northwest such method of preparing
it would doubtless be impossible
and other choice fat had been
dered bags 2x1 feet of buffalo hide, doubled
the bottom and the sides with the snews
poured the shredded meat in the
paste pe1nmican. shoveled into the
after the tops had been sewn
bags jumped them fiat the cooled pemmcan
packages solid and almost hard boulders
eat pernmican he chopped piece OF
with The already cooked In
by sum- but if preferred.
tearing off the adherng hide he could fry it in ~
boil it pot.-Canadian Magazine.