A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16

by Robert Kerr

The chief employment of the men seems to be that of fishing, and killing land or sea animals for the sustenance of their families; for we saw few of them doing any thing in the houses; whereas the women were occupied in manufacturing their flaxen or woollen garments, and in preparing the sardines for drying; which they also carry up from the beach in twig-baskets, after the men have brought them in their canoes. The women are also sent in the small canoes to gather muscles, and other shell-fish, and perhaps on some other occasions; for they manage these with as much dexterity as the men; who, when in the canoes with them, seem to pay little attention to their sex, by offering to relieve them from the labour of the paddle; nor indeed do they treat them with any particular respect or tenderness in other situations. The young men appeared to be the most indolent or idle set in this community; for they were either sitting about, in scattered companies, to bask themselves in the sun, or lay wallowing in the sand upon the beach, like a number of hogs, for the same purpose, without any covering. But this disregard of decency was confined to the men. The women were always properly clothed, and behaved with the utmost propriety; justly deserving all commendation for a bashfulness and modesty becoming their sex; but more meritorious in them, as the men seem to have no sense of shame. It is impossible, however, that we should have been able to observe the exact mode of their domestic life and employments, from a single visit (as the first was quite transitory) of a few hours. For it may be easily supposed, that, on such an occasion, most of the labour of all the inhabitants of the village would cease upon our arrival, and an interruption be given even to the usual manner of appearing in their houses, during their more remiss or sociable hours, when left to themselves. We were much better enabled to form some judgment of their disposition, and, in some measure, even of their method of living, from the frequent visits so many of them paid us at our ships in their canoes; in which, it would seem, they spend a great deal of time, at least in the summer season. For we observed, that they not only eat and sleep frequently in them, but strip off their clothes and lay themselves along to bask in the sun, in the same manner as we had seen practised at their village. Their canoes of the larger sort are, indeed, sufficiently spacious for that purpose, and perfectly dry; so that, under shelter of a skin, they are, except in rainy weather, much more comfortable habitations than their houses.

Though their food, strictly speaking, may be said to consist of every thing animal or vegetable that they can procure, the quantity of the latter bears an exceeding small proportion to that of the former. Their greatest reliance seems to be upon the sea, as affording fish, muscles, and smaller shell-fish, and sea-animals. Of the first, the principal are herrings and sardines; the two species of bream, formerly mentioned, and small cod. But the herrings and sardines are not only eaten fresh, in their season, but likewise serve as stores, which, after being dried and smoked, are preserved, by being sewed up in mats, so as to form large bales, three or four feet square. It seems that the herrings also supply them with another grand resource for food; which is a vast quantity of roe, very curiously prepared. It is strewed upon, or as it were incrustated about small branches of the Canadian pine. They also prepare it upon a long narrow sea-grass, which grows plentifully upon the rocks, under water. This caviare, if it may be so called, is kept in baskets or bags of mat, and used occasionally, being first dipped in water. It may be considered as the winter bread of these people, and has no disagreeable taste. They also eat the roe of some other fish, which, from the size of its grains, must be very large; but it has a rancid taste and smell. It does not appear that they prepare any other fish in this manner, to preserve them for any length of time. For though they split and dry a few of the bream and chimæræ, which are pretty plentiful, they do not smoke them as the herrings and sardines.

The next article, on which they seem to depend for a large proportion of their food, is the large muscle; great abundance of which are found in the Sound. These are roasted in their shells, then stuck upon long wooden-skewers, and taken off occasionally as wanted; being eat without any other preparation, though they often dip them in oil as a sauce. The other marine productions, such as the smaller shell-fish, though they contribute to increase the general stock, are by no means to be looked upon as a standing or material article of their food, when compared to those just mentioned.

Of the sea-animals, the most common that we saw in use amongst them as food is the porpoise; the fat or rind of which, as well as the flesh, they cut in large pieces, and having dried them, as they do the herrings, eat them without any farther preparation. They also prepare a sort of broth from this animal, in its fresh state, in a singular manner, putting pieces of it in a square wooden vessel or bucket, with water, and then throwing heated stones into it. This operation they repeat till they think the contents are sufficiently stewed or seethed. They put in the fresh, and take out the other stones, with a cleft stick, which serves as tongs; the vessel being always placed near the fire for that purpose. This is a pretty common dish amongst them, and, from its appearance, seems to be strong, nourishing food. The oil which they procure from these and other sea-animals, is also used by them in great quantities; both supping it alone, with a large scoop or spoon made of horn, or mixing it with other food, as sauce.

It may also be presumed, that they feed upon other sea-animals, such as seals, sea-otters, and whales; not only from the skins of the two first being frequent amongst them, but from the great number of implements of all sorts intended to destroy these different animals; which clearly points out their dependence upon them; though perhaps they do not catch them in great plenty, at all seasons; which seemed to be the case while we lay there, as no great number of fresh skins, or pieces of the flesh, were seen.

The same might, perhaps, be said of the land-animals, which, though doubtless the natives sometimes kill them, appeared to be scarce at this time; as we did not see a single piece of the flesh belonging to any of them; and though their skins be in tolerable plenty, it is probable that many of these are procured by traffic from other tribes. Upon the whole, it seems plain, from a variety of circumstances, that these people procure almost all their animal food from the sea, if we except a few birds, of which the gulls or sea-fowl, which they shoot with their arrows, are the most material.

As the Canadian pine-branches and sea-grass, on which the fish roe is strewed, may be considered as their only winter vegetables; so, as the spring advances, they make use of several others as they come in season. The most common of these, which we observed, were two sorts of liliaceous roots, one simply tunicated, the other granulated upon its surface, called mahkatte and koohquoppa, which have a mild sweetish taste, and are mucilaginous, and eaten raw. The next, which they have in great quantities, is a root called aheita, resembling, in taste, our liquorice; and another fern root, whose leaves were not yet disclosed. They also eat, raw, another small, sweetish, insipid root, about the thickness of sarsaparilla; but we were ignorant of the plant to which it belongs; and also of another root, which is very large and palmated, which we saw them dig tip near the Village, and afterward eat it. It is also probable, that, as the season advances, they have many others, which we did not see. For, though there be no appearance of cultivation amongst them, there are great quantities of alder, gooseberry, and currant bushes, whose fruits they may eat in their natural state, as we have seen them eat the leaves of the last, and of the lilies, just as they were plucked from the plant. It must, however, be observed, that one of the conditions which they seem to require, in all food, is, that it should be of the bland, or less acrid kind; for they would not eat the leek or garlic, though they brought vast quantities to sell, when they understood we were fond of it. Indeed, they seemed to have no relish for any of our food; and when offered spirituous liquors, they rejected them as something unnatural and disgusting to the palate.

Though they sometimes eat small marine animals in their fresh state, raw, it is their common practice to roast or broil their food; for they are quite ignorant of our method of boiling; unless we allow that of preparing their porpoise broth is such; and indeed their vessels being all of wood, they are quite insufficient for this purpose.

Their manner of eating is exactly consonant to the nastiness of their houses and persons; for the troughs and platters, in which they put their food, appear never to have been washed from the time they were first made, and the dirty remains of a former meal are only sweeped away by the succeeding one. They also tear every thing solid, or tough, to pieces, with their hands and teeth; for, though they make use of their knives to cut off the larger portions, they have not, as yet, thought of reducing these to smaller pieces and mouthfuls by the same means, though obviously more convenient and cleanly. But they seem to have no idea of cleanliness; for they eat the roots which they dig from the ground, without so much as shaking off the soil that adheres to them.

We are uncertain if they have any set time for meals; for we have seen them eat at all hours in their canoes. And yet, from seeing several messes of the porpoise broth preparing toward noon, when we visited the village, I should suspect that they make a principal meal about that time.