They never wash their hands expressly before eating, still less their kettles, and the meat they cook, not at all,—although it is usually (I say this because I have seen it hundreds of times) all covered with the animal's hairs, and with those from their own heads. I have never drunk any broth among them, from which I did not have to throw out many of these hairs, and a variety of other rubbish, such as cinders, little [127] pieces of wood, and even sticks with which they have stirred the fire and frequently stirred up the contents of the kettle. I have occasionally seen them take a blazing brand and put it in the ashes to extinguish it, then, almost without shaking it, dip it into the kettle where our dinner was simmering.
Quand ils font secherie de la chair, ils vous ietteront par terre tout vn costé d'Orignac, ils le battent auec des pierres; ils marchent dessus, le foulent auec leurs pieds tout sales, les poils d'hõmes & de bestes, les plumes d'oiseaux s'ils en ont tué, la terre & la cendre; tout cela s'incorpore auec la viande, qu'ils font quasi durcir comme du bois à la fumée; puis [266] quand ils viennent à manger de ce boucan, tout s'en va de compagnie dans l'estomach, car ils n'ont point d'eau de despart: en vn mot ils croient que nous n'auons point d'esprit de lauer nostre viande, car vne partie de la graisse s'en va tousiours auec l'eau.
When they are engaged in drying meat, they will throw down upon the ground a whole side of the Moose, beat it with stones, walk over it, trample upon it with their dirty feet; the hairs of men and of animals, the feathers of birds, if they have killed any, dirt and ashes,—all these are ground into the meat, which they make almost as hard as wood with the smoke. Then when they come to eat this dried meat, all goes together into the stomach, for they have not washed it. In fact, they think that we are very foolish to wash our meat, for some of the grease goes away with the water.
Quand la chaudiere commence a boüillir, ils recueillent l'écume fort soigneusement, & la mangent auec delices: ils m'en presentoient auec faueur, ie la trouuois bonne durant nostre famine, mais depuis [128] venant par fois a les remercier de ce present, ils m'appelloient superbe & orgueilleux: ils chassent au rats & aux souris par plaisir, comme aux lieures, & les trouuent également bons.
When the kettle begins to boil, they gather the scum very carefully and eat it as a delicacy. They gave some to me as a favor, and during our famine I found it good; but since [128] then, when I sometimes happened to decline this present, they called me fastidious and proud. They take delight in hunting rats and mice, the same as rabbits, and find them just as good.
Les Sauuages ne mangent pas comme nos François dãs vn plat, ou autre vaisselle commune à tous ceux qui sont à table; l'vn d'entr'eux descend la chaudiere de dessus le feu, & fait les parts à vn chacun, presentant par fois la viande au bout d'vn baston, mais le plus souuent sãs prendre ceste peine, il vous iettera vne piece de chair toute brulante, & pleine de graisse, cõme on ietteroit vn os a vn chiẽ; disant NaKhimitchimi, tiens, voila ta part, voila ta nourriture; si vous estes habile-homme, vous la retenés auec les mains, sinon garde que la robe ne s'en sente, où que les cendres ne seruent de sel, puisque les Sauuages n'en ont point d'autre.
The Savages do not eat as we French do, from a dish or other vessel, common to all those at the table; but one of them takes down the kettle from the fire and distributes to each one his share; sometimes presenting the meat at the end of a stick, but oftener without taking this trouble, he will throw you a piece of meat boiling hot, and full of grease, as we would throw a bone to a dog; saying, Nakhimitchimi, "Take it! this is thy share, here is thy food." If you are quick, you catch it in your hands; otherwise, look out that your gown does not catch it, or that the ashes do not serve as salt, for the Savages have no other.
Ie me suis veu bien empesché au commencement, car n'osant couper la chair qu'ils me donnoient dãs mon plat d'écorce de peur de le blesser, ie ne sçauois comment en venir à bout, n'ayant point d'assiette. En fin il se fallut faire tout à tout, deuenir Sauuages auec les Sauuages: Ie [129] iettay les yeux sur mon compagnon, puis ie taschay d'estre aussi braue homme [268] que luy. Il prend sa chair à pleine main, & vous la couppe morceaux apres morceaux, comme on feroit vne piece de pain, que si la chair est vn peu dure, ou qu'elle cede au cousteau pour estre trop molasse; ils vous la tiennent d'vn bout par les dents, & de l'autre auec la main gauche, puis la main droitte iouë là dessus du violon, se seruãt de cousteau pour archet; & cecy est si commun parmy les Sauuages, qu'ils ont vn mot propre pour exprimer cette actiõ, que nous ne pouuons expliquer qu'en plusieurs paroles & par circumloqution. Si vous esgarez vostre cousteau, comme il n'y a point de couteliers dans ces grãds bois, vous estes condamnez à prendre vostre portion à deux belles mains, & mordre dans la chair & dans la graisse aussi brauement, mais non pas si honnestement que vous feriez dans vn quartier de põme; Dieu sçait si les mains, si la bouche, & vne partie de la face reluisent par apres? le mal est que ie ne sçauois à quoy m'essuyer; de porter du linge, il faudroit vn mulet, ou bien faire tous les jours la [130] lessiue: car en moins de riẽ tout se change en torchon de cuisine dans leurs Cabanes. Pour eux ils torchẽt leurs mains à leurs cheueux, qu'ils nourrissent fort longs, d'autrefois à leurs chiens: ie veis vne femme qui m'apprit vn secret, elle nettoya ses mains à ses souliers, ie fis le mesme; ie me seruois aussi de poil d'Orignac, & de branches de pin, & notamment de bois pourry puluerisé, ce sont les essuyemains des Sauuages; on ne s'en sert pas si doucement comme d'vne toile d'Hollande, mais peut-estre plus gayement & plus ioyeusement. C'est assez parlé de ces ordures.
I found myself very much embarrassed, in the beginning; for not daring to cut the meat they gave me in my bark dish, for fear of spoiling the dish, I did not know how to manage it, not having any plate. Finally I had to become all to all, and a Savage with the Savages. I [129] cast my eyes upon my companion, then I tried to be as brave a man as he was. He took his meat in his open hand, and cut from it morsel after morsel, as you would do with a piece of bread. But if the meat is a little tough, or if it slips away from the knife from being too soft, they hold one end of it with their teeth, and the other with the left hand, then the right hand plays upon it in violin fashion, the knife serving as a bow. And this is so common among the Savages, that they have a word to express this action, which we could only explain with several words and by circumlocution. If you were to lose your knife, as there are no cutlers in these great forests, you are compelled to take your share in your two hands, and to bite into the flesh and into the fat, as bravely but not so politely, as you would bite into a quarter of an apple. God knows how the hands, the mouth, and a part of the face shine after this operation. The trouble was, I did not know upon what to wipe them. To carry linen with you would require a mule, or a daily [130] washing; for, in less than no time, everything is converted into dish-cloths in their Cabins. As to them, they wipe their hands upon their hair, which they allow to grow very long, or else, upon their dogs. I saw a woman who taught me a secret; she wiped her hands upon her shoes, and I did the same. I also used Moose fur, pine branches, and, especially, powdered rotten wood. These are the hand-towels of the Savages. One does not use them as pleasantly as a piece of Holland linen, but perhaps more gaily and joyously. Enough has been said of their filth.