Of their Cookery and Food.
14. Their Cookery has nothing commendable in it, but that it is perform'd with little trouble. They have no other Sauce but a good Stomach, which they seldom want. They boil, broil, or tost all the Meat they eat, and it is very common with them to boil Fish as well as Flesh with their Homony; This is Indian Corn soaked, broken in a Mortar, husked, and then boil'd in Water over a gentle Fire, for ten or twelve hours, to the consistence of Furmity: The thin of this is, what my Lord Bacon calls Cream of Maize, and highly commends for an excellent sort of nutriment.
They have two ways of Broyling, viz. one by laying the Meat itself upon the Coals, the other by laying it upon Sticks rais'd upon Forks at some distance above the live Coals, which heats more gently, and drys up the Gravy; this they, and we also from them, call Barbacueing.
They skin and paunch all sorts of Quadrupeds; they draw, and pluck their Fowl; but their Fish they dress with their Scales on, without gutting; but in eating they leave the Scales, Entrails and Bones to be thrown away.
They never serve up different sorts of Victuals in one Dish; as Roast and Boyl'd, Fish and Flesh; but always serve them up in several Vessels.
They bake their Bread either in Cakes before the Fire, or in Loaves on a warm Hearth, covering the Loaf first with Leaves, then with warm Ashes, and afterwards with Coals over all.
Tab. 9. Represents the manner of their Roasting and Barbacueing, with the form of their Baskets for common uses, and carrying Fish.
15. Their Food is Fish and Flesh of all sorts, and that which participates of both; as the Beavor, a small kind of Turtle, or Tarapins, (as we call them) and several Species of Snakes. They likewise eat Grubs, the Nymphæ of Wasps, some kinds of Scarabæi, Cicadæi, &c. These last are such as are sold in the Markets of Fess, and such as the Arabians, Lybians, Parthians and Æthiopians commonly eat; so that these are not a new Dyet, tho a very slender one; and we are inform'd, that St John was dyeted upon Locusts, and Wild Honey.
They make excellent Broth, of the Head and Umbles of a Deer, which they put into the Pot all bloody. This seems to resemble the jus nigrum of the Spartans, made with the Blood and Bowels of a Hare. They eat not the Brains with the Head, but dry, and reserve them to dress their Leather with.
They eat all sorts of Peas, Beans, and other Pulse, both parched and boiled. They make their Bread of the Indian Corn, Wild Oats, or the Seed of the Sunflower. But when they eat their Bread, they eat it alone, and not with their Meat. They have no Salt among them, but for seasoning, use the Ashes of Hiccory, Stickweed, or some other Wood or Plant, affording a Salt ash.
They delight much to feed on Roasting-ears; that is, the Indian Corn, gathered green and milky, before it is grown to its full bigness, and roasted before the Fire, in the Ear. For the sake of this Dyet, which they love exceedingly, they are very careful to procure all the several sorts of Indian Corn before mentioned, by which means they contrive to prolong their Season. And indeed this is a very sweet and pleasing Food.
They have growing near their Towns, Peaches, Strawberries, Cushawes, Melons, Pompions, Macocks, &c. The Cushaws and Pompions they lay by, which will keep several months good after they are gather'd; the Peaches they save, by drying them in the Sun; they have likewise several sorts of the Phaseoli.
In the Woods, they gather Chincapins, Chesnuts, Hiccories, and Walnuts. The Kernels of the Hiccories they beat in a Mortar with Water, and make a White Liquor like Milk, from whence they call our Milk Hickory. Hazlenuts they will not meddle with, tho they make a shift with Acorns sometimes, and eat all the other Fruits mentioned before, but they never eat any sort of Herbs or Leaves.
They make Food of another Fruit call'd Cuttanimmons, the Fruit of a kind of Arum, growing in the Marshes: They are like Boyl'd Peas, or Capers to look on, but of an insipid earthy taste. Captain Smith in his History of Virginia calls them Ocoughtanamnis, and Theod de Bry in his Translation, Sacquenummener.
Out of the Ground they dig Trubbs, Earth nuts, Wild Onions, and a Tuberous Root they call Tuckahoe, which while crude is of a very hot and virulent quality: but they can manage it so as in case of necessity, to make Bread of it, just as the East Indians and those of Egypt, are said to do of Colocassia. It grows like a Flagg in the miry Marshes, having Roots of the magnitude and taste of Irish Potatoes, which are easy to be dug up.
16. They accustom themselves to no set Meals, but eat night and day, when they have plenty of Provisions, or if they have got any thing that is a rarity. They are very patient of Hunger, when by any accident they happen to have nothing to eat; which they make more easy to them by girding up their Bellies, just as the wild Arabs are said to do, in their long marches; by which means they are less sensible of the impressions of Hunger.
17. Among all this variety of Food, Nature hath not taught them the use of any other Drink than Water; which tho they have in cool and pleasant Springs every where, yet they will not drink that, if they can get Pond Water, or such as has been warm'd by the Sun and Weather. Baron Lahontan tells of a sweet juice of Maple, which the Indians to the Northward gave him, mingl'd with Water; but our Indians use no such Drink. For their Strong drink, they are altogether beholding to us, and are so greedy of it, that most of them will be drunk as often as they find an opportunity; notwithstanding which, it is a prevailing humour among them, not to taste any Strong drink at all, unless they can get enough to make them quite drunk, and then they go as solemnly about it, as if it were part of their Religion.
18. Their fashion of sitting at Meals, is on a Mat spread on the ground, with their Legs lying out at length before them, and the Dish between.
14. Their Cookery has nothing commendable in it, but that it is perform'd with little trouble. They have no other Sauce but a good Stomach, which they seldom want. They boil, broil, or tost all the Meat they eat, and it is very common with them to boil Fish as well as Flesh with their Homony; This is Indian Corn soaked, broken in a Mortar, husked, and then boil'd in Water over a gentle Fire, for ten or twelve hours, to the consistence of Furmity: The thin of this is, what my Lord Bacon calls Cream of Maize, and highly commends for an excellent sort of nutriment.
They have two ways of Broyling, viz. one by laying the Meat itself upon the Coals, the other by laying it upon Sticks rais'd upon Forks at some distance above the live Coals, which heats more gently, and drys up the Gravy; this they, and we also from them, call Barbacueing.
They skin and paunch all sorts of Quadrupeds; they draw, and pluck their Fowl; but their Fish they dress with their Scales on, without gutting; but in eating they leave the Scales, Entrails and Bones to be thrown away.
They never serve up different sorts of Victuals in one Dish; as Roast and Boyl'd, Fish and Flesh; but always serve them up in several Vessels.
They bake their Bread either in Cakes before the Fire, or in Loaves on a warm Hearth, covering the Loaf first with Leaves, then with warm Ashes, and afterwards with Coals over all.
Tab. 9. Represents the manner of their Roasting and Barbacueing, with the form of their Baskets for common uses, and carrying Fish.
15. Their Food is Fish and Flesh of all sorts, and that which participates of both; as the Beavor, a small kind of Turtle, or Tarapins, (as we call them) and several Species of Snakes. They likewise eat Grubs, the Nymphæ of Wasps, some kinds of Scarabæi, Cicadæi, &c. These last are such as are sold in the Markets of Fess, and such as the Arabians, Lybians, Parthians and Æthiopians commonly eat; so that these are not a new Dyet, tho a very slender one; and we are inform'd, that St John was dyeted upon Locusts, and Wild Honey.
They make excellent Broth, of the Head and Umbles of a Deer, which they put into the Pot all bloody. This seems to resemble the jus nigrum of the Spartans, made with the Blood and Bowels of a Hare. They eat not the Brains with the Head, but dry, and reserve them to dress their Leather with.
They eat all sorts of Peas, Beans, and other Pulse, both parched and boiled. They make their Bread of the Indian Corn, Wild Oats, or the Seed of the Sunflower. But when they eat their Bread, they eat it alone, and not with their Meat. They have no Salt among them, but for seasoning, use the Ashes of Hiccory, Stickweed, or some other Wood or Plant, affording a Salt ash.
They delight much to feed on Roasting-ears; that is, the Indian Corn, gathered green and milky, before it is grown to its full bigness, and roasted before the Fire, in the Ear. For the sake of this Dyet, which they love exceedingly, they are very careful to procure all the several sorts of Indian Corn before mentioned, by which means they contrive to prolong their Season. And indeed this is a very sweet and pleasing Food.
They have growing near their Towns, Peaches, Strawberries, Cushawes, Melons, Pompions, Macocks, &c. The Cushaws and Pompions they lay by, which will keep several months good after they are gather'd; the Peaches they save, by drying them in the Sun; they have likewise several sorts of the Phaseoli.
In the Woods, they gather Chincapins, Chesnuts, Hiccories, and Walnuts. The Kernels of the Hiccories they beat in a Mortar with Water, and make a White Liquor like Milk, from whence they call our Milk Hickory. Hazlenuts they will not meddle with, tho they make a shift with Acorns sometimes, and eat all the other Fruits mentioned before, but they never eat any sort of Herbs or Leaves.
They make Food of another Fruit call'd Cuttanimmons, the Fruit of a kind of Arum, growing in the Marshes: They are like Boyl'd Peas, or Capers to look on, but of an insipid earthy taste. Captain Smith in his History of Virginia calls them Ocoughtanamnis, and Theod de Bry in his Translation, Sacquenummener.
Out of the Ground they dig Trubbs, Earth nuts, Wild Onions, and a Tuberous Root they call Tuckahoe, which while crude is of a very hot and virulent quality: but they can manage it so as in case of necessity, to make Bread of it, just as the East Indians and those of Egypt, are said to do of Colocassia. It grows like a Flagg in the miry Marshes, having Roots of the magnitude and taste of Irish Potatoes, which are easy to be dug up.
16. They accustom themselves to no set Meals, but eat night and day, when they have plenty of Provisions, or if they have got any thing that is a rarity. They are very patient of Hunger, when by any accident they happen to have nothing to eat; which they make more easy to them by girding up their Bellies, just as the wild Arabs are said to do, in their long marches; by which means they are less sensible of the impressions of Hunger.
17. Among all this variety of Food, Nature hath not taught them the use of any other Drink than Water; which tho they have in cool and pleasant Springs every where, yet they will not drink that, if they can get Pond Water, or such as has been warm'd by the Sun and Weather. Baron Lahontan tells of a sweet juice of Maple, which the Indians to the Northward gave him, mingl'd with Water; but our Indians use no such Drink. For their Strong drink, they are altogether beholding to us, and are so greedy of it, that most of them will be drunk as often as they find an opportunity; notwithstanding which, it is a prevailing humour among them, not to taste any Strong drink at all, unless they can get enough to make them quite drunk, and then they go as solemnly about it, as if it were part of their Religion.
18. Their fashion of sitting at Meals, is on a Mat spread on the ground, with their Legs lying out at length before them, and the Dish between.
The same means as in table 9 (top of page) is used to dry meat but with the fire less intense and if in summer, smoke to keep the flies off.
No comments:
Post a Comment