The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
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 exceedingly 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.
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