Voyages of Samuel De Champlain — Volume 03Champlain, Samuel de
History
Voyages of Samuel De Champlain — Volume 03
Champlain, Samuel de
America -- Discovery and exploration -- French; Indians of North America -- Canada; New France -- Discovery and exploration
They have another kind of _migan_, namely, they roast new corn before it is
ripe, which they preserve and cook whole with fish, or flesh when they have
it. Another way is this: they take Indian corn, which is very dry, roast it
in the ashes, then bray it and reduce it to meal as in the former case.
This they lay up for the journeys which they undertake here and there. The
_migan_ made in the latter manner is the best according to my taste. Figure
H shows the women braying their Indian corn. In preparing it, they cook a
large quantity of fish and meat, which they cut into pieces and put into
great kettles, which they fill with water and let it all boil well. When
this is done, they gather with a spoon from the surface the fat which comes
from the meat and fish. Then they put in the meal of the roasted corn,
constantly stirring it until the _migan_ is cooked and thick as soup. They
give to each one a portion, together with a spoonful of the fat. This dish
they are accustomed to prepare for banquets, but they do not generally make
it.
Now the corn freshly roasted, as above described, is highly esteemed among
them. They eat also beans, which they boil with the mass of the roasted
flour, mixing in a little fat and fish. Dogs are in request at their
banquets, which they often celebrate among themselves, especially in
winter, when they are at leisure. In case they go hunting for deer or go
fishing, they lay aside what they get for celebrating these banquets,
nothing remaining in their cabins but the usual thin _migan_, resembling
bran and water, such as is given to hogs to eat.
They have another way of eating the Indian corn. In preparing it, they take
it in the ear and put it in water under the mud, leaving it two or three
months in this state until they think it is putrefied. Then they remove it,
and eat it boiled with meat or fish. They also roast it, and it is better
so than boiled. But I assure you that there is nothing that smells so badly
as this corn as it comes from the water all muddy. Yet the women and
children take it and suck it like sugar-cane, nothing seeming to them to
taste better, as they show by their manner. In general they have two meals
a day. As for ourselves, we fasted all of Lent and longer, in order to
influence them by our example. But it was time lost.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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