|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 50
I was appointed to the charge of Stuart's Lake during the summer, with
four men to perform the ordinary duties of the establishment--making
hay, attending to gardens, &c. A few cattle were introduced in 1830,
and we now began to derive some benefit from the produce of the dairy.
Our gardens (a term applied in this country to any piece of ground
under cultivation) in former times yielded potatoes; nothing would now
grow save turnips. A few carrots and cabbages were this year raised on
a piece of new ground, which added to the luxuries of our table.
Heaven knows, they were much wanted, for the other fare was scarcely
fit for dogs! In the early part of the season it consisted entirely of
salmon, which this year was of the worst quality, having been two
years in the store. A few sturgeon, however, of enormous[1] size, were
caught, whose flesh was the most tender and delicious I had ever
eaten, and would have been considered a delicacy by Apicius himself;
it need not be wondered at then that the capture of one caused
universal joy.
[1] Belluga.
The salmon (the New Caledonian staff of life) ascend Frazer's River
and its tributaries, from the Pacific in immense shoals, proceeding
towards the sources of the streams until stopped by shallow water.
Having deposited their spawn, their dead bodies are seen floating down
the current in thousands; few of them ever return to the sea; and in
consequence of the old fish perishing in this manner, they fail in
this quarter every fourth year. The natives display a good deal of
ingenuity in catching them. Where the current and depth of water
permit, they bar it across by means of stakes driven into the bottom
with much labour, and standing about six inches apart; these are
strongly bound to a piece of timber, or "plate," running along the
top; stays, or supporters, are placed at intervals of ten or twelve
feet, the upper end bearing against the plate so as to form an angle
with the stream. Gaps are left in the works of sufficient size to
admit the _varveaux_, or baskets, in which the fish are taken. After
the whole is finished, square frames of wicker-work, called keys, are
let down against the upper side, to prevent the fish from ascending,
and at the same time to allow the water a free passage. The keys must
be kept entirely free from filth, such as branches, leaves, &c.,
otherwise the whole works would soon be swept away. The baskets are of
a cylindrical form, about two and a half feet in diameter at the
mouth, and terminate in a point of four or, five inches. When the
fishing is over, all the materials are removed, and replaced the
ensuing year with equal labour.
To preserve the fish for future consumption the following process is
adopted. The back being split up, and the back-bone extracted, it is
hung by the tail for a few days; then it is taken down and distended
on splinters of wood; these are attached to a sort of scaffold erected
for the purpose, where the fish remains till sufficiently dry for
preservation. Even in dry seasons, during this process, the ground all
round the scaffold is thickly covered with large maggots; but in wet
seasons the sight becomes much more loathsome.
I have already observed that the salmon fail periodically, and the
natives would consequently be reduced to the utmost distress, did not
the goodness of Providence furnish them with a substitute. Rabbits are
sent to supply the place of the salmon; and, singular as it may
appear, these animals increase in number as the salmon decrease, until
they swarm all over the country. When the salmon return, they
gradually disappear, being destroyed or driven away by their greatest
enemy, the lynx, which first appear in smaller, then in greater
numbers;--both they and their prey disappearing together. As to the
_cause_ that induces those animals to appear and disappear in this
manner, I cannot take upon myself to explain.
In the course of this summer one of our interpreters, a native, lost
his life in rather a singular manner. He had made a bear-trap, and
wishing to ascertain how it would work, tried his own weight on the
spring, which yielded but too readily, and crushed him in so dreadful
a manner that he only survived his experiment but a few hours. As he
had withdrawn from the Company's service this year, his body was
disposed of after the manner of his own people, except that it was
buried instead of being burned; this, however, was the first instance
of an interment, it being introduced through our influence in pity to
the unfortunate widows, who are exposed to the cruellest tortures at
the burning of the body. I never beheld a more affecting scene than
the present. Immediately as the coffin was lowered into the grave, the
widow threw herself upon it, shrieking and tearing her hair, and could
only be removed by main force: several other females, relatives of the
deceased, were also assembled in a group hard by, and evinced all the
external symptoms of extreme grief, chanting the death-song in a most
lugubrious tone, the tears streaming down their cheeks, and beating
their breasts. The men, however, even the brothers of the deceased,
showed no emotion whatever, and as soon as the rites were ended, moved
off the ground, followed by the female mourners, who soon after were
seen as gay and cheerful as if they had returned from a wedding. The
widow, however, still remained by the grave, being obliged to do so in
conformity with the customs of her nation, which required that she
should mourn day and night, until the relatives of the deceased should
collect a sufficiency of viands to make a feast in honour of his
bones.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|