History List
Hearne's expedition hunts some musk-ox and he describes their habits and the taste of their flesh. They avoid eating lean animals, and one day they kill 1,770 animals demonstrating how easy it is to hunt them.
A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772
July 7, 1771
Meat, when thus prepared, is not only very portable, but palatable; as all the blood and juices are still remaining in the meat, it is very nourishing and wholesome food; and may, with care, be kept a whole year without the least danger of spoiling.
A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772
June 23, 1771
Hearne's group of Indians hunt musk-oxen and turn it into pemmican for traveling. The pemmican is made by pounding the lean meat and then adding boiled fat. When there was plenty to hunt, they would harvest only the tongues, marrow, and fat.
A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772
July 22, 1770
Hearne experiences the feasting and famine lifestyle of carnivorous eating while dragging his equipment over the land- and even has to rely on eating raw fish and raw musk oxen to make ends meet, however, he continued in "perfect health"
A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772
June 23, 1770
The editor of Samuel Hearne's book travels over the Northern Canadian wilderness 123 years later after Hearne and finds the population had changed from Chipewyans to Eskimos who were dependent entirely on the caribou for food and clothing.
A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean
January 1, 1894
A barbaric killing of the Eskimo is commenced by inland Indians who hated them beyond description. The warriors slay musk-oxen and deer and prepare the meat for war, and then don their superstitious clothing and face-paint and then brutally spear 20 sleeping and defenseless people. Despite the animosity, it appears both groups were thriving on their carnivorous diets.
A Journey from Prince of Wales’ Fort in Hudson’s Bay, to the Northern Ocean . . . in the years 1769, 1770, 1771 and 1772
July 16, 1771
A London explorer named Samuel Hearne was tasked with exploring the Northern lands of Canada and failed at his endeavors twice before finally figuring out the secret to traveling long distances overland on a subsistence hunting way of life - According to an Indian named Matonabbee, women were necessary to process the meat and help haul the camp equipment or repair clothing and tools.
A Journey from Prince of Wales’ Fort in Hudson’s Bay, to the Northern Ocean . . . in the years 1769, 1770, 1771 and 1772
September 20, 1770
While alone trapping in the wilderness, Ingstad shoots two nine-hundred pound moose - "An enormous quantity of meat. It was almost unbelievable. Here was food for hungry dogs, and here were marrowbones, fat, kidneys, tongues, and all manner of good things — enough so that I could eat as much as my belly would hold."
The Land of Feast and Famine - The Trail to Solitude
September 1, 1929
Ingstad marvels at the all-meat diet of the Indians, citing a lack of scurvy or chronic diseases. "Nowhere have I been able to discover that this excessive meat-eating has developed in the Indian a need for other forms of nourishment. If his meat-supply is adequate, for example, he will never go to the trouble of making a journey merely to procure flour."
The Land of Feast and Famine - The Barren Ground Indians
January 4, 1929
The staple food of the Indian during the summer months is fish, but he finds this variety of diet acceptable only when no other is available. Hunting is his most honorable pursuit, and meat his proper food. All else seems to dwell on a lower level.
The Land of Feast and Famine - The Barren Ground Indians
January 3, 1929
Ingstad discusses the laws and rules of the carnivorous Dene nation Indians. "The hunter who fells an animal, upon division of the meat, is entitled to the head, the layer of fat about the entrails, and, in spring and autumn, the back-fat."
The Land of Feast and Famine - The Barren Ground Indian
January 1, 1929
The Caribou-Eaters are out of caribou to eat and drive into the territory of two remote white trappers, one of whom gives a gift of dried back-fat to Ingstad. After three days, they resume their journey and at least meet the thousands of caribou in the Barren Grounds.
The Land of Feast and Famine - To the Upper Thelon
December 30, 1928
The Caribou-Eaters are starving but manage to kill a hare and a ptarmigan for Christmas Eve, as well as a frozen stomach filled with goodies the day afterwards. The Caribou-Eaters never discuss the possibility of eating their dogs, since a superstition prevented them from doing so.
The Land of Feast and Famine
December 24, 1928
The true delicacies consist of liver, heart, kidney, fat, marrow, breast, and head of caribou. The marrow is eaten raw, all else halfcooked. Moreover, it is the only diet which is effective, day in and day out, during the course of a long, cold Winter when one is obliged to nourish oneself on meat exclusively.
The Land of Feast and Famine
November 1, 1928
While starving and looking for anything to hunt, the trappers come across a moose and spend 4 days drying out the meat before hiking back home. However, "moose meat makes one nat-seri (strong), as the Indians say, and when a man has a full belly, he has a different outlook upon life."
The Land of Feast and Famine - Beaver Hunting
May 1, 1927
The equipment for beaver hunting in Spring is described by Ingstad who reiterates the carnivorous diet they subsisted off of: "Grub consists of a pail of dried meat and fat, which is enough to last the first few days; there-after we shall have to rely upon wild game."
The Land of Feast and Famine - Winter
April 1, 1927
The dogs were hungry and we were hungry and we might have had a really hard time of it, were it not for the fact that we stumbled on a caribou carcass which the Indians had left there as white-fox bait. The viscera had not been removed and the meat stank horribly, but it was something to eat, none the less.
The Land of Feast and Famine - Winter
December 20, 1926
It is a tradition in the Far North that one's door must stand open to all who happen to pass and that food must be set before all guests. Hospitality is the law of the land, and the man who breaks this law in the end will suffer most. Indians would save people of scurvy with the cure of fresh caribou blood or spruce-needle tea.
The Land of Feast and Famine - Log Cabin
October 20, 1926
Angier explains the science of staying alive in the woods, describing that scurvy can be prevented by eating fresh meat, and that the fat is the most important nutrient to look for while rabbit starvation can happen if not enough fat is eaten with protein.
How to Stay Alive in the Woods - The Science of Staying Alive - Chapter 3
November 1, 2001