Friday, January 13, 2006
Smelt in history
The importance that is smelt:
“This evening we were visited by Comowool the Clatsop Chief and 12 men women and children of his nation . . . The Chief and his party had brought for sail a Sea Otter skin, some hats, stergeon and a species of small fish which now begin to run, and are taken in great quantities in the Columbia R. about 40 miles above us by means of skimming or scooping nets . . . I find them best when cooked in Indian stile, which is by roasting a number of them together on a wooden spit without any previous preparation whatever. They are so fat they require no additional sauce, and I think them superior to any fish I ever taste, even more delicate and luscious than the white fish of the lakes which hae heretofore formed my standaart of excellence among the fishes.”
Photo and text from The Journals of Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (February 25, 1806).
Makes you hungry for a smelt fry.
// posted by Frank Zappai @ 1/13/2006 08:06:00 AM 
