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Buffalo Bill
(vervolg)
The Indians had erected a great canopy of tanned buffalo skins on tepee poles. Underneath were robes for seats for the General [Carr] and his staff, and thither they were led with great ceremony. Near by was a great fire on which, buffalo, antelope, and other animals were roasting. Even coffee and sugar had been provided, and the feast was served with tin plates for the meat and tin cups for the coffee. Another tribute to the customs of the guests was a complete outfit of knives and forks. Napkins, however, appeared to be lacking.
I found the lieutenant, and told him I thought we had accomplished all that was possible. The orderly sounded the recall. I have never seen a muddier set of boys than those who came out of the marsh and began rummaging around the Indian camp. We soon discovered two or three hundred pounds of dried meat—buffalo, deer, and antelope, also a little coffee and sugar and an old kettle and tin cups which the Indians had used. All the men by this time had all the water they wanted. Each was chewing a piece of dried meat. Pickets were posted to prevent a surprise. Soon coffee was ready.
It was either an extraordinary shot or a "scratch," probably the latter. The Duke was as much astonished as any of us at the result, but we gave him three rousing cheers, and when the ambulance came up we had a second round of champagne in honor of the prowess of our distinguished fellow hunter. I began to hope that he would keep right on killing buffaloes all the afternoon, for it was apparent that every time he dropped an animal a basket of champagne was to be opened. And in those days on the Plains champagne was not a drink that could be indulged in very often. I took care of the hides and heads of the buffaloes the Grand Duke had shot, as he wanted them all preserved as souvenirs of his hunt, which he was now enjoying immensely. I also cut the choice meat from the cow that he had killed and brought it into camp. At supper he had the pleasure of dining on buffalo meat which he himself had provided.......We pitched our camp for the night in a charming spot on the bank of Beaver Creek. The game was so abundant that we remained there the next day. This stopping-place was called Camp Cody, in honor of the reader's humble servant. The next day was spent in hunting jack-rabbits, coyotes, elk, antelope, and wild turkeys.
Soup
Buffalo Tail
Fish
Broiled Cisco; Fried Dace
Entrées
Salmi of Prairie Dog; Stewed Rabbit; Filet of Buffalo aux Champignons
Vegetables
Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Green Peas
Dessert
Tapioca Pudding
Wines
Champagne Frappé, Champagne au Naturel, Claret, Whisky, Brandy, Ale
Coffee
Davy Crockett
Wild game has provided a savory and gamey continuity to the Appalachian diet from the days of the earielst pioneers...for a long time after the arrival of the first settlers, game was not ony the main meal of the colonists, it was often the main food...Davy Crockett was one of the aggresive hunters, going to great effort to pull a squirrel he had just shot from a hole in a tree. He would tell of the episode only to show to what lengths a hungry man will go to get something to eat.' Squirrels, rabbits and deer, wild turkeys, doves, quail and passenger pigeons, plus buffalo and black bear in the beginning--proved to be a godsend to people settling the mountain country. Even after homegrown pork and poultry became readily available, wild game warmed the hearts and stomachs in many a mountain cabin, taking an honored place in their bubbling black pots...From their cabin doors the newcomers had only to walk out into the woods with their long rifles and bring some game home for dinner--a bear...or a turkey, as squirrel, or rabbit, maybe even a deer. Rivers and creeks abounded in fish although they were no where as popular and easy a target as game.
Life would have been intolerable many times for early settlers had it not been for a basic food product, the corn. The pioneer cooks used this vegetable in countless ways and cooked it by many different methods, but one of the most satisfying and most oftne used ways was the bread, especially the simple and easy breads, such as the Ash Cake, the Hoe Cake, and the Corn Dodger. These three cakes are a great deal alike in that they are made of a corn meal batter which is salted and made wet with cold or hot water. The Ash Cake batter is cooked on either a hot hearth with hot ashes spread over the top, or out in the open spread between hot ashes. When the cake is brwon the ashes are brushed off. Some of the ashes will penetrate the batter, but this only serves to enhance the flavor--or so the early settlers thought. The Hoe Cake is the same batter cooked on a helvless (handleless) hoe. The batter is spread on the inside of the hoe and then propped up against the open blaze or placed directly in the hot ashes until brown. Corn Dodger is the same batter made into small or large cakes, patted into round or oblongs with the hands and baked inside an oven on flat tins of some type. As the settlers were able to get a variety of food supplies they added bacon fat and eggs to the corn dodger. And finally they added sod or baking powder or both, making a light and tasty bread.
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