Example of 18th Century Food Options: Wild Animals

Mammals

Background: Farmers by Necessity also Hunters and Trappers

  1. Feeding and Clothing Family 
  2. Furs and Pelfries Used to Barter for Supplies
  3. Wholesale Prices of Furs and Pelts in 1804

Deer

  1. Description
    1. Said to be Most Prized Wild Animal
    2. Complaints about Deer Destroying Grain
    3. Sale Price: $.75-$1
  2. Use
    1. Deer Skin: Clothing, Harnesses, Ropes, and Thongs
    2. Meat: Venison a Staple of Diet and Jerked Venison/ Jerk for Long Expeditions

Bear

  1. Description
    1. Especially Fond of Swine Meat
    2. Danger of Allowing Swine Roam the Forests at Will
    3. Swine Owners Setting Traps for When Bears Return
    4. Bear Meat Considered Better than Venison Meat because of Its Juiciness
  2. Use
    1. Meat as a Staple of the Frontier Diet
    2. Fur and Pelts: $1-$3.50
    3. Bear Fat: Turned into Oil for Cooking and Lighting Cabins

Rabbit/Hare

  1. Description
    1. Used in a Variety of Cooking Methods
    2. Available for the Majority of the Year
    3. Considered a Favorite Dish in the Backcountry
  2. Use
    1. Roasting
    2. Boiling
    3. Stewing
    4. Hashes
    5. Fricasses
    6. Pies

Squirrel

  1. Description
    1. Very Damaging to Farm Crops, Particularly Corn and Wheat
    2. Damage Outweighing Value of Meat
    3. Squirrels Migrating to Southeastern Pennsylvania when Normal Food Sources were Scarce
    4. Squirrels Increasing after Settlement Began
    5. Considered a Favorite Dish in the Backcountry
  2. Use
    1. Meat

Buffalo

  1. Description
    1. Very Common in Pioneer Days, especially from Lake Erie and the Susquehanna and its Tributaries
    2. Exterminated Very Quickly or Driven further west by 1800
  2. Use
    1. Skins

Wolves

  1. Description
    1. Did a Substantial Amount of Damage in Pioneer Days
    2. Threat to Humans, Sheep, and Calves
    3. Law of 1705 Passed to Set up Terms for Professional Wolf-Killers; Amended in 1724

Fish

Description of Types of Fish Available

  1. Examples of Fish in Pennsylvania Streams: Shad, Herring, Trout, Pike, American Eel, Stripped Bass, Short Nose Sturgeon
  2. Shad was the Most Sought After Fish
  3. Fish Available According to Time of Year 
    1. Heavy Frequency of Fish Production Usually Peaking in the Middle of Time of Availability
  4. Examples of Fish Availability
    1. American Eel (January to July; Heavy Run: March and April)
    2. American Shad (March to May; Heavy Run: April) 
    3. Stripped Bass (April to July; Heavy Run: May and June)
    4. Short Nose Sturgeon (June to September; Heavy Run: July and August)  
Uses
  1. Food

Wild Birds

Turkeys

  1. Description
    1. Numerous throughout most of the state
    2. Easily Killed
    3. Weighed between 30 and 40 pounds
    4. Could be Bought for a Shilling
    5. Disappeared from Most of Pennsylvania by 1800
  2. Use
    1. Meat 
    2. Feathers 
Pigeons
  1. Description
    1. Said to be the Most Important Meat-Producing Bird of Colonial Pennsylvania
    2. Tamed Wild Pigeons Used as a Decoy for the Wild Ones
    3. Seemingly Inexhaustible Supply of Pigeons was Quickly Decimated
  2. Use
    1. Meat



Sources: The Frugal Colonial Housewife 14, 25-26, 61-62, 71, 83-84, 93; The Backcountry Housewife 48; The Pennsylvania Housewife 80, 92"Anadromous Fish and the Lenape p28-40";  and Pennsylvania Agriculture and Country Life: 1640-1840 p67-76 (See Bibliography)







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