Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1874-08-01
fears Of that terrible night, but it is not
likely that shall ever forget it or them as
long as lve.N
A Grand Chinese Dinner.

A Grand Chinese Dinner.
! Invited to grand Chinese dinner, tho
! hour named II a. m, and the locate boat.
Having heard much of the obnoxious stuff
! should have to eat, and been duly cautioned
that should be i'll for at least Il week after
wards. intimatcd to a medical friend that
! was about to dine la Chinoise,' and
| should probably req"ire his services that
evening He gave me the prescription,
"Take very little of each dish, and take
vcry long time about it," OF the latter l
had no choice, for we began at eleven, and
| did not conclude until half-past five. felt
little squcamish, but was not actually SICK,
and the doctor said had the digestion of a
horse To enumcrate the dishes we ate,
and the prices paid for them would seem
fabulous. We commenced with tea and
finished with soup. Some of the intcrme-
| date dishes were shark 5 fms birds nests,
from Borneo, costing nearly guinea
mouthtul: fricassc of poodle, Il little dog
rather like a pig, except for its head the
fish of the konk she'll, an elastic substance
like paxwax or india rubber, which you
might masticatc but could not possibly
mash peacock 5 liver very fine and rccherche;
putrid eggs. nevertheless very good rice,
Of course; saltcd shrimpS baked almonds
cabbage in variety of forms: green ginger;
stewcd fungi fresh fish Of dozen kinds;
onions ol Hjifum salt duck cured like ham,
and pig in every form, roast. boiled, fried;
Foochow ham, which seemed to me equal to
Wiltshire. In fact, the Chinese excel in
pork, but Europeans will rarely touch it,
under the superstition that the pigs are fed
on babies. OF course pig will eat a baby
if he finds one, as it will dcvour Il rattle
American bacon, where the pigs run wild in
the wood, and feed from choice, upon any
yermin they can find. When in the
Southern States got two magnificent rattle
snakes, and my pigs ate them both. That
did not prevent the pigs being eaten in their
turn; and | think | would as soon cat
tranSmutation of baby flesh as of rattle,nake,
especially the rattle. But | believe the
whole to be libel The Chinese are most
particular about their swine, and keep them
penncd mp in the utmost cleanliness and
comfort, riyalling the Dutch in their scrub
! bng and washing. They grow whole fields
Of taro and herbs for their pigs, and do
not believe that one porker in a million ever
tastes a baby. About two o'clock we rose
from the table, walked about, looked out Of
the window. Large brass bowls were
brought with hot water, and towels. Each
one proceeded to perform ablutions, the
/ Chinese washing their heads. After which
refreshing operation we resumed our seats,
and recommended with another description
of tea. Seven different sorts of SdMShO0 we
| partook Of, made from rice, from peas, from
mangocs. cOcua-nut: all icrmcntcd liquors; !;
and the mystery rcmaincd-tlat | was no.
doctors advice, the length of time which
elapsed, and the small quantities. The
san,shoo was drunk warm, in tiny cups,
during the course of the dinner. The
whole was cooked without salt, and tasted
very insipid to me. The bird's nests seemed
like glue OF isinglasS; but the cocks combs
were palatable. The dog meat was like
very delicate gizzard well stcwcd--a short
close fibre, and very tender. The dish which
| fancied the most turned out to be rat; for
upon taking a second help after the first
taste, | got the head. and certainly felt
rather sick upon this discovery. But | con-
soled myself by the remembrance that in
California we used often to eat ground
squirrels, which are first cousins to the flat
tailed rats; and travellers who would know
the world must go in boldly for manners and
customs. We had tortoise and frogs a
curry of the latter was superior to chicken.
We had fowls hearts, and brains of some
bird-snpe | think. We had chow-chow
Of mangoes, ranabuston preserved, salted Gu
cumbcr, sweet potatoes, yams, tarO and all
sorts Of sweets made from rice, sugar, and
cocoanut. Every dish was seperate. And
the soup which terminated the rcpast was
surely boiled tripe, or some interior arrange
ment, and wished had halted a little time
ago. The whole was eaten with chop
sticks, or spoon like small spade or
shovel. The sticks are made into kind of
fork by being held croSswisc between the
| fingers | was the only lady-for it is not the
usage for the sexes to meet together in So
cicty-I dined with the ladies. and was
crammed in the same way, but with larger
admixture of fruits, sweets, and tea. Rice
is the substitute for bread, and poultry and
pork for mutton and beef; though occa-
sionally there is mutton and goat; beef very
rarely, except for Europeans, The greater
part of my time was spent upon the rivers
and wonderful life it was. | went into all
the back streets OF creeks, and with my five
senses ON the alert, examined everything
could.