The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1875-05-06
What SOME People Eat.

What SOME People Eat.
For several years past the fantastic
French have been luxuriatihg on horse
flesh, and recently wild Englishman
gave grand dinner at which choice cut
tings from favorite horse were served
up as the leading delicacy of his table,
The horse was eighteen years old, and
had been ridden on many splendid
hunt; but those facts, of course, only
tended to enhance the luxury. In Ger
tain parts of Africa, in Trinidad, Ceylon,
Borneo and South America, boiled and
roasted monkey is considered delicacy
the red spider; fox End bowling
monkeys each possessing peculiar
flavor. Indeed, gorilla steak to the
south African is q morsel not to he ex-
celled; but, as this custom is too nearly
allied to cannibalism, Anglo-Saxon
travellers have seldom been tempted to
participate.
In the islands of Mauritius and Mala-
bar several varieties of the bat, some of
them with wings four feet iii extent, are
eaten by the natives with avidity, but
the story that the Dutch, when in pos
session of the former island, were fond
of the monkey, is said to be incorrect.
The Arabs do not object to the flesh
Of the hyena, although so rank that the
dogs will not touch it; and it is we'll
known that the pole cat is eaten by the
aborigines of North America; while the
opossum is appreciated even by the better
class of the Southern States.
In Italy the fox is considered fit for the
table of Cardinal, and, while ravenous
Esquimaux dogs will not touch this ami
NAL after killing 1t, the Indians them
selves consider it excellent food. The
natives of the Malay Peninsula eat the
flesh of the tiger, which is thought to in
spire courage, and the Hottentots and
other African races are wont to feed up
on the lion; while the American Indians
have no scruples in regard to the wolf,
the panther, the cougar or the lynx.
Many varieties of people esteem the flesh
OF the dog; the ancient Greeks and
Romans thought it light and wholesome,
and the common people of modern Rome
depend upon it to considerable extent;
in China they are fattened for the table;
in Zanzibar a stew of puppies is luxury
even with the King, and in the Sandwich
Islands pet puppy is often placed be-
fore hungry guest, and roasted dog is
common among the natives of Africa and
the Indians of North America.
In Australia, where alone the kanga-
roo is found, it is considered delicacy,
| and its liver, when dried and then pound
ed, is used as substitute for bread, and
it is remarkable fact that the aborigines
| OF that country always eat their food
roasted, being without the utensils for
heating water or cooking liquid food.
These people also enjoy frogs, snails,
moths and grubs, but abhor oysters.
Among the Esquimaux roasted mice
are considered delectable, while the wal
rus, the porpoise and the whale are
among the necessaries of life.
| In some parts of the West India ISL
ands, and in Brazil, fried rats are con-
sidered superior to frogs, and among the
Chinese rat soup is only equaled by a
soup of caterpillars boiled in thin
gravy with onions:
In various parts of South America the
ant-eater and armadillo, the latter roast
ed in its shell, are constantly eaten, an d
are said to resemble roasted pig.
In Africa and in India the flesh of
the elephant is generally eaten, and
the paws considered an African luxury.
In Abyssinia the descendants of Ras-
selas doat on a hippopotamus or rhinoc-
eros steak.
The nomad tribes of Northern Asia
and the abOrigines of America are IA
nous for their horse-t1esh feasts; horse
steaks have long been authorized and
sold in Copenhagen, and one of the latest
gastronomic Innovations in France and
Germany is the use of horse-desh.
The Persians and Tartars hold the
flesh of the common wild ass in high
esteem, and wherever the camel and
giraffe are found they are frequently
eaten, the tongue of the former and the
marrow of the latter being considered
delicacies.
The pathological tastes of the human
race are more appropriately and gen.
orally diffused than is the case with the
mals; and with the exception of a
few such birds as the crow and the buz.
Zard, both of which are sometimes
eaten, all the feathered tribes seem tc
have been employed as feed when
necessity or luxury demanded theil
death. The only really curious fact con
nected with bird food is that which ex'
lists among the Chinese, where the nests
Of species of swallow, formed of a mu
cilaginous substance, is considered q
luxury, the constituent qualities OF
which have never been ascertained by
analysis
But in regard to the reptile race, the
barbarous epicures of the world practice
some singular habits. The true lizard
called the iguana, is considered in mos
tropical countries as but little inferior tc
the common fowl in flavor; the alligator
and crocodile, in all the countries
where they are found, are considered
fit for food, and are said to resemble
veal, both in appearance and taste
some Of the tribes of Southern Guines
eat the boa constructor; in Ceylon thu
flesh OF the anaconda is esteemed as fool
by the natives. and in various parts Of
America the rattlesnake is pronounced
capital food, and in France, as is wei
known, frogs are deemed luxury.
| What has been said in regard to bird:
is quite as applicable to the fishes of tn.
rivers and the sea, and there is nothing
very curious or alarming in employing
any of them for food, not even exceptin!
the varieties of shell-fish. That som,
few of them are poisonous cannot b,
doubted, but these are such awfully
queer-looking creatures, are known by
such outlandish names, and so rare, tina
they may be permitted to pass on thei
way rejoicing. In the Shetland Islands
Holsters and crabs abound, which thu
people catch for the London market, bu
refuse to eat even when half-starved.
English epicures consider the johr
dory a delicacy, but the inhabitants Of
Devonshire, in England, and in Irelane
never touch them.
In Scotland an eel is rejected as if il
were snake.
Along the coast of New England the
sword-fish is heartily enjoyed, but in the
markets of New York it meets with little
patronage.
In former times the Creoles and the
Indians of South America looked with
horror upon turtle, and yet in the
United States none but the rich enjoy
the fare.
But, when we come to consider the
insect races, we find that they furnish
pore food delicacies than is generally