The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-05-26
room.
SOME or ITS cUBIosITIEs.

tic French have been luxurlatllg "l
h~orse-hesh, and recently . wild Eng.
lishman gave q grand dinner a
which choice cuttings from q iaTorIV'
horse were served up as the leading
5elicacv Of his table. The hors'
was eighteen years old, and had beer
ridden on many a splendid hunt BIZ.
those facts, Of course. only rendered
10 enhance the luxury.
In certain parts Of Africa, in Trim
idad. Ceylon, Borneo and South
America, boiled and roasted MONKEY
is considered Z delicscy-the red spi
der. fox and bowling monkeys each
possessing q peculiar favor. Indeed
a gorilla steak to the South African
Is q morsel not TO be excelled but as
this custom is too nearly allied 10
cannibalism. Anglo Saxon travel
lers have seldom been tempted t.
participate,
In the island Of Mauritius and Nal
abar. several varieties OF the bat,
some Of them with wings four feet IN
extent. are eaten by the natives with
aviditv. but the story that the Dutch,
when in possession Of the former IS
land.we fond Of the monkey is said
TO be incorrect.
The Arabs do nOJ object to the
aesb Of the hyeDa, although so rank
that the dogs viii not touch it; and
II is well known that the pole-cat is
eaten by the aborigines Of North
America while the oppossum is ap
preciated even by the better classes
OF the Southern States.
In Italy the fox is considered hi
for the table Of a Cardinal, and,
while ravenous Esquimaux dogs will
not touch this animal after killing it.
the Indians themselves consider il
excellent food.
The natives Of the Maylay PENN
sula eat the flesh Of the tiger, which
is thought to inspire courage, and
the Hottentots and other African ra-
ces are wont to feed of the lion ;
while the American Indians have no
scruple in regard to the wolf, the pan
tber.the cougar or the lynx.
Many varieties Of people esteem
the flesh Of the dog; the ancient
Greeks and Romans thought it light
and " bolesome, and the common peo-
pie Of modern Rome depend upon II
10 q considerable extent In China
they are fattened for the table in
Zanzibar a stew Of puppies is a lux.
ury even with the King; and in the
the Sandwich Islands a pet puppy Is
often placed before a hungry guest,
and roasted dogis common amongthC
natives Of Africa and the Indians O.
North America.
In Australia, where alone the kan
CARGO Is found, it is considered a de.
licacv and its liver, when drided and
then pounded, is used as a substitute
for bread, and it is a remarkable fact
tha. the aborigines Of that country
always eat their food roasted, being
without the utensils for heating wa
ter or cooking liquid food. These
people also enjoy frogs, snails, moths
and crubs, but abhor oysters.
Among the Esquimaux roasted
mice are considered deleetable, while
the walrus, the porpoise and the
whale 2 among the necessaries Of
lie.
In some Of the West India Islands,
and Brazil, fried rats are considered
superior to frogs, and among the Chi
nese rat soup is only equaled by a
soup Of caterpillars boiled in a thin
gravy with onions.
In various parts Of South America
the aunt eater and armadillo, the lat
ter roasted in its shell, are constantly
eaten snd are said to resemble roast
pig.
In Africa and India the flesh Of the
elephant is generally eaten, and
the paws are considered an African
luxury.
Ia Abyssinia the descendants of
Rascelas doat on a hippopotamus or
%rhinocerous steak.
The nomad tribes Of Northern As
ia aad the aborigines of America are
famous for their horse flesh feasts f;
horse-steaks have long been author
lied and publicly sold in Copenha-
gen.
The Persians aud Tartars hold the
flesh Of the common and wild ass in
high esteem, and, wherever the cam
el and the giraffe are found, they are
frequently eaten, the tongue Of the
former and the marrow Of the latter
being considered delieacies.
The pathological tastes Of the
human race are more appropriately
and generally dilfused than in the
case Of the manuals and with the ex-
ception of q few such birds as the
crow and the buzzard, both Of which
are sometimes eaten, all the feathered
tribe have been employed as feed,
when necessity or luxury demanded
their death. The only really curious
fact connected with bird food is that
which exists among the Chinese,
where the nests of a species of swal-
low, formed of a mucilaginous sub
stance is considered a luxury, the
constituent qualities of which have
never been ascertained by analysis.
But in regard to the reptile race,
the barbarous epieures of the world
practice some singular habits. The
true lizard, called the iguana,, is con-
cidered in most tropical countries as
but little inferior to the common fowl
in flavor; the crocodile and alligator,
in all the countries where they are
found, are considered fit for food, and
are said to resemble veal, both in APP
pearance and taste some Of the
tribes Of Southern Guinea eat the
boa constructor; in Ceylon the flesh
OF the anaconda is esteemed as food
by the natives, and in various parts
Of America the rattlesnake is pro-
nounced capital food, and in France.
as is well known, frogs are deemed
= luxury.
What has been said in regard TO
birds is quite as applicable to the
fishes Of the rivers and the sea, and
there is nothing very curious OF
alarming in employing any of them
Cor food, not even excepting the va
rieties Of shelLfsh That some few
Of them are poisonous can not be
doubted, but these are such awfnlly