The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-08-01
THE LAKE DWEII.ERS.
AMPhiBiOUS LIFE WHICH SOME
INDIANS OF MEXICO LEAD.
Peculiar Formation OF the Mexican
LAkes-Nature's Floatin: Gardens
Fishing For Frogs. Polywocs and Flies
to Earn q Scanty Livelihood.

LAkes.Nature's floattn. Gardens
Fishin. For Frogs. Polywocs and Flies
to Earn u Scanty Livelihood.
+ Locking towards the lakes one ,lay CAUGHT
sight IT the spires Of small town on tho
margin of the water. lmluirin- of a Mexi-
can friend, he said: That i thal,u, lying 40
tho head If lake navigation. "nr very
notatke place. The town is now ,i,a,i or
dying, killed by the railr,a.i. unr it Was
the point of shipment Of the pr,.lhts ot tho
TERRA callentc, AMI great quantities If rum,
sugar, grain AMI tropical fruits were trans
I ported thence 10 Mexico, twenty five miles
distant, in HAT hattonel lnats. prnls.iled hy
the Indians with long puhs, There are snmo
reminders of the traffic yet, but foreigner
would probably iind more interest in the
Indians, who live IN kind of house mtle of
reeds, and almost f'oatin. on the water Ny
/ friend coull not have suggested an excursion
morc apropos Ia the mooi If aIsrson deeply
intepSte, iii the indigenous ra,,s and their
customs lntwo hours time had ,,Srenlt,l
| from my crows nest On the hill to the lak,,
AMI was negotiating with the head man Of
the town for IL cans and couple Of stout
Indians to take nle TO the pueblo If thu l-tko
Dw.llers.
| And here u first surprise awaited me Tho
lake which had seen glistcning in the sun
from the elevated post Cf ollssrS alton no
where Appeared when arrived at its margin
In its place was vast cXlall>.', extending for
miles, IT rstls, swaying ami drifting leforo
tho hreze. Herds of cattle wal,d ami wal
lowed in this sea of green feeding On tho
nutritious aquatic plants ami grasses, and
their ilne condition AMI sleek hides showed
that this anphibiotls life was not unroug,nial
trthcm
A narrow waterway leads from TN, town,
disappearing slowly among the reeds, and
upon this We embarked in the Indians light
cllahlle. As We passed along this canal
notnul that the water WAS clear AMI pure,
but the bottom composed Of slongy hl III
vegetable matter. In some places the Indians
had To get ont and pun the cal,u~ past the
long larges, laden with woul, On their way
10 Mexico, ami which entirely monoIulin,l
the narrow channel Their weight would
submerge what appeared to be, II moment bt,-
fore, firm ground When the loaled barges
stuck fast their swarthv conductors had tho
habit Of getting cut and sprlneins up AMI
down On this vegetable mass, at iL, paint II
adhesion, securing thus two or thre, feet of
water where none had b,en lsforc
At times there would come 10 my ears
strange ami nouniul sounds from the en-
circling reed meadows
"Boatnnn. What soanls arr thus,' like tho
moaning of persons IN distress"
Nothing, ~norl Ohly the chatting of
fishermen and the laughter ot children
Their statement turned out to i@ correct.
At intervals We caught glimISss through the
tall reeds Of intricate pissageways, just large
enough for the entry of very small canoe.
In thcse canrs we're women ami children en-
gagged in fishing AMI the other industries le-
culiar To the lake 1t was their conversation
ami laughter, filtered through the forest II
reeds, that rr"n,vl the mourniul sounds
before alluded tu.
but what kind Of fish do they eatcL" wo
next asked
MAINLY frogs, polywogS, wornS and in
sect, scnor' was his surprising reply.
II was difficult IA believe my ears, but sub
sequent investigation proved this Ia be the
main industry Of the Lake Dnrlcrs, apart
fron their peculiar agriculture, ot which |
shall speak later on There are three species
Of frog, inltibtinI the lake They are pro
pared for the table, with suitable condiments,
ami are sold extensively even among tIp, we'll.
to-do Glasses, being especially popular during
Lieut. as substitute for animal food The
spawn IF the frog all the little animals 50
ridculpu, and rppngnant to civilized taste,
peculiarly called pollywogs, are only used
among the poor, AMI are served on Ieayes II
maize.
But the insect industry snpasse, by far
the frog catching business There Is sort
of water tiy called ly the Indians nyayacatl,
which fr,luthts the lakes IN prndigious
iiimhHrs, and which 7peddled to-day through
the streets Of Mexico with the shril street
cry "Flir4 for bird food a, tine number
Of birds kept III private houses IL very large,
q single family often possessing twenty or
thirty, the fly trade Is eorr,>pondinsly brisk.
The insect is about the sizo Of grain Of rice,
has six legs, svIuis ON the water with great
force and ralility, and though IT has wings
has never lsrn known to u.s. them When
caught they ara either dried or knradcl into
paste, cooked in water with salt, and eaten
with much relish by the natives The ,ggs
and lary;r of this interesting creature have
equal value. The Indians plant the stems VI
reeds in the shallow parts uf the lake, nlnut
yard apart, ~ that the url"r end shall pro
j.-t above the surface The female uf the
axayacatl deposits her eggs upon these several
layers deep. ~ that they not only cover the
reed stalk, but al-o hang in buncli,, from it
At regular intervals they are collected, dried
ntt.t fI.S,, tIu Tl,its a IA
duets called aliantle This, ground AMI fried
In Lard with hens eggs, makes dish very
much like fish eggs, and ls much us1l WHEN
the prprris uf religion prohibit fleh eating.
when The laryT are hat,'lIrd nnI appear as
little wh,'e WORMS they are caught IN great
quantities AMI cooked entire or ground into
raste This delicate dish is called puxi and
/, considered very nourishing
As we neareti the little Intlan village u
Yico, which was to he our point of dtatina
ton, the bDatmcn bratne communicative,
complaining bitterly of "A kuni OF floating
mass Of reeds and grass, called yoniDlero,.
These floating hanks have a Thickness rang.
Ing from half yar,l u yard and half,
ami are c,inIps-l Of the woven roots d
plants, living and deai the remains of the
creatures tlit IifidDlt hutHit eht Hihti VI tue
lake bottom and dust brought by the wind
Solidly knit together and Of l-ss density than
the wat,r they shit from point tn point with
the winds AMI currents IL Is difficult to ac.
count for their formation; but nature works
with such skill in their construction, and
gives them such solidity that. in times u
drought. the natives transport their cattle ~
them for pas sttire, and the banks sustain the
weight, only yielling AMI sinking urer foDt