Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-07-26
SIGHTS IN MEXICO.
Jumbo Snails-WonderfuI Butterfiies-Arma-
dilIOs as FOOd-1he Iguana.

Jumbo Snails-Wonderful Butterflies -Arma-
dillos as Food-1he Iguana.
The trees are covered with orchi Is,
lovely in form and hue, exquisite of odor
infinite in variety, says a Aalapa CORES
pondent of the San Francisco Chronicle
In the course of one afternoon gathered
more than one dozen species, besides a
whole flower press full of ferns and bios
SONS, as an incidental il the collection of
butterflies and land shells.
OF the latter there are over 100 varie-
ties in the neighborhood of Xalspa, from
the tiny strebellLg, newly discovered by
my hostess, ShO is q fell blooded TotOnac
IL dian, to the great hermaphrodite CLAN
dlua sowerbyana, whose shell reaches
length of / l centImeters or 5 inches. while
the extended snaii not iutrequently meas
ures So or 8 inches, And the butterflies!
oh, the butterflies! | remember once
caviling at Edwin srnolds smile in "The
light of Asia" wherein ne speaks of but
tertiies as 'jeweled objects" The term
seemed Inappropriate to the velvety tex
ture of the butterfly; but bow to its ac-
curaoy, having seen the butterflies of
\ tlapa. White, black. red, purple, brown,
golden they shine, and many of them
y
particularly beautiful variety is familiar
ly known ''the figures" from the mark
on the under side of its wings. The
spread of wing of some of these gorgeous
creatures is often eight or ten inches, and
the night moths have wings larger than
those of doves III mauy species.
Armadillos are, if not abundant, not
rare hereabouts and they find ready pur-
chasers at from 80 to so cents. The flesh
Is very delicate and savory. The tavorite
mUde of cooking is by sort of barbecue
IN it's own shell. This shell is a slightly
object, with its graduated bosses and coI-
rugatlons, and 1t has been utilized be
dett needlewomen for the ground work of
many pretty bags and boxes. The psrsons
employed i'll field labor use these shells to
hold the seed for sowing. To meet these
purposes the lateral edges are bent to-
gether while green and laced fast by cords
or hide thongs. Although it would appear
to bs a cleaner animal thsn the arr1adillo
the Upossum, 1t seems, is disdainod as a
TODD element by the Mexicans, although
it is SO splendid hereaoOuts that it is
largely trapped for its depredations in
the poultry yard. Strange that this dis
crEmlnst1on should exist, for the armadiI-
10 Is somewhat omniverous and it is
asserted that it has been known to make
gho7lish raids on gTaveyards while the
fav0rite of the southern darkies is more
fastidiods creature.
There exists heresoouts belief thatthe
tail OF the opossum, dried and pulver' zed
and drunk i'll wine, is a sovereign remedy
for chills and fever. Another animal CON
sidered tidbit of the people of the low
lands makes a decidedly repalsive i'm
a
This is an iguana, or lizard, which the
natives catch and contine in the thatched-
rooted peaks of their houses. Some
people dec are that III order to fatten
properly the mouth OF the igGaua must be
closed by few stitches to prevent it
from eating. The truth probably is that
the wider the poor creatures mouth is
left open the sooner it completes the
process of iattening, as it doubtless lives
on the various Larvae and beetles bred in
she straw or palm of the thatching. An
other of the resources of the commissary
departments Is a shrub which is called
beqululte, or else pltos (whistles) from
the shape of the flowers, which are of a
deep scarlet, some three inches in length,
growing in clusters. These conicaI heads
are cooked either as greens or in the shape
of force-meat balls, and they have, it is
said, all the flavor of good meat. have
not tasted them.
1t is yell that there are to be had such
toothsC me varieties in the food line, for
the Aalapa market is dear and poor, ana
on Fridaysi in Lent the question of butch
er's meat is a vexed one. Y ala pa is closely
akin to some places in California in the
matter of the lively flea, his tenure of
office and antics. There are also 1nos aui-
toes in abundance and vicious little ( nat
rodador or "rounder," whose sting burns
like fire and leaves tiny speck OF scarlet
in the flesh of its victim. Happily this
pest is not common. There are scor pions
and other venomous insects, but their
sting is only painful, not fatal. There is
also a rattlesnake which is not venomous
and horned serpent, and another snake
which the wiseacres were fam to find a
realization of the fsbed am phisboena,
which was said to have a head at each end
and to run with equal facility in either
direction. The present variety has beer
shown, however, 10 have the customary
head and tail end, the two beiug narssd-
ly alike in appearance.