Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1896-10-30
ABOUT CLAY EATERS.
Inc Disgusting Habit Is Common
In All Countrisa
Tribes OF indians Who MIX Mud with
Their Dread-some Singular Rea-
sons for the Abomipabie
Practice.

Their nread-Some Singular Rea-
sons for the Abomipabie
Practice.
Among the extraordinary passions
Tor eating uncommon things must be |
reckoned that which some people exhib-
II Tor eating earth or clay. OF this prac- |
tice, which would appear to have once |
prevailed all over thc world, SAYS the |
Philadelphia Times, numerous exam
pies were cited by Capt. j. G. BourlSc,
United States army, in the ninth an
nual report of the bureau of cthnology.
In some places the custom has degen- |
Grated into n ceremonial, while in
others the eating of this strange food
still prevails as a kind of necessity to
the lives of those who are addicted to il
The Mexican dcvotccs picked up
piece Of clay in the temple of Tczcatii-
poca and ate it with the greatest revcr-
ence, and also ate piece of earth in
swearing by the sun and earth. But
the use of clay by the Mexicans was
not merely matter of ceremony, for
the substance seems to have been an
esculent in common use. Edible earth
was sold openly in the markets of Mex
leo and appears in the list of foods
given by Gomara.
Cabeza dc Vaca says that the Indians
OF Florida ate clay, and that the natives
offered him many mesquite beans,
which they ate mixed with earth. Vene-
gas asserted that the Indians of Cali
fornia ate earth. The traditions Of the
Indians of San Juan Capistrano and
vicinity show that they had fed upon a
kind of clay which they often used
upon their heads by way of ornament.
The Tatu Indians of California, accord
ing to Powers, mix red earth into their
acorn bread to make the latter sweet
and cause it to go further. Sir John
Franklin writes that the banks of the
Mackenzie river contain layers of
kind of unctuous mud which the Tin
neh Indians used as food during the
seasons of famine, and even at other
times chew as an amusement. 1t has a
milky taste and the flavor is not disa-
greeable. The Apache and Navajo
branches of the Athnbascan family of
North American Inn ans are not I'M
acquainted with the use Of clay Us a
comestiblc, although among the former
it is now rarely used, and among the
latter is employed only as a condiment
to relieveathe bitterness of the taste of
the wild potato. In the same manner
it is known to both the Zuni and the
Tusayan.
In South America, likewise, the eat
ing of clay prevails among the Indians
on the banks of the Orinoco, through
out Brazil and on the mountains CO
Bolivia and Peru.
In western Africa the .aegrocs of
Guinea have long been known to eat a
yellowish earth called by them
"caouac," and the flavor and taste OF
which is very agreeable to them and
said to cause them no inconvenience.
Some addict themselves SO excessively
to the use Of it that it becomes to them
q real necessity, and no punishment is
sufficient to restrain them from tho
) practice of consuming it.
} When the Guinea negroes were il
, former times carried as slaves to the
West India islands they were observed
to continue the custom of eating clay
But the 'caouac' of the American
islands, or the substance which the
poor negroes attempted to substitute il
l their new homes for the African earth
was found to injurc the health of the
slaves who ate it, and SO the practic;
3 was long ago forbidden and has posi-
Z bly now died out in the West India colo
! MES. In Martinique, a species OF rec
: earth or ycllowish tufa was formerl,
1 secretly sold in the markets, but tn
use of it has probably ceased in tn
French colonies also.
!: In eastern Asia similar practic
0 prevails in various places. In tn
island of Java, between Sourabaya an
Q Samarang, Labillardiere saw SINAI
G square reddish cakes of earth sold il
o the villages for the purpose of bein
eaten. These were found by Ehrer
berg to consist for the most part of tn
remains of microscopic animals an
o plants which had lived and been de
. posted in fresh water. Some of tn
= Japanese, too, are addicted to tn
: practice of eating earth. DR.. Love
l. some time ago, published an analys
. of clay which is eaten to conside
u able extent by the Amos; it occurs in
< bed several feet thick in the valley {
Tsie-tonal (eat-carth Valley on tn
- north coast of Yesso. 1t is light gra
g in color and of fine structure. The PEE
pie mix with the clay fragments OF I'll
leaf of some plant for the aromat
|, principle it contains.
They eat the earth because they thin
&c it contains some beneficial substanc
a not because it is q necessity with then
II They have meat and abundance I
10 vegetable food. The clay is eaten
n the form of soup. Several poun'
y are boiled with lily roots in a sma
B quantity of water, and afterwal
N strained. The Amos pronounce Il
~ soup very palatablc.
n In Runjut valley, in the SiklSim Hi
"a alaaas, red clay occurs which the n
10 tives chew, especially as cure for Il
goitre.
In Smiths "Aborigines of Victoria
it is stated that a kind of cart
pounded and mixed with the root
"a the 'mene" "a species of Haemadorun
~ ia eaten by natives of west Australia.
-. Painted on a Grain of Corn.