Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-09-13
HUNGER IN WARTIME
HOWir coMPELs EXPERIMENTS UPON
QUEER MEATS.

Howir coMPELs EXPERIMENTS UPON
QUEER MEATS.
Vs. E..
Tho ''siege venison' Of Paris IL Usually
tho First Resourcc-Then tho Flesh OF
Dogs. Cots, Rata and Even Wild Beasts
IL Devoured.
It Is only in times Of siege and famine
that men discover how many different
kinds Of food >sscre arc besides those usual
" consumed. Hunger drives them to ex-
peri1nents upon substances which they
would shrink from eating on ordinary &C.
casions, and they frequently find thnb
these uncommon foods, generally oonsid-
cred unfit for human beings, arc not only
nourishing but agreeable In flavor once
tho prejudice against them has been bro
ken and the palate accustomed to the new
taSto.
There have been at times In different
countries associations Of persons who made
trials Of odd foods for the purpose Of nscer
tanning their fitness for consumption, but
they have never succeeded In accomplish
ing their projected reforms. Most people
cling fondly to their old ideas about wha
Is good to cat and what Is not, and only
the prospect of genuine famine can per-
suado them to try ordinarily condemned
things.
When any town or district has been be-
seigod for such a length Of timo that its
food supply runs short, tho first proceed
ing usually resOrted to IN order to procure
food for the Inhabitants Is the killing Of
horses. This meat seems to bo preferred
to any other of IN unusual nature when
the everyday beet, mutton and pork be-
como understandable. The eating of horse
flesh under such circumstances Is a prac-
tico dating back to very early times, in
stances Of 1t being mentioned, among the
Porsinns the Greeks and other nations Of
antiquity.
Later 1t Is recorded that at the siege Of
Antioch, In the first crusade, tho horses Of
tho bcsiegers were eAten In such quantities
that in two months not more than 3 900
of the original 10000 were left. At the
siege of Metz 80, 900 horses arc said to
have been eaten.
But tho famous siege of Paris in tho
Franco Prussian war furnishes tho most
interesting example Of the variety Of
meats which may be used In great struts
During that terrible winter of 1901
while the German army outside prevented
supplies of any kind from being brought
into tho unfortunate French capital, not
only such familiar animals as horses,
mules, dogs, cats, rats and mice supplied
tho tables Of rich and poor alike, but oven
tho nlenaeorio of wild beasts In tho Jartlin
des Plantes disappeared gradually, and
neither doubt nor surprise was expressed
at its destination.
OF the horses Is, 900 were eaten during
the siege. This meat, however, was not
new to tho Partisan taste-at least not to
tho taste Of the working classes. Since
1866 1t had been lawful to slaughter horses
for human food, and horse butcher shops
were common establishments In tho city
But tho entire number of horses killed. in
time Of penco was trifling compared to this
enormous total In wartime. Tho Pari-
slams, with their irreprcssible levity and
disposition to smooth matters over, even
under such circumstances Us these, called
the horse meat ''sicge vonison," and there
were few complaints regarding it.
T.. According to the general testimony, not
only Of the French at this timo, but Of
scientists in different countries who have
tried tho meat under many conditions,
horseflesh possesses q flavor about half
way between that Of beef and game aud Is
variously compared to venison and to hare
It is courser in grain than beet and In this
respect resembles bull beef moro than any
other. 1t has u peculiar smell, which ia
at first tri0e disconcerting, but which
soon becomes familiar, and certain
sweetness Of taste. 1t Is darker in color
and more moist than beef. Its fat, which
Is moist and yellow, is not generally mix
cd with the lean, and it soon molts and
becomes rancid. One authority says that
horse meat, being richer, is undoubtedly
superior to beef for soup, and he goes on
to declare that for roasting the best parts
of q young horse arc finer than any beef.
Tho chief chemical difference between the
two is that horseflesh has tho greater
quantity Of tho heterogeneous substance.
called creatino.
Besides tho 65, 600 horses eaten during
the siege Of Paris 1000 asses and 1000
mules arc said to have been consumed.
The flesh of tho latter was pronounced
delicious, excelling horsefiosh In its quail
ity. The number of rats and mice used la
not computed, but of dogs there arc said
to have been 200 and Of cats 1000. From
tho testimony Of many persons who have
eaten tho flesh Of cats and dogs 1t is said
TO resemble thnt Of rabbits and whom we'll
cooked to be extremely palatablo.
OF tho animals in tho menagerie Of tho
Jardin dos P]antcs tho flesh OF two bears
which were eaten was likoncd to pork,
both in texture and taste. Three elephants
were consumed, and while there Is no rec
ord of the way in which the Parisians pro.
pared their elephant ment it is woll known
that it can be made pleasant to tho taste
when cooked in tho proper way. African
travellers and hunters have many tales to
tell of the dclicacy of baked elephant g
foot. Elephants heart and liver arc also
esteemed us food, and steaks cut from tho
animal arc said to be juicy and tender.
Three kangaroos and a seal from tho
menagcrie helped to vary still further the
siege fare. The seals flesh was compared
to young lamb.
Although meat is desirable for its
strength giving qualities, especially when
men require unusual vigor for fighting,
still vegetable foods will support lifo and
energy for long time. Rico Is nourish-
ing and has served as q war food. During
tho famous siege Of Lucknow, in India, it
H. 4 l-IA a.