The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-11
CRAwFIsH AS GAME AND FOOD.
Some Facts About This Interesting
and TOOthsOme Crustacean.

and TOOthsOme Crustacean.
From the s.. Louis Globe-Democrat.
"Crawfeeshr' is a cry frequently heard
on 81. Louis streets. At a moderate COM
| putation, it is repeated 10000 times daily,
from p. m. to a. m, between Vande-
venter avenue and the levee
"Crawfeesh" is the vendors pronuncia-
ton of what modern dictionaries spell
'crawfish," Pliny designated as "crevice,"
our English cousins know as CREWS" and
Southern folk, educated before the word
was corrupted, write "crayfsh," although
they pronunce it "craw"-wh.ch is proper
unless you have the knack of saying
kra, after the French fashion The dis
Junction in the sound is the same as In
Jaw" and "ah''
Ii you have never eaten crawfish, YOU
nave pleasure in store But don't make
your nrst venture when you are Serious
IN your desire for food. To hungry man
eaung crawfish is like taking soup with a
lofk; IL is an aggravation rather than
solace. Wait TIL you merely wish to eat
10 pamper your palate, then try crawfish.
II you do, and are lucky enough TO ger
them properly prepared, and your time is
only good 10 pass, and you have a proper
appreciation of ST. Louis beer the odds
are 100 10 l that you will become a slave
10 the crawfish habit
IL Is given to few persons to know the
cfaWnsh alive as well as dead ThAre &c
a dim but widely disseminated theory that
the craW never moves forward But If is
an error to suppose that the crawfish al
ways reVerses the lever 10 go ahead He
can advance head first very SLOWLY and
painfully on land, and with more facility
under water, and he habituaIly swims that
way out when he is in a hurry he goes
The craw belongs to the crustacean fam
NY is nearly related to the lobster. and
mas the same disposition and tastes mod
iiled 10 suit his fresh-water habitation. He
IL d scaVenger, just as the lobster is and
IN ms small way is quite as fierce a fight
er. he (the gender is ImmateriaO breeds
rapldly Otherwise the race would soon be-
come extinct as fish and turtles devour
great numbers, and man contributes largely
to its defamation
The craw found in this latitude is almost
one-tenth of the weight of a lobster In
the South they attain greater size. Spec
imens twelve inches long have been caught
IN FLORIDA and louisiana The Northern
craW Is rarely more than four inches long
A notable circumstance is that the large
craW1sh, particularly those living in clear
wafer, are almost as red while alive as
they are after being boiled This is not
the case with the other members of the
crustacean family. When very Young the
craW is white, like a shrimp Then he is
great bait for bass and pickerel After he
gets olq and dark fish will not strike at
him, but the meat of his tail Will attract
perch and crappie when even live ninnows
are unaVailing.
Catching crawfish is even better sport
Tor lazy man than shooting frogs All
the apparatus needed is a few yards of
twne, chunk of liver, raw meat of any
kind will do, but liver is preferable). and
few light sticks yard long. Tie two and
a half feet of string to the end of a stick
fasten piece of liver to the other end of
the string; let the liver sink into the wa
ter two feet; jab the butt end of your
three-foot rod into the bank; then fix an
other tackle and do likewise.
one fisherman can attend to half a dozen
lines. No hooks are needed. The craU-
fish seizes the bait firmly with one claw
and proceeds to tear off chunks of liver
with the other and feed himself. The
motion of the line tells when you have
bite. Free your rod from the bank and
raise the crawfsh gently and steadily up-
ward. He will cling to the liver till he
is dropped into your basket, provided you
handle your line so as not to iostle MIN
OF course, If you want to be a hog and
take all chance of escape from the craw
you can use a landing net but the true
sportsman scornS such an advantage IL
you are a pot-hunter you can catch craws
by the wholesale with almost no trouble
Bait a basket with refuse and sink il in
the water, where crawfish congregate Let
it remain few hours, then left il aut
1t will be half full of craws fighting for
the food. But that method of catching
the simple but succuent member of the
genus Cambarus cannot be too severely
condemned.
After you get your crawfish you prob
ably won't know what to do with them.
If you are Versed in the lore of the kitch-
you first put kettle of water on the
fire TO boil Put in a handful af salt and
plenty of pepper. Cayenne is good, but
real artists prefer Mexican pods. While
the kettle is coming to a fierce boil wash
your crawfish in cold clear water.
Now comes that part of the operation
which is wrongfully-almost criminally-
neglected by cooks who prepare craws for
public sale. Grasp your craw firmly about
the body and claws with your left hand,
so that he cannot pinch. You will find
that he has five legs, one of which grows
out of his body in the solar plexus ie-
gion Twist this off Then break the tip
of the tail and pull il off. 1t will bring
with 1t a black string. This is the craw's
intestine, and should always be removed
before the fish is cooked. AS soon this
is done. toss the craw into the boiling
water, which has already been seasoned
to suit taste. In five minutes he is done
and ready to be served. OF course, If
you are fastidous, you can skin the tails
and serve only the white meat with dress
ing or brown them in the oven.
Most people eat only the sweet. white
flesh concealed under the shell of the tail
and in the claws of the crawhsh. Others
like the dark contents of the body.
The craw tastes like lobster, but is
more delicate one person can finish 100 at
a sitting and not feel overloaded. They
are sold at Is cents dozen by the timer
ant vendors and the few high-class restau- |
rants that keep them charge trifie more. |
Making Punctuation Easy.