The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1899-07-11
EAT THE DEVIL FISH
Hawaiians Consider 1t Toothsome
Article of Diet.
Im the bahamas and Bermgdas the
Ugly Sea Monster Ia Much
Sought for BY
Fishermen.


Sought for by
Fishermen.
In few things does man show his
perennial curiosity more than in his
patient and often enthusiastic investi-
cations into the question of eating.
There hardly is anything in the animal,
vegetable and mineral Kingdoms which
some human being has not tried to eat
at some time or another.
Now that we have taken up the white
mans burden, the United States prob
ably has within its possessions wider
range of gastronomic attainment than
is boosted by any other nation in the
world. In Georgia there are clay eat
ers. In the island OF Mindanao we nave
man eaters. In Alaska they have peeh
eating dog with abandon and LOUD CRIES
of "More!" Some of our Indian wards
dote on dried and mashed grasshoppers'
Our Chinese squatters eat sharks ms
and birds nests. But, aside from the
diet of roast and boiled man, which is
more an eccentricity than studied ac-
QUESTION of taste, the queerest appetite
| BCooNSstStA7'
| poi and devil fish are the delicacies that
can lure the duslSy and palpitating per-
sons Of those ATTITUDES from home and
mother.
Poi is we'll known now. 1t has been
described often, though varyingly.
Some writer's of delicate sensibilities
have not mentioned that which grosser
writers have described most lovingly;
the process of chewing which the root
undergoes before it is considered fit for
poi.
Emphatically, poi is something that
is edible only if you do not know how
it has been made.
However, poi is not as curious as devil
fish. To the unprejudiced observer
there is nothing dangerously tempting
in devil fish. The face of the devil
fish is not his fortune. 1t is fiat face
with beak in the middle andttwo
staring, fat fiend's goggles that make
the little waves break when he looks
at them. This pleasing countenance is
made fast from behind to gray, ghost
ly bag like the bloated body of spider.
Eight arms complete the engaging tout
ensemble.
Still ugly as he is, even the devil fish
has friends, though they are only de-
signing friends, who like him better
when he is inside of them than other
wise. To get him into this likeable con-
dition there are various methods. In
the Bahamas and in Bermuda the gen
tie and unindustrious colored fisherman
let's his boat float slowly over the coral
reefs till he sees the waving tentacles
or The big eyes of one of the creatures
Then he gently sticks long pole with
{ a sharp hook at the end of 1T into the
water and lowers it till it is in front OF
the devil fishs submarine villa. Their
the devil fish gets angry, being of
choleric and infirm temper always, anc
he grabs the stick. The hook grabs the
devil fish, and he is hauled into the boat
! where he usually tries to eat the darby
/. Failing in this, he gives way to lively
grief, and presses his large, expressive
: face to the bottom of the boat, arrang
/ ing his eight arms in graceful circle
all around his body till he looks like
tentacled Niobe.
S In Hawaii they fish for the octopus
i, with hook which is made of a straigh
piece of wood about five or six inches
long. On the upper side is spliced
e piece of mother of pearl, and below
f a piece of lead. Two short prongs o
!, brass are fastened to the other end 0
= the stick. Octopus, who is as imuplslv
:. as he is chronically belligerent and hun
: CRY, darts at this contrivance as sool
los ina "a
. end is the fish market and poi-line'
J. grave in the dark interior of Hawaiian
d stomach.
The devil fish that are caught in Ha
. waiian waters do not attain the enoT
l. nous size that is reached by the spe
cies in other seas, but fairly large one
are caught every little while, and tn
q fishermen don't like to tackle big on
e in the harbor of Honolulu any NOR
than they do in other waters.
In China the pluclky fishermen jun
d overheard when they catch an octopu
!, in their nets. In Bermuda waters n
darby can be persuaded to take the co
lector out to hunt big devil fish. The
d will go after the little fellows, but the
y are in deadly fear of any that are abov
the average in size.
'e The octopus and the squid, first cou
id ms to each other, both have pleasar
20 habit of ejecting an inlxy fluid-sepia-
from their bag-bodies when they al
ST. alarmed or attacked. This fluid is $
Of thick and strongly tinted that th
=, water becomes absolutely opaque *
= many yards around the spot, and, CO.
at cred by his homemade darkness, til
" devil fish escapes his enemies.-N.
Press