Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-10-04
THE EATERS OF CLAY
THERE ARE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
WHO FEED ON DIRT.


and In New Caledonia the Natives
| Feed on FriabIc Stones.
| No collection of national dishes in
| cludes earth or clay among them, but
this is a favorite plat with Il good
many millions of people up and down.
Even in Europe they are not difficult
| TO find, or were not 30 years ago.
! Tastes have changed n good deal since
then, no doubt. But human beings do
not readily give up a favorite dish, es-
pecially when it is cheap. If superior
persons denounce it, they enjoy the
treat on the sly.
Probably the quarrynen of Kiffhau-
sen no longer breakfast in public upon
slices. of bread "buttered" with fine
clay, as Humboldt saw them, but we
should be rather surprised to learn
that thrifty souls among them do not
follow the custom of their ancestors
in private. Humboldt was reminded
of that early experience upon the
banks of the Amur. where he saw
Russian soldiers eating what they
called rock butter" Il similar clay.
Mr.. Laing had the good fortune to OBJ
serve the first appreciation of the deli
cacy, or almost, in one district of Swe~
den. Five years only before he made
the tour so famous in our grandSireS'
time there was dearth in the country.
The people had already begun to eat
bark bread when Il very poor wood
man noticed some white stuff among
the roots eff tree he felled. 1t looked
oil nj la Ia in1 homo
basketful, mixed it with rye and
bark and baked it. The loaf proved to
be excellent, aud no disagreeable con-
sequences followed. So the woodman
told his neighbors, and Il rush set in.
When the magistrates heard of this
abnormal provender they forbade the
use of it, of course; that would be the
natural impulse of the superior per-
son. But the pcasantry were not TO
he persuaded or cOerced into rejecting
food which they knew by experience
to be wholesome and nouriShing.
When Mr.. Laing visited the district
it is called Dcgenfors-thcy were us
ing the stuff both for soup and bread.
Samples dispatched to Stockholm for
analysis gave finely pulveriZed flint
ana feldspar. lime, clay, oxide of iron
and rcsiduum of some organic matter
similar to animal which yielded am
monia and an oil"
1t is organic matter which contains
the nourishment everywhere, no doubt,
if nourishment there be. But that is
not always the case and earth eating
seems to deserve more attention than
has yet been paid to it. so far rs our
reading goes. Commonly it is dismiss
cd as n degrading practice of savagcs.
But German Quarrymen, SwedeS, even
Russian soldiers, are not to be classed
with savageS. Nor are the potters of
Scinde. Their work is fashionable ut
present and they make money-that is.
by the Indian standard. But among
their weekly expenses an allowance
must be made for the quantity OF
''chaniah" which their wives and chill
dren consume; "chaniah" is a white.
unctuous earth used for glazing pot
terry.
But, as n rule, of course, it is saw
ages who affect this diet, alike useful
and agreeable to their taste. Few uu-
derstand, perhaps, how common it is.
Instances might be found in every con-
tinent and every zone by any one who
looked into the matter thoroughly. We
give few which rccur to mind.
The Amos are enthusiastic earth eat
ers. In the north of their island is 4
valley where alone the material can
be dug. but it is carried to all parts.
L hey boil it with the root of the wild
lily. When certain proportion of the
clay has settled, the remainder is pour
ed off and eaten like cream. Sir
Spencer st. John reports that the Sea
Dyaks always took Il supply of red
ochre on their piratical expeditions as
n reserve in case stores should run
short, land we once found in some de
serted Seribas praus many packets of
a white, oleaginous clay used for the
same purpose"
In Java little cakes of earth are sold
in the market; women buy and eat
them to preserve n slender shape. The
treatment succeeds. for they lose all
appetite. Humboldt asserts that the
Indians of Quito put earth and quartz
sand into their drinking water; but
this is not unusual, so far as the earth
goes, at least. We have heard Il Bocr
family complain that they could no
where get good water when absent
from their home on the banks Of the
Orange. The water of the Orange is 4
''puree" of mud; hence its name.
The peoples of New Caledonia eat
pieces of friable stone, "Lapis OIL
Iaris." Messrs. Cloquet and Brischet.
travelling in those islands, could get
no food for several days. They came
upon some green laminate tale and ate
five ounces each; their strength return
ed, and they never felt any inconveni-
nf "a
live exclusively on fish when
they can get ii. But during the sea
son Of floods there is no fishing, and
they manage very comfortably with
earth. Moreover. they find the diet so
a greeable that during the rest Of the
year they eat ball of clay for dessert. |