South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-02-05

other Richard Harding Davis coun-
tries, the iguana is domesticated and
eaten by rich and poor alike. More
over, it is considered q great deli
cacy. The meat is said TO be much
like the bosom of chicken, only more
tender. In appearance, however, the
iguana has little in common with the
chicken. Whereas a chicken is
fowl, wearing feathers, and should
be listed among birds, an iguana is
not a bird at all, but is a sort of
large lizard. Being a lizard, ii finds
itself one OF the reptile kingdom and
would not be thrown much in the
society of human kind except for
the fact that it happens to be good
to eat and is harmless -ab-sO-lutely
harmless. One may go up to an
iguana and pat it on the head, just as
one would pet a dog, and come away
none the worse for the experience.
Now, it so happened that Congress
man Broussard was not aware of all
these delightful facts regarding the
iguana at the time of a certain trip
back TO the United States from Hon.
duras. He had spent much time in
South America, mingling freely with
persons who thought nothing of so
ing out in the back yard TO the iguana
coop and killing one for dinner. But
by the merest chance he had never
seen an iguana face to face-until One
Morning.
AS a rule Broussard is not subject
! to seasickness, but on this particular
journey back from Honduras the sur
face of the ocean became so uneasy
that our hero was obliged TO remain
right in his bunk. There was
French steward aboard the vessel
named Francois, and when Msieu
Francois learned that Broussard
] talked French fluently, he went at
| once to the sufferers stateroom,
/ hoping that a little parley-voo con-
versation might cheer the man up.
Any of us is likely to be whimsical
when SeasiCk. BrOusSard's condition
I took a funny turn He did not like
| the face of the man Francois. Before
I the caller had talked to him a min
! ute. Broussard knew that he was a
/ GascOn Frenchman, whereas the
/ Broussards came from Normandy
\ There is an old, old tradition that
when a Norman and a GaScOn meet
there Will be a fight. Francois may
/ have thought of this. just as Brous-
sard, but 10 reaSsure the latter that
all was we'll he sought to do him a
real favor. Perhaps, he thought, the
mans stomach was so disturbed that
/ only an article out of the ordinary
/ line of diet would appeal TO him. He
\ happened TO have such an article on
/ the ship and he led it TO Broussard's
stateroom by means of little dog
chain.
When Broussard saw the Gascon
standing in the staterOom door grim
ming, and with the handle of a little
dog chain in his hand, he was eX-
tremely angry. He assumed that the
time had come for the inevitable fight
that must occur when Norman and
+ a Gascon meet
NO matter what he might have
/ had in his hand" explains BroussdI q,
"it would have made me mad, but /
was particularly mad when l saw
that he held a handle of a dog chain.
Raising himself on his launches,
BrOussard asked in as commanding
tone as he could muster:
What have you got there .?
Francois just grinned, whereupon
Broussard fairly shouted:
"What--have-yOu -got-there
Then. still grinning. Francois replied
in French: The finest thing IN tne
world" At the same time he pointed
at something on deck.
Broussard looked toward the other
end Of the little dog chain and there
beheld-
Well. here is his own description OF
I what he saw.
II beheld leering at me without
ever batting an eye an individual. He
stood about four feet tall. l Judge, as
TO his front fort;on-and he was bow
legged His tail went back across the
deck as far as / could see. / had never
. been seasick before and was greatly
alarmed that il should cause re 10
see such things as seemed 10 stand
before me. As / say. the individual did
not bat an eve. 1 afterward learned
that he could not bat an eye If ne
wanted 10. because his people DO not
have eyelids. Along with my fear that