Part 15
There are several varieties of this reptile in Australia, but that which is most common is from four to six feet in length, and from about a foot and a half to two feet across the broadest part of the back, with a rough dark skin, enlivened by yellow spots. Although perfectly harmless, as far as the human race are concerned, this huge lizard is a terrible foe to the smaller quadrupeds--opossums, bandicoots, kangaroo-rats, &c.,--on which it preys. It is very destructive also among hen roosts, and often takes up its quarters in the vicinity of a farm-house for the convenience of supping on the hens and their eggs.
The guana is much sought for and esteemed by the blacks as an article of food, and is frequently presented as a great delicacy to the young ‘gins.’ By the settlers it is not often eaten, owing to the natural feeling of dislike which is created by its form and habits. Those, however, who do not entertain these feelings, or are able to overcome them, find the flesh of the creature really excellent. It is not unlike that of a rabbit, to which, in flavour, it is fully equal, and eats best when stewed or curried.
The guana usually lives in trees, and, on the approach of man, it invariably makes off with great alacrity, scrambling rapidly up the nearest trunk; but it is easily brought down by a shot.
Captain Keppel tells us, ‘that while out on a shooting excursion at Port Essington, he observed a native plucking the feathers off a goose; while so employed his eye caught the tip-end of the tail of an iguana, an animal of the lizard kind, about four feet long, which was creeping up the opposite side of a tree; he tossed the goose, without further preparation, on to the fire, and ascended the tree as easily as Jack would run up the well-rattled rigging of a man-of-war. He almost immediately returned with the poor animal struggling in his scientific grasp. It was the work of a minute to secure it to a stick of about the same length as itself to prevent its running away, when it was made to change places with the goose, which, being warm through, was considered to be sufficiently done. The whole goose he devoured, making no bones, but spitting out the feathers. Then came the iguana’s turn, which, although less tender, was not the less relished. It appeared to require great muscular strength to detach the flesh from the skin. The operation being finished, he lay down to sleep. His wife, having sprinkled him with dirt to keep the flies off, was proceeding to eat the skin of the iguana, when the arrival of some more geese offered her a more satisfactory repast.’
The iguana is, I believe, the Talagowa of the natives of Ceylon--_le Monitor terrestre d’Egypte_ of M. Cuvier. The Indian monitor (_Monitor dracæna_, Gray) is found in great abundance in all the maritime provinces of Ceylon. The natives are partial to its flesh. Dr. Kelaart states that he once tasted some excellent soup made from a tender guana, which was not unlike hare soup. At Trincomalee they are hunted down by dogs, and sold in the market for 6_d._ each. They feed on the smaller reptiles and insects, and measure, when large, four feet five inches. Despite its repulsive appearance, the iguana is eagerly hunted for food by the natives of Africa, Australia, America, and Asia.
The eggs of the guana are another article deserving the attention of gourmands. One of these lizards sometimes contains as many as four-score eggs. These are about the size of a pigeon’s egg, with a very soft shell, which contains only a very small quantity of the albumen. The yolk, unlike that of other eggs, does not become hard and dry when boiled, but is soft and melting as marrow.
It would be a refreshing sight to see Alderman A., or Sheriff B., or any other civic dignitary who has gone the round of all the dishes which native and foreign skill have been able to produce, and to whom a new combination would convey as much delight as a black tulip or a blue dahlia would to a horticulturist, partaking for the first time of _pâté de foie gras de l’hiccatee_, or a dish of the eggs of the iguana garnished with anchovies. The inhabitants of some of the Pacific islands esteem the large oval eggs of the lizards as food.
The meat of the _Amblyrynchus subcristatus_, another lizard, when cooked, is white, and by those whose stomachs rise above all prejudices it is relished as very good. Humboldt has remarked, that in intertropical South America, all lizards which inhabit dry regions are esteemed delicacies for the table.
There are an almost innumerable variety of lizards, properly so called, in all parts of the colony of New South Wales, and the whole of the larger kinds are used for food by the blacks, although but very rarely eaten by the settlers. Those who have eaten them, state that their flesh resembles that of a fowl. The dragon lizard, or as it is sometimes called, the frilled lizard, is the most remarkable, being provided with a large frill, which it has the power of extending suddenly, and in a rather startling manner, when attacked or alarmed; it is usually about a foot and a half or two feet long. The Jew lizards are dark coloured, with a dewlapped and puffy appearance about the throat and neck, varying in size, but seldom exceeding two feet in length. The scaly lizards are fierce looking, although harmless, reptiles, with a spotted scaly hide, generally about a foot long, and remarkable for having small round club-shaped tails. They are easily domesticated, but as their appearance is far from attractive, they are seldom made pets of. The large spiny-backed rock lizard resembles a guana, the only material points of difference being that it has a heavy dewlap beneath its chin, and a row of spines along the back from the head to the tail. The flat-tailed lizard, called by the natives the Rock Scorpion, is imagined by them to be venomous, although in reality it is perfectly harmless; it is nocturnal in its habits, and possesses to a peculiar extent the singular power, which is more or less vested in all the lizard family, of leaving its tail in the hands of any one who attempts to capture it by laying hold of that appendage, and of making off apparently scatheless. The sleeping lizard is in body, as well as in its sluggish habits, exactly like the terrible death adder, from which it is only to be distinguished by its short feet.
Many of the lizard family are believed by the settlers to be venomous, but such is not the case; I believe in fact that no four-footed reptile has yet been discovered which is possessed of venom.
A remarkable power possessed by the guana, and perhaps by others of the lizard family, is its power of resisting the poison, ordinarily most destructive to animal life,--prussic acid. A middling sized guana took a small bottle of prussic acid, and seemed rather to have been exhilarated by it than otherwise; it was killed, however, by a dose of arsenic and spirits of wine.
There is a large, ugly, amphibious lizard, about three feet long, met with in Guiana, known as the Salempenta, or _El Matêo_, which is thought (particularly by the Indians) good eating, the flesh being white and tender. It is, however, much more ugly in appearance than the guana.
Occasionally large lizards of other kinds, two or three feet in length, are brought to the Rio market, and they are said to be excellent eating.
In the reign of Cheops, as an Egyptian gentleman curious in poultry, and famous even there for his success in producing strange birds, was walking by the river Nile, he met with an egg, which, from its appearance, he thought promised results out of the common way; so, picking it up, he took it home, and gave directions for hatching it. But some time after, on visiting his poultry yard, he found that all his pets had disappeared, a few feathers only lying scattered about, whilst a fearful animal rushed upon him open-mouthed. The fact was, _he had hatched a crocodile_.
Mr. Joseph, in his _History of Trinidad_, tells us, that he has eaten the eggs of the cayman or alligator, (without knowing what eggs they were), and found them good. In form and taste they much resemble the eggs of the domestic hen.
Dr. Buckland, the distinguished geologist, one day gave a dinner, after dissecting a Mississippi alligator, having asked a good many of the most distinguished of his classes to dine with him. His house and his establishment were in good style and taste. His guests congregated. The dinner-table looked splendid, with glass, china, and plate, and the meal commenced with excellent soup. ‘How do you like the soup?’ asked the doctor, after having finished his own plate, addressing a famous gourmand of the day. ‘Very good, indeed,’ answered the other; ‘turtle, is it not? I only ask because I do not find any green fat.’ The doctor shook his head. ‘I think it has something of a musky taste,’ said another; ‘not unpleasant, but peculiar.’ ‘All alligators have,’ replied Buckland; ‘the cayman particularly so. The fellow whom I dissected this morning----’ At this stage there was a general rout of the whole guests. Every one turned pale. Half-a-dozen started up from the table; two or three ran out of the room; and only those who had stout stomachs remained to the close of an excellent entertainment. ‘See what imagination is!’ said Buckland. ‘If I had told them it was turtle, or tarrapen, or birdsnest soup, salt-water amphibia or fresh, or the gluten of a fish, or the maw of a sea bird, they would have pronounced it excellent, and their digestion been none the worse. Such is prejudice.’ ‘But was it really an alligator?’ asked a lady. ‘As good a calf’s head as ever wore a coronet,’ answered Buckland.
The Australian crocodile is more closely allied to the gavial of India (_Gavialis gangeticus_), but is now often termed, like the American species, an alligator. It is large and formidable; one captured by Captain Stokes, in the Victoria River, and described in his published journal, was fifteen feet long, and some have been taken still larger than this. Like all animals of its class, the Australian crocodile is a much more formidable enemy in the water than on shore; but even in the latter position, it is by no means to be despised, for it progresses with tolerable speed; and, although it seldom or never attacks a man openly when out of its own proper element, still it is believed to have a strong liking for human flesh, when that delicacy can safely be obtained. One of these creatures paid a visit to a seaman, who was asleep in his hammock on shore after a hard day’s labour, and being unable to get conveniently at the man, it managed to drag off and carry away the blanket which covered him; the sailor at first charged his comrade with having made him the subject of a practical joke, but the foot-prints of the huge reptile, and the discovery of the abstracted blanket in the water, soon showed him the real character of his nocturnal visitant.
The flesh of the crocodile is white and delicate, resembling veal. It was a favourite dish among the Port Essington settlers, and among the seamen employed in the surveys of the northern coast and rivers of Australia. It is frequently pursued and killed for food by the aborigines of that part of the country: the plan which they adopt is to hunt it into some blind creek, when the reptile, finding itself closely pressed, and no water near, usually forces its head, and perhaps the upper part of its body in some sand-hole, fancying that it has, by so doing, concealed itself from its pursuers. In this position it is despatched with comparative ease. The crocodile makes a terrible noise by snapping its jaws, particularly when in pain, or when it is annoyed by the buzzing about its mouth and eyes of the mosquitoes or other insects, which are found in myriads among the swamps, creeks, and shallow waters, where it abides; this snapping noise is often a startling sound to explorers encamping near waters frequented by the monster.
The aboriginal tribes far to the southward of the localities in which the crocodile has its habitation, have an imperfect knowledge of the animal; stories of its voracity and fierceness have probably been recounted at the friendly meetings of the tribes, and these stories have in the same manner passed across the continent, changed and magnified with each new relation, until on reaching the coast tribes of the south, the crocodile became a nondescript animal of most terrible form, frightening the blacks and puzzling the whites under the name of the Bunyip.
In Dongola, at the present day, the crocodile is caught for the sake of its flesh, which is regarded as a delicacy. The flesh and fat are eaten by the Berbers, who consider them excellent. Both parts, however, have a smell of musk so strong that few strangers can eat crocodiles’ flesh without violent sickness following.
The Rev. Mr. Haensel, in his _Letters on the Nicobar Islands_, tells us that ‘part of the flesh of the crocodile, or cayman, is good and wholesome when well cooked. It tastes somewhat like pork, for which I took it, and ate it with much relish, when I first came to Nancauwery, till, on inquiry, finding it to be the flesh of a beast so disgusting and horrible in its appearance and habits, I felt a loathing, which I could never overcome; but it is eaten by both natives and Europeans.’ The aboriginal natives of Trinidad considered a broiled slice of alligator as a dainty morsel; and Mr. Joseph, the historian, records having tasted it, and found it very palatable. Tastes in this, as in other matters, differ.
Mr. Henry Koster, in his _Travels in Brazil_, says--‘I have been much blamed by my friends for not having eaten of the flesh of the alligator, and, indeed, I felt a little ashamed of my squeamishness when I was shown by one friend a passage in a French writer, whose name I forget, in which he speaks favourably of this flesh. However, if the advocate for experimental eating had seen an alligator cut into slices, he would, I think, have turned from the sight as quickly as I did.’ The Indians of South America eat these creatures, but none of the negroes will touch them.
Dr. Madden, in his _Travels in Egypt_, appears to have experimentalized on the saurians as food--
‘I got’ (he says) ‘a small portion of a young crocodile, six feet long, broiled, to ascertain its taste. The flavour a good deal resembles that of a lobster, and, though somewhat tough, it might certainly be considered very excellent food.’
The spectacled cayman (_Alligator sclerops_) is known under the name of yacaré, or jacquare, in South America. Azara, the naturalist, tells us that the eggs of this animal are white, rough, and as large as those of a goose; they are deposited, to the number of sixty, in the sand, and covered with dried grass. The Indians of Paraguay, and other districts, esteem them as food, and also relish the white and savoury flesh of this alligator, although it is dry and coarse. Cayman is the Spanish word for alligator, and, according to Walker, alligator is the name chiefly used for the crocodile in America.
Mr. Wallace thus describes an alligator hunt, as pursued on the lakes in Mexiana, an island lying off the mouth of the Amazon:--‘A number of negroes went into the water with long poles, driving the animals to the side, where others awaited them with harpoons and lassos. Sometimes, the lasso was at once thrown over their heads, or, if first harpooned, a lasso was then secured to them, either over the head or the tail, and they were easily dragged to the shore by the united force of ten or twelve men. Another lasso was fixed, if necessary, so as to fasten them at both ends; and, on being pulled out of the water, a negro cautiously approached with an axe, and cut a deep gash across the root of the tail, rendering this formidable weapon useless; another blow across the neck disabled the head; and the animal was then left, and pursuit of another commenced, which was speedily reduced to the same condition.
‘Sometimes the cord would break, or the harpoon get loose, and the negroes had often to wade into the water among the ferocious animals in a very hazardous manner. They were from ten to eighteen feet long, sometimes even twenty, with enormous mis-shapen heads and fearful rows of long, sharp teeth. When a number were out on the land, dead or dying, they were cut open, and the fat, which accumulates in considerable quantities about the intestines, was taken out, and made up into packets in the skins of the smaller ones, taken off for the purpose. After killing twelve or fifteen, the overseer and his party went off to another lake at a short distance, where the alligators were more plentiful, and by night had killed nearly fifty. The next day they killed twenty or thirty more, and got out the fat from the others. In some of these lakes 100 alligators have been killed in a few days; in the Amazon or Para rivers it would be difficult to kill as many in a year. The fat is boiled down into oil and burned in lamps. It has rather a disagreeable smell, but not worse than train-oil.’
The flesh of the land alligator, as it is termed by the Malays (the _Hydrosaurus salvator_), which occasionally attains the length of five or six feet, makes, it is said, good eating, and is much esteemed by the natives for its supposed restorative and invigorating properties. At Manila, these creatures are regularly sold in the markets, and fetch a good price; the dried skin is readily bought by the Chinese, who use it in some of their indescribable messes of gelatinous soup.
Another species eaten is the _Hydrosaurus giganteus_. Like that of the _Iguanæ_ of the New World, the flesh of these saurians is delicate eating, and has been compared to that of a very young sucking pig.
The eggs of all the different kinds of alligators, and there are three or four distinct species abounding in the Amazon and its tributary streams, are eaten by the natives, though they have a very strong musky odour. The largest species of alligator (_Jacare nigra_), reaches a length of 15 or rarely 20 feet.
Mr. Wallace, in his _Travels_, records, that on one occasion, the Indians on the Rio Negro supped off a young alligator they had caught in a brook near, ‘but the musty odour was so strong that I could not stomach it, and after getting down a bit of the tail, finished my supper with mingau, or gruel of mandioc.’
Alligators are killed in great numbers in parts of the river Amazon, for their fat, which is made into oil.
Hernandez states, that the flesh of the Axolotl, an aquatic reptile, is very agreeable and wholesome. It is the _Siren pisciformis_ of Shaw; the _Menobranchus pisciformis_, Harl. It is commonly sold in the markets of Mexico. When dressed after the manner of stewed eels, and served up, with a stimulating sauce, it is esteemed a great luxury. The flesh of the sauve-garde or common Teguixin of Brazil (_Teguixin monitor_ of Gray, _Teius Teguixin_) is eaten, and is said to be excellent.
The flesh of the common ada of Mr. Gray is accounted excellent by the natives of Guiana, who compare it to a fowl; its eggs are also in great request. It is the _Thorictes dracæna_, Bibron; _La grande dragonne_, Cuvier, and attains the length of four to six feet.
Some species of lizards are used as food in Burmah. One of these especially, called pada, is stated not to be inferior to a fowl,--this is probably the iguana. Nearly every species of serpent is eaten there, after the head has been cut off. All have a fishy taste. Some few kinds, however, although the teeth are carefully removed, cannot be used, as the flesh appears to be poisonous.
The flesh of snakes is eaten by many in Dominica, particularly by the French, some of whom are very fond of it; but it is reckoned unwholesome, and to occasion the leprosy.
A snake called, by the natives of Western Australia wango, is particularly liked by them as food.
There is a very venomous yellow-bellied snake, from five to six feet long, called locally dubyt, which is much dreaded; but that is also eaten by them.
The formidable lance-headed viper, of the Leeward Islands (_Trigonocephalus lanceolatus_), feeds chiefly on birds, lizards, and rats. After swallowing their prey, these snakes exhale a disgusting odour; this does not prevent the negroes from eating their flesh, which they find, it is said, free from any unpleasant flavour.
Mr. Buckland, in his interesting volume, _Curiosities of Natural History_, says, he once had the opportunity of tasting a boa-constrictor, that had been killed by an accident, and came into his possession.
‘I tried the experiment,’ he observes, ‘and cooked a bit of him; it tasted very like veal, the flesh being exceedingly white and firm. If I had had nothing else, and could have forgotten what I was eating, I could easily have made a dinner of it.’
The flesh of serpents was held in high repute by the ancients, medicinally; and, when properly prepared, seems to have made a very agreeable article of diet, corresponding with the turtle soup of the present day. Even now, in the French tariff, vipers are subject to a duty of 4_s._ the cwt.
In Guatemala, there is a popular belief, that lizards eaten alive cure the cancer. The Indians are said to have made this important discovery; and in 1780, the subject was investigated by European physicians. I do not find the remedy in the modern pharmacopœias, nevertheless, the inhabitants of Amatitlan, the town where the discovery was first made, still adhere to their belief in its efficacy. The man who first eat a live oyster or clam, was certainly a venturous fellow, but the eccentric individual who allowed a live lizard to run down his throat, was infinitely more so. There is no accounting for taste.
Probably some of our learned physiologists and medical men may be able to explain the therapeutic effects.
Some of the tribes of Southern Guinea, eat the boa-constrictor, or python, and consider it delicate food. The more informed among them, however, regard the practice as peculiarly heathenish. In Ceylon, the flesh of the anaconda, which is said to devour travellers, is much esteemed as food by some of the natives.
Who shall determine what is good eating? When we have gone over so many delicacies, we must not be surprised at men’s eating rattlesnakes, and pronouncing them capital food. An English writer, who has recently published a work entitled _A Ride over the Rocky Mountains to Oregon and California_, in describing the journey across the great desert, says:--
‘_12th July._--Shot two prairie dogs. Jem killed a hare and rattlesnake. They were all capital eating, not excepting the snake, which the parson cooked, and thought it as good as eel!’
The Australian aborigines, and some of the Kafir tribes, commonly eat snakes roasted in the fire--and stewed snakes may, for aught I know, be as good as stewed eels.
The Italians regale themselves with a jelly made of stewed vipers.
The Bushman of Africa catches serpents, not only as an article of food, but to procure poison for his arrows.
Various reliable accounts before me prove that rattlesnakes are not unfit for food, and may be placed among the multifarious articles regarded by man as delicacies of the table. The negroes eat the flesh of the rattlesnake, as well as that of other serpents. When the skin and intestines are removed, no bad odour remains. A correspondent of the _Penny Magazine_ thus describes his experience of fried rattlesnakes, at a tavern in Kaskaskia, a small town on the Mississippi. He finds there a party of four or five travellers, who had been on an exploring expedition:--