IV.
… IT is no use for me to attempt anything like a detailed
description of the fish Cyrillia brings me day after
day from the Place du Fort: the variety seems to be infinite. I have
learned, however, one curious fact which is worth noting: that,
as a general rule, the more beautifully colored fish are the
least palatable, and are sought after only by the poor. The
perroquet, black, with bright bands of red and yellow; the
cirurgien, blue and black; the
patate, yellow and black; the
moringue, which looks like polished granite; the
souri, pink and
yellow; the vermilion
Gouôs-zie; the rosy
sade; the red
Bon-Dié-manié-moin
("the-Good-God-handled-me")—it has two queer
marks as of great fingers; and the various kinds of all-blue
fish,
balaou,
conliou, etc. varying from steel-color to
violet,—these are seldom seen at the tables of the rich. There
are exceptions, of course, to this and all general rules: notably
the
couronné, pink spotted beautifully with black,—a sort of
Redfish, which never sells less than fourteen cents a pound; and
the
zorphie, which has exquisite changing lights of nacreous green
and purple. It is said, however, that the zorphi is sometimes
poisonous, like the
bécunne; and there are many fish which,
although not venomous by nature, have always been considered
dangerous. In the time of Père Dutertre it was believed these
fish ate the apples of the manchineel-tree, washed into the sea
by rains;—to-day it is popularly supposed that they are rendered
occasionally poisonous by eating the barnacles attached to
copper-plating of ships. The
tazard, the
lune, the
capitaine,
the
dorade, the
perroquet, the
couliou, the
congre, various
crabs, and even the
tonne,—all are dangerous unless perfectly
fresh: the least decomposition seems to develop a mysterious
poison. A singular phenomenon regarding the poisoning
occasionally produced by the bécunne and dorade is that the skin
peels from the hands and feet of those lucky enough to survive
the terrible colics, burnings, itchings, and delirium, which are
early symptoms, Happily these accidents are very rare,
since the markets have been properly inspected: in the time of Dr. Rufz,
they would seem to have been very common,—so common that he
tells us he would not eat fresh fish without being perfectly
certain where it was caught and how long it had been out of the
water.
The poor buy the brightly colored fish only when the finer qualities
are not obtainable at low rates; but often and often the catch is
so enormous that half of it has to be thrown back into the sea.
In the hot moist air, fish decomposes very rapidly; it is impossible
to transport it to any distance into the interior; and only the
inhabitants of the coast can indulge in fresh fish,—at least sea-fish.
Naturally, among the laboring class the question of quality is
less important than that of quantity and substance, unless the
fish-market be extraordinarily well stocked. Of all fresh fish,
the most popular is the tonne, a great blue-gray creature whose
flesh is solid as beef; next come in order of preferment the
flying-fish (volants), which often sell as low as four for a
cent;—then the lambi, or sea-snail, which has a very dense and
nutritious flesh;—then the small whitish fish classed as
sàdines;—then the blue-colored fishes according to price,
couliou, balaou, etc.;—lastly, the shark, which sells commonly
at two cents a pound. Large sharks are not edible; the flesh is
too hard; but a young shark is very good eating indeed. Cyrillia
cooked me a slice one morning: it was quite delicate, tasted
almost like veal.
The quantity of very small fish sold is surprising. With ten
sous the family of a laborer can have a good fish-dinner: a pound
of sàdines is never dearer than two sous;—a pint of manioc flour
can be had for the same price; and a big avocado sells for a sou.
This is more than enough food for any one person; and by doubling
the expense one obtains a proportionately
greater quantity—
enough for four or five individuals. The
sàdines are roasted over
a charcoal fire, and flavored with a sauce of lemon, pimento, and
garlic. When there are no
sàdines, there are sure to be
coulious
in plenty,—small
coulious about as long as your little finger:
these are more delicate, and fetch double the price. With four
sous' worth of
coulious a family can have a superb
blaffe. To
make a
blaffe the fish are cooked in water, and served with
pimento, lemon, spices, onions, and garlic; but without oil or
butter. Experience has demonstrated that
coulious make the best
blaffe; and a
blaffe is seldom prepared with other fish.
