The dolphin, or delphinus, is the next most remarkable and beautiful fish which frequents the Caribbean. Painters and sculptors have represented it of a semiannular shape; but the true figure of the fish is straight and tapering, with the back very slightly curved. The snout is long and narrow, and armed with numerous sharp-pointed teeth; the French give it the name of Porc de mer; it has also been called the “prismatic fish,” from the assertion, that when in the agonies of death it presents the seven primary colours. Much has been said about the dying beauties of the dolphin; but how far more beautiful it looks sporting in its parent element with all the brightness of the emerald, and enjoying the life that has been given it! The flesh is firm, and of a very good flavour, although it is a rapacious fish, waging incessant war upon the poor little flying-fish, and devouring them with the greatest avidity.
The largest among the fish esteemed in Antigua as articles of food is the “Jew-fish,” which commonly weighs from three hundred to four hundred pounds. The flesh is reckoned one of the greatest luxuries the West Indian seas afford. It is, however, but seldom caught—probably one reason for its being in such repute—its visits, like angels’, being “few and far between.” A superstitious notion is attached to this fish—that its appearance bespeaks the death of some magnate of the Island; and accordingly, when tidings are brought that such fish is captured, all the old women lay their heads together to plan out who is to die. The king-fish, grouper, barracoota, cavallie, are equally esteemed for their gastronomic qualities; there are seasons, however, when the flesh of the barracoota is poisonous—a circumstance attributed by some persons to their feeding on copper banks.[[67]] The other poisonous fish found near Antigua are principally the “horse-eyed cavallie,” the yellow-billed sprat, and the conger eel: the flesh of the yellow-billed sprat has often proved fatal to those who have eaten it, and it has been known for death to take place six hours after tasting it. The poison is said by some to be contained in the head.
The stingray is another native of these seas, the meat of which is much esteemed by the Creoles. This fish is armed with a long, slender tail, in the middle of which is a sharp barb; with this instrument the stingray beats the water, or anything that approaches it, rapidly, when attacked. The negro fishermen allege, that the stroke from the stingray’s tail products leprosy, for which cause they are very careful in approaching it; and a circumstance has been related of a person having been thrown into a frenzy for forty-eight hours after being struck by this formidable weapon.
The corramou is the salmon of the Antiguan fisheries, as far as regards superiority of flavour. It is caught in the fresh-water stream which runs throughout the Island, but is rather scarce; it is the most delicate of the West Indian fish, and ought to be cooked as soon as taken from its parent stream. Snappers, hinds, silks, mullets, doctors, angels, old wives, nurses, Spanish mackerel, &c., are among the other kinds of fish exposed for sale in the Antiguan markets, some of which are noted for their excellent taste, the others for their brilliancy of hue; indeed, the most diversified colours, as yellow, purple, pink, orange, green, and blue, chequered with gold and silver, and the whole happily blended together, are to be observed in almost every species. The parrot fish is the most beautiful of its tribe. Its scales are of the deepest emerald, and its eyes, composed of different coloured circles, are as clear as crystal. It feeds upon shell-fish, which it crushes between its bony jaws, nature having armed it with such instruments in place of teeth. The negroes always call it “blue parrat;” its flesh is much esteemed by them, but the flavour is so rank, that it is never admitted at any respectable table. It sometimes attains the weight of from sixteen to twenty pounds. There are a great number of other edible fish which might be deservedly mentioned, but the pages of this work have so multiplied, that I must pass them over without further mention.
[[60]] The negroes term all cats, but more particularly kittens, “pussy.”
[[61]] The whale belongs to the class mammalia; order, cete. The food of the whale is lump fish, and small marine insects. Whalebone is procured from the lamina in the upper jaw, (commonly called whiskers,) which supplies the want of teeth. It is split and prepared for use in England.
[[62]] The grampus generally measures from 15 to 25 feet, and is of great circumference. It is a very voracious fish, feeding upon its neighbour the porpoise, when able. It also attacks the whale, and sometimes makes that huge animal cry out with pain. Pliny, the great Roman naturalist, who perished in that awful eruption of Mount Vesuvius, in A.D. 79, which also destroyed the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, when speaking of the grampus, says, “it is an immense heap of flesh, armed with dreadful teeth.”
The porpoise measures from six to nine feet in length, and may be found in all parts of the ocean, and even in the mouths of large rivers. It keeps in large shoals, and if one of the company receives a wound from the harpoon, the rest fall upon him and devour him. Formerly, it was esteemed a fish of such rarity, as to be introduced as royal fare; but in this degenerate age, its savoury qualities are generally over-looked, unless by sailors, who sometimes make a portion of it into a sea-pie.
[[63]] Some naturalists are of opinion that a fresh row of teeth is added every year. I have counted five rows in a shark’s mouth.