The curiosities of food

by P. L. Simmonds

‘A trench is dug under the whole length of the batters, in which a slow fire is kept up by the natives under the direction of one of the mates of the vessel. The earth from the trench is thrown against the sides of the house, which are at least two or three feet from the nearest batter, in order to prevent accident from fire. This is liable to occur, not only from carelessness, but from design on the part of the natives. As a further precaution, barrels filled with water are placed, about eight feet apart, along both sides of the batters.

‘After the house has been in use for about a week, it becomes very liable to take fire, in consequence of the drying and breaking of the material used in the lashings. In this case it is hardly possible to save any part of the building or its contents. To prevent the falling of the stages by the breaking of the lashings, fresh pieces of cordage are always kept at hand to replace those which are charred and show signs of becoming weak. A constant watch must be kept up night and day, and it requires about 15 hands to do the ordinary work of a house.

‘The fires are usually extinguished once in twenty-four hours, and the time chosen for this purpose is at daylight. The fish are now removed from the lower to the upper batter, and a fresh supply introduced in their place. This operation, in consequence of the heat of the batter, is hard and laborious, and 50 or 60 natives are usually employed in it.

‘Fire-wood is of course an important article in this process, each picul of bêche-de-mer requiring about half a cord to cure it. This fuel is purchased from the chiefs, who agree to furnish a certain quantity for a stipulated compensation. As much as 20 cords are sometimes bought for a single musket. In carrying on the drying, it is important that the doors be kept shut while the fires are burning. Much also depends upon the location of the house, whose length should be at right angles to the course of the prevailing winds. The batters also should be nearest to the lee side of the house.

‘Before beginning the fishery, the services of some chief are secured, who undertakes to cause the house to be built, and sets his dependents at work to fish the bêche-de-mer. The price is usually a whale’s tooth for a hogshead of the animals, just as they are taken on the reef. It is also bought with muskets, powder, balls, vermilion, paint, axes, hatchets, beads, knives, scissors, chisels, plane-irons, gouges, fish-hooks, small glasses, flints, cotton cloths, chests, trunks, &c. Of beads, in assorted colours, the blue are preferred, and cotton cloth of the same colour is most in demand. For one musket, a cask containing from 130 to 160 gallons has been filled ten times. When the animals are brought on shore, they are measured into bins, where they remain until the next day.

‘These bins are formed by digging a trench in the ground, about two feet in depth, and working up the sides with cocoa-nut logs, until they are large enough to contain forty or fifty hogsheads. If the fishery is successful, two of these may be needed.

‘Near the bins are placed the trade-house and trade-stand. In the first, the articles with which the fish is purchased are kept; and, in the second, the officer in charge of them sits, attended by a trusty and watchful seaman. The stand is elevated, so that the persons in it may have an opportunity of seeing all that is taking place around them. All the fish are thrown into the bin before they are paid for.

‘In these bins the fish undergo the operation of draining and purging, or ejecting their entrails. These, in some of the species, resemble pills, in others look like worms, and are as long as the animals themselves.

‘The larger kinds are then cut along the belly for a length of three or four inches, which makes them cure more rapidly; but care must be taken to avoid cutting too deep, as this would cause the fish to spread open, and diminish its value in the market.

‘When taken out of the bins and cut, the fish are thrown into the boilers, which are large pots, of which each establishment has five or six. These pots have the form of sugar-boilers, with broad rims, and contain from one hundred to one hundred and fifty gallons.