Frank and Fred were naturally eager to ascertain what kind of fishes were to be found in the lakes, and they learned in a very practical way. Near Estrella they saw some men fishing with rod and line, and at their suggestion one of the boatmen obtained some of the fish, which proved to be a species of trout. They were not more than three or four inches long, and in order to cook them the boatman made a charcoal fire in the bottom of his craft. The fish were fried on the coals, and were remarkably fat and juicy. The youths thought they had not in a long time tasted anything so delicious, but the Doctor reminded them that they were hungry, and since early in the morning had been out in the open air.
HOME SCENE NEAR THE LAKE.
There are several varieties of fish in the fresh-water lakes of the Valley of Mexico, but in the salt or brackish Lake Tezcoco there is only one kind, and some people think he is not entitled to be called a fish. He is shaped like one, but has four legs and a long, eel-like tail. He belongs more properly to the lizard family than to that of the fishes, and is a disgusting object to contemplate. He grows to about ten inches in length. Frank thought he should go hungry a long time rather than eat of this reptile, who is called axolotl in the Aztec tongue, and ajolote by the Spaniards.
"Does anybody venture to eat this creature?" Fred asked.
"Certainly," answered his informant; "the Indians eat its flesh, which resembles that of an eel. White men who have got over their prejudice say it is toothsome, and many a stranger has devoured axolotl under the name of fried eel, and enjoyed it too."
"There's a great deal in a name and in prejudice," was the youth's commentary as he changed the subject to something else.
That something was a peculiar article of food even stranger than axolotl. Its scientific name is Ahuatlea Mexicana, and it consists of the eggs of a peculiar fly, which are deposited on the reeds and rushes growing in the shallow places along the borders of the lake. A traveller who visited Mexico two and a half centuries ago wrote of this substance as follows: