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.

V

There are four dishes which are the holiday luxuries of the

poor:--_manicou_, _ver-palmiste_, _zandouille_, and _poule-épi-diri_.[52]

[Illustration: MARKET, FORT-DE FRANCE

_Daily, at dawn, these carriers stream in from the

country with burdens of fruit upon their heads._]

The _manitou_ is a brave little marsupial, which might be called

the opossum of Martinique: it fights, although overmatched, with the

serpent, and is a great enemy to the field-rat. In the market a manicou

sells for two francs and a half at cheapest: it is generally salted

before being cooked.

The great worm, or caterpillar, called _ver-palmiste_ is found in the

heads of cabbage-palms,--especially after the cabbage has been cut out,

and the tree has begun to perish. It is the grub of a curious beetle,

which has a proboscis of such form as suggested the creole appellation,

_léfant_: the "elephant." These worms are sold in the Place du Fort at

two sous each: they are spitted and roasted alive, and are said to taste

like almonds. I have never tried to find out whether this be fact or

fancy; and I am glad to say that few white creoles confess a liking for

this barbarous food.

The _zandouilles_ are delicious sausages made with pig-buff,--and only

seen in the market on Sundays. They cost a franc and a half each; and

there are several women who have an established reputation throughout

Martinique for their skill in making them. I have tasted some not less

palatable than the famous London "pork-pies." Those of Lamentin are

reputed the best in the island.

But _poule-épi-diri_ is certainly the most popular dish of all: it is

the dearest, as well, and poor people can rarely afford it. In Louisiana

an almost similar dish is called _jimbalaya_: chicken cooked with rice.

The Martiniquais think it such a delicacy that an over-exacting person,

or one difficult to satisfy, is reproved with the simple question:--"_Ça

ou lè 'nco-poule, épi-diri?_" (What more do you want, great

heavens!--chicken-and-rice?) Naughty children are bribed into absolute

goodness by the promise of poule-épi-diri:--

--"_Aïe! chè, bò doudoux!

Doudoux ba ou poule-épi-diri;

Aïe! chè, bò doudoux!_"...

(Aïe, dear! kiss _doudoux!--doudoux_ has rice-and-chicken for

you!--_aïe_, dear! kiss _doudoux!_)

How far rice enters into the success of the dish above mentioned I

cannot say; but rice ranks in favor generally above all cereals; it is

at least six times more in demand than maize. _Diri-doux_, rice boiled

with sugar, is sold in prodigious quantities daily,--especially at

the markets, where little heaps of it, rolled in pieces of banana

or _cachibou_ leaves, are retailed at a cent each. _Diri-aulaitt_, a

veritable rice-pudding, is also very popular; but it would weary the

reader to mention one-tenth of the creole preparations into which rice

enters.

[Footnote 52: I must mention a surreptitious dish, _chatt_;--needless to

say the cats are not sold, but stolen. It is true that only a small

class of poor people eat cats; but they eat so many cats that cats have

become quite rare in St Pierre. The custom is purely superstitious: it

is alleged that if you eat cat seven times, or if you eat seven cats, no

witch, wizard, or _quimboiseur_ can ever do you any harm; and the cat

ought to be eaten on Christmas Eve in order that the meal be perfectly

efficacious. . . . The mystic number "seven" enters into another and a

better creole superstition;--if you kill a serpent, seven great sins are

forgiven to you: _ou ké ni sept grands péchés effacé._]