Wallace, in his travels on the Amazon, tells us that the Indians stewed
a sloth for their dinner, and as they considered the meat a great
delicacy, he tasted it, and found it tender and very palatable.
Among other extraordinary animals for which Australia is proverbial,
is the _Echidna hystrix_, or native porcupine, which is eaten by
the aborigines, who declare it to be ‘cobbong budgeree (very good),
and, like pig, very fat.’ Europeans who have eaten of them confirm
this opinion, and observe that they taste similar to a sucking pig.
There appear to be two species of this animal, the spiny echidna and
the bristly echidna; the first attains a large size, equalling the
ordinary hedgehog. It has the external coating and general appearance
of the porcupine, with the mouth and peculiar generic character of the
ant-eater.
The flesh of the great ant-eater (_Myrmecophaga jubata_, Linn.) is
esteemed a delicacy by the Indians and negro slaves in Brazil, and,
though black and of a strong musky flavour, is sometimes even met with
at the tables of Europeans.
The armadillo, remarkable for its laminated shell, when baked in its
scaly coat is a good treat, the flesh being considered delicate eating,
somewhat like a rabbit in taste and colour. The flesh of the large
twelve-banded Brazilian one (_Dasypus Tatouay_) is said to be the best
of all. In South America there are several species of armadillo, all of
which are used for food when met with.
Mr. Gosse states, that this animal feeds upon soft ground fruits and
roots, and also on carrion, whenever it can find it; and a large
proportion of the sustenance of this, as well as of other species,
is derived from the numberless wild cattle which are caught and
slaughtered on the Pampas for the sake of their hides and tallow, the
carcases being left as valueless to decay, or to become the prey of
wild animals. Notwithstanding the filthy nature of their food, the
armadillos, being very fat, are eagerly sought for by the inhabitants
of European descent, as well as by the Indians. The animal is roasted
in its shell, and is esteemed one of the greatest delicacies of the
country; the flesh is said to resemble that of a sucking pig.