the month of March to August. About the middle or latter end of the
last-mentioned month the shifting of shells takes place, and the fish
is unfit for human food; but, like silkworms after a change of skin,
they commence feeding in the most voracious manner directly the new
garment is durable enough to admit of their taking their walks abroad,
and their temporary seclusion and compulsory abstinence is amply made
up for by a course of heavy feeding. The lost plumpness and condition
soon return, and the winter season furnishes Lobsters equal in goodness
and flavour to any caught “in _high lobster time_.” It has been
remarked by many experienced shell-fish dealers that the Lobster is
exceedingly local in its habits, and there are some who profess to be
able to recognise the natives of particular localities by their general
appearance and the colour of their shells. Unlike some crustaceans who
are coldly indifferent to the welfare of their offspring, the mamma
Lobster keeps her little brood about her until the youthful lobsterkins
are big enough to start in life for themselves.
The coasts of British North America, as well as many portions of the
sea board of the United States, abound in mail-clad inhabitants of
many kinds. In some localities great amusement is at times afforded
by their capture--a sort of _pic-nic_ or _lobster frolic_ being
organised. A boat with plenty of eatables, drinkables, and a capacious
cooking pot are provided, and long poles with their ends split (much
as the extremities of clothes-pins are fashioned) prepared. On the
boat or skiff being propelled slowly through the shallow water, a
sharp look-out is kept on the regions below, and on the Lobster
being discovered, the split end of the pole is lowered quietly, and
with the greatest caution, until just over the unsuspecting victim’s
back, when by a sudden downward thrust, the forceps like instrument
securely nips him, and he is brought to the surface in spite of his
claws and the pinches he inflicts on the tough, unyielding wood. Some
overhanging rock, or pleasant nook on the shore, is usually selected
as a place in which to dine and cook the proceeds of the Lobster hunt.
The driftwood and such dry sticks and shrubs as the neighbourhood will
afford, are used as fuel to boil the pot, and the revels proceed right
joyously. The bays, shallows, and mouths of rivers on the coast of
Prince Edward’s Island, abound in a species of sea-weed, known amongst
the inhabitants as “_eel grass_;” on this vast numbers of Lobsters
feed as in a rich sea garden. To these favoured hunting-grounds the
Lobster-catchers betake themselves, and by wading little more than
half-leg deep gather as many as they require. A bushel basket has been
filled in this way in less than an hour.
Like the branching growths of sub-marine life which form the connecting
link between the vegetable and animal kingdoms, we find crustaceans,
dwelling, so to speak, on the border lands of other races, and
linking the shrimp, crab, and lobster families together; partaking of
the nature of each, but being identical with neither: such are the
so-called _squat lobsters_ or _Galathea_. Three well-marked kinds are
to be met with more or less abundantly; these are the _Olive squats_
(_G. squamifera_), the _scarlet squat_ (_G. nexa_), and the _painted
squat_ (_G. strigosa_); all these are of comparatively small size, the
largest or painted description rarely exceeding three and a half inches
in length. The singular alertness of all the race renders capture
somewhat difficult. Like the lobsters they possess extraordinary powers
of vision and retrograde movement. The horns are extremely long, and so
sensitive that the slightest touch seems to reveal at once the nature
of an approaching object, and enables the alarmed squat to seek a safe
sanctuary between the rock clefts, from which, he is by no means easy
to withdraw.
[Illustration]
The spined lobster (_Palinurus vulgaris_), _crawfish_, _cray_, or
_crowder_, will from its thorn-coated shell, long horns, powerful
nippers, and generally formidable appearance, be familiar to most
of our readers. Like most other crustaceans the Cray delights in a
home among rugged sunken rocks, and is taken in the traps laid down
for ordinary lobsters and crabs. It not unfrequently happens whilst
line-fishing over sunken reefs, or on rocky ground, that, on a bite
being felt and the line drawn in, a steady drag is felt as though a
cuttlefish had grasped the bait; on looking down into sea beneath
the boat, in all probability the Cray will be seen in all his spined
armament, coming on at the end of the line like a sea porcupine with
horns. Some care will be needed to coax him deftly onward until the
net is well under, or your line and Cray are likely to part company.
These thorn-clad heroes, “in their spiked armour like Egyptian _porke
pigs_,” are not held in as high esteem for the table as their more
smoothly-plated relations--their flesh being of harder texture and of
a sweet flavour is objected to by professed lobster-eaters; still, to
our taste, a well-conditioned “_porke pig_,” the shape of a Crayfish,
is by no means to be despised. Some portions of the Pacific Ocean,
and the warm seas of the East, contain them in vast numbers. Many
spots on the coast of South America, and the bays and inlets of the
island of Juan Fernandez, literally swarm with them; and it is to be
questioned whether Robinson Crusoe, or Man Friday either, would have
ever consented to leave that fertile and picturesque locality if they
had entertained the least idea that it was surrounded by countless
thousands of Crays in a perfect fever of anxiety as to whose good
fortune it would be to get boiled first.
Some idea may be formed of the abundance of animated creatures of
this and other kinds to be taken in these seas, by the following
account of the fishing to be obtained in them, given by the Hon. F.
Walpole:--“The fishing afforded the best return for labour, and a boat
might be filled in four hours with hook and line only. Fish swarmed
of every size and colour, and seemingly of every variety of appetite,
for they took any bait. The bottom was literally lined with Crawfish
of a large size; some must have weighed five pounds at least. There
needed no hook--a piece of anything let down on a string to the bottom
was enough; they saw it, grasped it, and kept their hold till you had
seized them by their long feelers and borne them into the boat, where
they crawled about and extended their feelers as if in search of more
bait. The Conger eels, which were almost as numerous as the Crawfish,
were great enemies to us, for they took up time in the catching,
and their execution, which followed immediately, was a work of some
skill--Gordian knots, twists, and all manner of wriggles being used
to evade the knife raised to slay them, and frequently their powerful
teeth enabled them to bite through the wire and escape with hook, bait,
and line. Catching Crawfish was one of the favourite amusements of
the seamen. One man held a pole, on which was fastened a bait thrown
into the water near the beach; one or two others stood ready, and when
the Crawfish, allured by the bait, had approached within attainable
distance, those dogs of war pounced upon him, and he was high and dry
upon the beach before he had even meditated a retreat. The boat-keepers
in the boats alongside used to let down pieces of net spread on the
hoops of a cask, with pieces of bait inside them. In a few minutes
these were hauled up, and one of our simple friends appeared seated,
greatly enjoying the travelling. Sometimes two or three came up
struggling for standing room. But enough of Crawfish, I will only add
that we thoroughly enjoyed both the catching and the eating. We had
crawfish for breakfast, crawfish for dinner, crawfish for supper, and
crawfish for any incidental meal we could cram in between. The last I
saw of my friends was with their long feelers wreathing about, as they
were borne about Valparaiso as presents on our return.”
We learn from the old authors that Apicius, after profoundly studying
the culinary art at Minturnus, in Campania, where he feasted right
royally on Crawfish, in order, it is said, to strengthen and improve
the appetite--at length feeling that change of scene and provender
were needed, and opportunely hearing that Craws of marvellous size
and surpassing excellence were captured on the coast of Africa, the
sage knew no rest until he had obtained a ship and had set sail for
that favoured land. The voyage proved prosperous, and, as might be
reasonably anticipated, as the shore was neared a sea-earned appetite
of more than ordinary intensity set in, and the philosopher’s first
thoughts rested on the delicious crustaceans he had journeyed so far to
enjoy. The dusky fishers, roused into bustle and activity by the august
arrival, soon brought the spoils of their crawfish hunt, rejoicing no
doubt at their quick success; but the Craws were found, like most other
things when made the subject of long anticipation, by no means equal
to the exaggerated standard, and were contemptuously sent with their
owners to the right-about, orders being given that larger specimens
might be immediately brought. On being informed that to do so would
be impossible, Apicius at once expressed his supreme contempt for
Africa, Crawfish, and all else, ordered his pilot to attend, and gave
directions for instant departure for Italy.
Pliny speaks of Crawfish of such huge dimensions, “_four cubits long_,”
that we are almost led to believe they must have been the creation of a
wild, distempered dream rather than substantial realities.
The tables of ancient Rome were often garnished with dishes of Crawfish
served with asparagus; and it is our decided opinion that many worse
things are daily partaken of by the gourmands of this enlightened age,
notwithstanding the much-vaunted march of improvement in cookery.
The coral reefs fringing the island of Mauritius afford shelter
to members of the family of _Palinurus_, which in both size and
splendour of colouring far excel those taken in our seas. Some we had
an opportunity of examining when freshly caught, by the fishermen of
that fertile isle, looked so much like works of art that we could
almost fancy Pallisey, that king of potters, must have returned to
life, and that these were some of his choicest productions. Some
were of delicate sea-green banded with white and ultra-marine blue,
alternately. Others were striped with pale yellow, black, and green,
whilst all were so highly glazed, and carried such a brilliant polish,
that we deeply regretted the perishable nature of living things, and
sighed as we reflected on the waste of so much loveliness on the more
than half-heathen crew of Malabar coolies who grinned and chattered
round the captives, and who had no appreciation whatever for crustacean
perfection, except in association with rice and a brass cooking-pot.
[Illustration]
THE COMMON RIVER CRAYFISH.
(_Astacus fluviatilis._)
This little crustacean is very abundant in many of the rivers of
England, although it is by no means as general as might be anticipated
from its habits and mode of life. Rivulets and rivers in which clear
streams flow, are its favourite resort, and the holes amongst the roots
of trees, stones, or banks beneath the water, form snug retreats for
it. It is somewhat strange that in the western portion of England,
where running streams abound, the fresh water Cray is (except by name)
unknown. Its food consists of animal substances, the spawn of fish,
vegetable matter, the larvæ of water insects, &c. The rich scarlet
colour assumed after boiling makes the Cray a great favourite for
garnishing purposes; pic-nic parties are often formed for the sport
afforded in taking them. Long sticks or rods with cord lines, to which
pieces of bait are tied, are made use of to allure the Cray within the
reach of a small hand-net, when he is scooped out; some enterprising
anglers endeavour to throw them over their heads without using the net,
others in their anxiety to inveigle the coquettish crustacean, slip
on some slippery tree-trunk or moss-grown stone, and pay an unwilling
visit to the home of the Crays at the bottom. Pinched fingers and other
small catastrophes serve but to add to the general fun and hilarity of
the river-side revellers. In some of the West India Islands torchlight
expeditions of a like character are made to the streams flowing from
the hills, and the Crays lifted out, after having been previously
treated to pieces of _manioc_-root abundantly cast in the water for
them. This substance has the property of stupefying such shell-fish as
are silly enough to eat it, and the Cray pays the penalty of his too
unsuspicious disposition. The rivers of France are abundantly supplied
with _Ecrevisses_, as they are called in that country; enormous numbers
are eaten every day in Paris, and the other large cities and towns of
the continent. They are prepared in various ways for the table, and the
celebrated _potage à la bisque_ is made from them.
A number of methods are had recourse to for their capture, amongst
which may be mentioned the sinking by stones, in localities known
to abound with them, rough bundles of thorn-sticks, with offal of
some description fastened up in them. The Crays, in their attempts
to obtain the dainty tit-bits, force their way through the entangled
twigs, and are unable to retreat with sufficient speed to escape being
drawn out when the Cray-catcher hooks out his treacherous _fascine_.
Small pieces of frog are highly esteemed baits. These are laid down
in considerable numbers along the course of the stream, and are after
some time visited, and the feasting Crays brought to bag. Some persons
are sufficiently indifferent to the nips they receive as to insert the
hand and arm beneath the roots and hollow banks, and so drag forth
their prey. There are other methods for Cray capture, but most of them
depend on the use of bait placed in traps, much like those used for
prawns, or some contrivance where entrance is easy and exit difficult,
and it is remarkable that in every country in the known world the same
principle is taken advantage of, in the construction of traps for fish,
birds, and animals. Whether we visit the almost unknown chains of ponds
among the gum-tree woods of Australia, the fern-clad river-banks of New
Zealand, the great streams flowing through North-west America, or the
tangled forests bordering the jeels, nullahs, and rivers of Central
India, basket traps of various sizes and forms, but all alike in their
mode of operation, will be found. Some we stumbled on while hunting
among the Bheels of Candeish were of elegant design,--trumpet mouthed,
and beautifully woven from the split-up fibres of single bamboo-joints,
the knot at the small end being left to form a sort of plug-hole,
through which the bait was introduced.
_A. fluviatilis_ shifts his shell, much in the same manner as his
salt-water cousins, and, like them, is painfully nervous and retiring
in his habits during the hardening of the new case with which nature in
due time protects him. Like the sea lobster, the Cray is wonderfully
prolific, producing as many as 100,000 eggs in the breeding season,
which are carried securely about for some time by the parent fish
tucked up under the abdomen, and defended by the lateral rows of legs
and claws. A notion prevails in some localities that the goodness
of water may be surely tested by boiling a Cray in it, when, if the
quality is all that could be wished, the colour of the Cray should be
clear and bright red; whereas, if impure, the fish is said to remain
dull and lustreless. This, although a very old opinion, appears much
on a par with the idea, equally old, that a frog in a tea-kettle would
prevent the water therein contained from ever boiling. We greatly
fear, however, that a good brisk fire would not only go far towards
dissipating the superstition, but at the same time make it peculiarly
unpleasant for the frog. It has been stated, on good authority,
that _A. fluviatilis_ lives to a good old age under favourable
circumstances. Desmarest says that it has been known to live for more
than twenty years, and that it increases in size as age advances.
We are disposed to think, however, that there must be a limit to
development far within twenty years, or we should at times encounter
some “grandfather Cray” who would be far more pleasant to follow than
to meet, at any rate in his own element.
The ancient Greeks appear, from the writings of early historians, to
have held the Cray in high esteem; and Alexandria had the reputation
for producing it of the best quality. The Romans, too, were not
behind-hand in their appreciation of the luxury, and some quaint
ingredients are mentioned by the old writers as being requisite to
complete the operations connected with its preparation. After being
boiled, we are told that the Cray was eaten flavoured with _cummin_ and
seasoned with pepper, _alisander_, parsley, dried mint, and more cummin
ground and mixed with honey, vinegar, and garum, with some liquid
perfume. Bosc informs us that “Crayfishes can be preserved several
days, not too warm, in baskets with some fresh grass, such as the
nettle, or in a bucket with three-eighths of an inch of water. If there
were enough water in it to cover them they would die in a few moments,
because their great consumption of air does not allow them to live in
water unless it is continually renewed.” The strange, mysterious waters
flowing through the mammoth caves of Kentucky contain, amongst other
wonders, considerable numbers of these interesting creatures; and we
have recently been favoured with a sight of two specimens of remarkable
size and beauty of form brought from the interior of Venezuela.
Although neither crab, shrimp, or lobster, the bold and adventurous
diver as a “submarine armour-clad,” holds a conspicuous position, as
with helmet of proof, and ponderous, metal-soled boots, he plunges
fearlessly beneath the wave, and prosecutes his researches “full
fathoms five,” amongst the strange, weird fastnesses and cavernous
depths of the deep sea. Huge and terrible as he with his eyes of glass,
and India-rubber skin, must appear to the lesser inhabitants of the
ocean’s realms, there are “Tritons amongst the minnows,” who fear
him not, and would think little of making a meal of him, in spite of
his crystalline eyes and indigestible equipment. The records of the
voyage of H.M.S. _Fawn_ serve to show that the human “armour-clad,”
when submarine in his occupations, is by no means “Monarch of all he
surveys.” “The gunner of the _Fawn_, being a very expert diver, was
employed to recover the treasure from the Peninsular and Oriental
Company’s ship _Ava_, wrecked a few years ago on the coast of Ceylon.
Having, in a gutta-percha dress, made his way into the saloon, he was
busily searching for the bullion, when, to his horror, he saw a huge
ground shark come sailing in at the door. With great presence of mind
he lay motionless on the locker, and watched it silently and quietly
cruising about. One can well imagine his feelings when he saw its cold
green eyes fixed upon him, and felt it pushing against the leaden soles
of his boots, and rubbing against his dress, the slightest puncture
in which would have been certain destruction. About ten minutes of
suspense were thus passed, which must have seemed an age, during which
the monster came back twice or thrice to have another look at him. Mr.
Pound’s courage and coolness were at length rewarded by seeing him
steering his way back as he came. Afterwards, Mr. Pound always armed
himself with a dagger when he went down to the wreck, from which he
recovered altogether 22,000_l._, having spent some 850 hours under
water. He had also some narrow escapes at times from the opening
and shutting of the iron plates of the ship as they worked with the
roll of the sea. The air-pipe was twice severed from his helmet, but
fortunately, slackening it warned the people above to lose no time in
rescuing him from his perilous position.”
One is almost tempted to envy the cunning, miserly old crabs, who
have it all their own way down amongst the branching coralines and
vase-shaped sponges, and crawl to their very hearts’ content over the
piles of sunken treasures scattered there. Treasures are there, too,
not of man’s garnering, growing like rich sea-flowers beneath the
waves. The sea feathers, or _plume corals_, are examples of these,
and are found sprouting, like ocean fern-leaves, from the rock cave’s
ledges, far down in the deep still water between the reefs; and we
shall see how a love for the beauty of Nature’s handiwork not only
led to the crabs being deprived of their hoard, but, favoured by good
fortune, proved a guide to wealth, station, and ultimately, nobility.
Thus goes the story, which, unlike many of a somewhat similar kind, has
the priceless advantage of being literally true. In the year 1650, one
Phipps, a blacksmith, of Pemaquid, in New England, was blessed with a
son, who was christened William, and who in very early life manifested
much ingenuity and a passion for ship-building. Very shortly after
the term of his apprenticeship to a shipwright had expired, he built
a vessel for himself, which he navigated in person; and hearing it
reported that a Spanish ship, freighted with bullion, had sunk in the
neighbourhood of the Bahamas, he at once betook himself to the scene
of the disaster, and made the most determined but fruitless efforts
to recover the lost gold. Treasure-seeking now appears to have become
a fixed occupation with Captain Phipps. In the year 1683 we find
him employed by the English Government to discover another lost ship
(also Spanish), of immense value. This he failed in accomplishing, but
became convinced that perseverance in the search would be ultimately
crowned with success. For five years he was unsuccessful in his urgent
applications for funds to renew his investigations, when the Duke
of Albemarle, the then Governor of Jamaica, not only fully credited
the assurances of Captain Phipps, but, better still, furnished him
with ample means and fitting apparatus for his new expedition. How he
reached the scene of his labours--how every lagune and gulf between
the reefs was searched in vain, until hope well-nigh vanished--we need
not dwell on here. No wreck could be discovered, and he had almost
determined to abandon the undertaking in despair, when, after a day of
more than ordinary fatigue and anxious exploration amongst the coral
rocks, his boat’s crew were rowing him slowly and dejectedly back to
his ship, one of the sailors directed his attention to a beautiful _sea
feather_, growing from the ledges of a sunken rock. “Alas!” said poor
Phipps, “there is a sea treasure indeed. I wish I could get it.”
One of the good-humoured black divers who accompanied him, anxious
to oblige his commander, shot rapidly down to the coveted specimen,
and just as rapidly returned with it, exclaiming--“_Feather safe,
fine feather, but plenty big cannon down where feather live._” This
report, as may be readily imagined, made the sinking heart of the poor
captain leap again. Blackey was despatched to the regions below to
take another look at matters, and after a short absence came back with
the glorious news that there were “_plenty big boxes too, and lots of
this_,”--exhibiting his dusky paws filled with silver. Now the captain
was in his true element at last; and there lay the work he loved so
well, ready cut out for him; and he proved quite equal to the occasion,
for from that deep gulf, far down among the corals and the Crabs, in
whose custody it had quietly remained for more than half a century,
he brought to light thirty-two tons of silver bullion, besides large
quantities of gold, pearls, and other valuables. We find that Phipps
was knighted by James II. He was appointed Sheriff of New England, and
took command of a large expeditionary force against the French. We
afterwards find him in command of a fleet fitted out to oppose the same
enemy in Canada, and subsequently taking part in the Border warfare of
the period, as a leader of some celebrity; and at this point of his
career we bid adieu to Sir James Phipps and the happy-chance discovery
which led him on to greatness.