United States or United Kingdom ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The women were soon called up, bark-baskets of frogs opened for the exhausted travellers, by-yu nuts roasted, and, for a special delicacy, the Captain obtained a small fresh-water tortoise.
"You know how to talk, long tongue," answered the Captain; "And I know how to make you fat!" rejoined Imbat, forgetting his anger, and bursting into a roar of laughter, as he began stuffing his guest with frogs, by-yu nuts, &c.
My name was well known amongst them as a tried friend, although indeed my common denomination was "Wokeley brudder," or Oakley's brother; for, from my giving them flour, they concluded that I was a relation of the baker of that name at Perth. The women were soon called up, bark baskets of frogs opened for us, by-yu nuts roasted, and as a special delicacy I obtained a small fresh-water tortoise.
"You know how to talk; long tongue;" was my reply; upon which Imbat, forgetting his anger, burst into a roar of laughter, and saying, "and I know how to make you fat," began stuffing me with frogs, barde, and by-yu nuts.
The pulp of the nut of a species of palm is called by-yu, and it is a curious fact, that, although in its natural state this is a rank poison, the natives have, nevertheless, a method of depriving it of its mischievous qualities, and it becomes an agreeable and nourishing article of food.
Eggs of every species of bird or lizard. Five animals, something smaller in size than rabbits. Eight sorts of snakes. Seven sorts of iguana. Nine species of mice and small rats. Twenty-nine sorts of roots. Seven kinds of fungus. Four sorts of gum. Two sorts of manna. Two species of by-yu, or the nut of the Zamia palm. Two species of mesembryanthemum. Two kinds of nut. Four sorts of fruit.
In the meantime Kaiber came in and told me that he had found some holes in which the natives had, according to their custom, buried a store of By-yu nuts,* and he at the same time requested permission to steal them.
As but few places afford a sufficient supply of food to support a large assemblage of persons these Kwon-nat grounds are generally the spots at which their annual barter meetings are held, and during these fun, frolic, and quarrelling of every description prevail. No article of food used by the natives is more deserving of notice than the by-yu.
When they have ascertained that the by-yu has been immersed in water for a sufficient time they dig, in a dry sandy place, holes which they call mor-dak; these holes are about the depth that a person's arms can reach, and one foot in diameter; they line them with rushes and fill them up with the nuts, over which they sprinkle a little sand, and then cover the holes nicely over with the tops of the grass-tree; in about a fortnight the pulp which encases the nut becomes quite dry, and it is then fit to eat, but if eaten before that it produces the effects already described.
Word Of The Day