420 . CASSAVA, THE FOOD OF THE CARTES. 



The juice of the cassava which is squeezed from the mata- 

 pie is boiled until all the prussic acid is driven off, and it 

 becomes a thick, syrupy fluid known as Casareep. It is 

 usually stored in bottles, but much of it is used immediately 

 to make the staple dish of the Caribs, called Pepperpot. All 

 kinds of animal food, mammals, fishes, and birds, if not 

 smoked for preservation, are boiled in casareep with a large 

 quantity of pepper, and are thus preserved in a thoroughly 

 fresh condition for any length of time. The only disadvan- 

 tage — or advantage as some think — is that all the meat is 

 reduced to one flavour, that of the casareep itself. It is 

 much to be regretted that this fluid, which is of such value 

 as a flavouring and preservative agent, is not more readily 

 procurable in this country, where it has only to be known to 

 be thoroughly appreciated. 



There are many other articles of food used by the Caribs, 

 but they are all looked upon as luxuries. Cassava bread, 

 pepperpot, and paiwarie, are the staple articles of diet. 

 Curiously enough, birds' eggs are not used, although the 

 common barn-door fowl is found at every settlement ; but 

 the eggs of turtle, iguana, and tortoise, and sometimes that 

 of the alligator or cayman, are used abundantly. Ants, 

 grubs, and the gru-gru worms are often used, the latter 

 being the larva of the Calandra palmaruin. Fruits, yams, 

 plantains, bananas, and maize are of course plentiful, but are 

 only used as luxuries. 



Besides the paiwarie liquor, there is another drink, made 

 from sweet potatoes and sugar-cane, called CassiiH, which 

 tastes like claret ; and Givy, made from the sap of the Aeta 

 palm, which tastes like Sauterne. All of them, but chiefly 

 paiwarie, are used at the drinking feasts, which are given 

 to all the tribes for miles around in honour of a marriage, a 

 funeral, or the formation of a new settlement. 



