THE CRANE KIND. 179 



society as a gift of Heaven, as a protection from accidental evils. 

 The French, who are admitted to this part of the coast, cannot, with- 

 out some degree of discontent, see such a quantity of game untouch- 

 ed, and rendered useless by the superstition of the natives : they 

 now and then privately shoot some of them when at a convenient dis- 

 tance from the village, and hide them in the long grass, if they pei- 

 ceive any of the Negroes approaching; for they would probably stand a 

 chance of being ill treated, if the blacks discovered their sacred bird? 

 thus unmercifully treated. 



Sometimes, in their wild state, they are shot by mariners ; and their 

 young, which run excessively fast, are often taken. Labat has fre- 

 quently taken them with nets, properly extended round the places 

 they breed in. When their long legs are entangled in the meshes, 

 they are then unqualified to make their escape : but they still continue 

 to combat with their destroyer ; and the old ones, though seized by 

 the head, will scratch with their claws, and these, though tseemingly 

 inoffensive, very often do mischief. When they are fairly disengaged 

 from the net, they nevertheless preserve their natural ferocity ; they 

 refuse all nourishment ; they peck and combat with their claws at 

 every opportunity. The fowler is, therefore, under the necessity of 

 destroying them, when taken ; as they would only pine and die, if 

 left to themselves in captivity. The flesh of the old ones is black 

 and hard ; though, Dampier says, well tasted : that of the young ones 

 is still better. But, of all other delicacies, the flamingo's tongue is the 

 most cele-brated. " A dish of flamingos' tongues," says our author, 

 " is a feast for an emperor." In fact, the Roman emperors consider- 

 ed them as the highest luxury ; and we have an account of one of 

 them, who procured fifteen hundred flamingos' tongues to be served 

 up in a single dish. The tongue of this bird, which is so much 

 sought after, is a good deal larger than that of any other bird what- 

 ever. The bill of the flamingo is like a large black box, of an irre- 

 gular figure, and filled with a tongue which is black and gristly ; 

 but what peculiar flavour it may possess, I leave to be determined by 

 such as understand good eating better than I do. It is probable 

 that the beauty and scarcity of the bird might be the first inducements 

 to studious gluttony to fix upon its tongue as meat for the table. 

 What Dampier says of the goodness of its flesh, cannot so well be re- 

 lied on ; for Dampier was often hungry, and thought any thing good 

 that could be eaten : he avers, indeed, with Labat, that the flesh is 

 black, tough, and fishy ; so that we can hardly give him credit, when 

 he asserts, that its flesh can be formed into a luxurious entertain- 

 ment. 



These birds, as was said, always go in flocks together ; and they 

 move in ranks, in the manner of cranes. They are sometimes seen, 

 at the break of day, flying down in great numbers from the mountains, 

 and conducting each other with a trumpet cry, that sounds like the 

 word Tococo, from whence the savages of Canada have given them 

 th name. In their flight they appear to great advantage ; for they 

 then seem of as bright a red as a burning coal. When they dispose 

 themselves to feed, their cry ceases ; and then they disperse over a 

 whole marsh, in silence and assiduity, Their manner of feeding is 

 very singular : the bird thrusts down its head, so that trie upper con- 



