Chap. IY. NEARLY POISONED. 97 



paste ; but, instead of doing so, he put in the whole 

 potful. The soup tasted rather hot, but we added boiled 

 rice to it, and, being very hungry, partook freely of it ; 

 and, in consequence of the overdose, we were delayed 

 several days in severe suffering, and some of the party 

 did not recover till after our return to the ship. Our 

 illness may partly have arisen from another cause. One 

 kind of cassava (JatrojpJia maligna) is known to be, in its 

 raw state, poisonous, but by boiling it carefully in two 

 waters, which must be thrown off, the poison is extracted 

 and the cassava rendered fit for food. The poisonous sort 

 is easily known by raising a bit of the bark of the root, 

 and putting the tongue to it. A bitter taste shows poison, 

 but it is probable that even the sweet kind contains an 

 injurious principle. The sap, which, like that of our 

 potatoes, is injurious as an article of food, is used in the 

 " Pepper-pot " of the West Indies, under the name of 

 " Cassereep," as a perfect preservative of meat. This 

 juice put into an earthen vessel with a little water and 

 Chili pepper is said to keep meat, that is immersed in it, 

 good for a great length of time ; even for years. No iron 

 or steel must touch the mixture, or it will become sour. 

 This " Pepper-pot," of which we first heard from the late 

 Archbishop Whately, is a most economical meat-safe in a 

 hot climate ; any beef, mutton, pork, or fowl that may be 

 left at dinner, if put into the mixture and a little fresh 

 cassereep added, keeps perfectly, though otherwise the 

 heat of the climate or flies would spoil it. Our cook, 

 however, boiled the cassava root as he was in the habit of 

 cooking meat, namely, by filling the pot with it, and then 

 pouring in water, which he allowed to stand on the fire 

 until it had become absorbed and boiled away. This 

 method did not expel the poisonous properties of the root, 

 or render it wholesome ; for, notwithstanding our sys- 

 tematic caution in purchasing only the harmless sort, we 



