Page:Ports of the world - Canton (1920).djvu/53

CANTON Young dogs and old cats are still relished by the Cantonese, who value them as delicacies suited to the most particular palate, and the lives of dogs are as insecure in the city as the lives of dogs in Indian camps during times of famine, while many a cat has sung its midnight song on a Chinese fence and gone to make a Chinese stew before the night again succeeds the day.

Despite the popularity of rats, cats, and dogs as food in Canton, there is another creature whose flesh is considered as being even more delicious by many of the natives, both high and low caste, and that creature is the snake, which has been mentioned in previous chapters. Some of the Cantonese prefer to have the snakes served in broth, while others prefer them roasted to a crisp. It is a moot question among travelers as to which style of cooking is most highly favored by the natives. Nonpoisonous snakes are the most popular, the finest specimens bringing $8 or $9 in the markets.

The people of Canton understand perfectly well the gastric qualms of occidentals who hear of some of the favorite

Chinese dishes; but they do not permit such gastric qualms to change their eating