the city for much of the siege. He also led the way in providing humanitarian relief to foreign nationals, including ethnic Germans. Food & fuel shortages As the siege wore on, food supplies dwindled, and prices skyrocketed. The authorities instituted price controls on certain staple foods at the beginning of the siege, but these were rendered ineffective by a lack of enforcement and the rampant black market in the city. Until mid-October there was no rationing of any kind, and afterwards only meat was subject to rationing (bread was rationed at the very end of the siege). There were also no attempts to limit hoarding and speculation. Many of the wealthier residents were well-placed to weather the siege since they had put aside stores of food before it began. Infant mortality soared because of the lack of fresh milk. Poor women and their children suffered the most of anybody. Their husbands had the relative advantage of their 1.50 francs per day National Guard pay, "little enough of which reached their wives", and the fact that they were occupied, because "anyone who was occupied - even the National Guardsman warming himself in the bistro while his wife queued for food - had a better chance of survival." Parisians turned first to horses in early-October to supplement their dwindling supplies of fresh meat. By mid-November, fresh meat had truly run out in the city, and butchers began offering dog and cat meat. People also turned to rats for meat, although the numbers of rats consumed was relatively low due to fear of disease, and the expense of preparing rat meat in order to make it edible. Once the supply of those animals ran low, the citizens of Paris turned on the zoo animals residing at Jardin des plantes. Even Castor and Pollux, the only pair of elephants in Paris, were slaughtered for their meat. A Latin Quarter menu contemporary with the siege reads in part: * Consommé de cheval au millet. (horse) * Brochettes de foie de chien à la maître d'hôtel. (dog) * Emincé de rable de chat. Sauce mayonnaise. (cat) * Epaules et filets de chien braisés. Sauce aux tomates. (dog) * Civet de chat aux champignons. (cat) * Côtelettes de chien aux petits pois. (dog) * Salamis de rats. Sauce Robert. (rats) * Gigots de chien flanqués de ratons. Sauce poivrade. (dog, rats) * Begonias au jus. (flowers) *