456 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



At last the leading kaiaks shoot into the little bight in front 

 of the village. They are those who have no seals. Lightly and 

 with assured aim one after the other dashes up on the flat beach, 

 carried high upon the crest of the waves. The women stand 

 ready to receive them and to draw them farther up. 



Then come those who have seals in tow ; they must proceed 

 somewhat more cautiously. First, they cast loose their prey and 

 see that it comes to the hands of the women on shore. Then they 

 themselves make for the land. When once they have got out of 

 the kaiak they, like the first comers, pay no heed to anything but 

 themselves and their weapons, which they carry to their places 

 above high- water mark. They do not even look at their prey as 

 it lies on the shore. From this time forward all work in connec- 

 tion with the " take '' falls to the share of the women. 



The men go to their homes, take ofl^ their wet clothes, and put 

 on their indoor dress, which, as we have seen, was in the heathen 

 times exceedingly airy, but has now become more visible. 



Then at last comes the first meal of the day ; but it does not 

 begin in earnest till the day^s " take " is boiled and served up in a 

 huge dish j^laced in the middle of the floor. Then there disappear 

 incredible quantities of flesh and raw blubber. 



When hunger is appeased, the women always set themselves 

 to some household work, sewing or the like, while the men give 

 themselves up to well-earned laziness, or attend a little to their 

 weapons, hang up the harpoon line to dry, and so forth. 



NATURE'S TRIUMPH. 



By JAMES RODWAY, F. L. S. 



IN the temperate regions of the world man overcomes Nature, 

 but in the tropics he makes little or no impression. The In- 

 dian has lived in the great forest of South America for ages, yet 

 hardly a trace of his presence can be found. The ordinary trav- 

 eler sees no sign of him for jierhaps a hundred miles, and would 

 be inclined to say that nothing but a desolate wilderness had ever 

 existed. Yet, if we believe the early travelers, the coast from the 

 river Orinoco to the Amazon was once fairly well peopled. The 

 powerful Carib the savage of " Robinson Crusoe " was guard- 

 ian of the coast, and strong enough to repel every invasion of the 

 Spaniard, while the gentle Arawak " Man Friday " occupied 

 the upper reaches of every little creek. 



Even where the country is not deserted the Indian villages are 

 still hid away in the virgin forest, the inhabitants and their palm- 

 covered shelters harmonizing with everything around. Unlike 



