The Lesser Antilles 341 



of the remains of a peccary, which he found in 1912, 

 show conclusively that in quite recent times the fauna 

 of Cuba, at least, was allied to that of the not distant 

 mainland. A hundred other facts might be cited which 

 point to the same conclusion. Very probably long- 

 tailed monkeys, related to those of South and Central 

 America, once existed in the Antilles, but have gone 

 the way of all the living. Many species of West Indian 

 birds are now totally extinct. The introduction of the 

 mongoose into Jamaica led to the total destruction in 

 that island of many species of birds, which nested on 

 the ground. The parrots of Cuba are going rapidly. 

 The destroyer in this case is a human mongoose. He 

 is a dealer in "parrots, and during the past year he has 

 shipped to New York City many thousands of living 

 parrots. The poor birds live a year or two in the court- 

 yards of New York homes, being taught to plead the 

 needs of 'Pretty Poll." In vain they squawk forth 

 their woes, as they shiver in the frosty air, and then find 

 their last resting places in garbage-cans. ' Parrots are 

 getting to be scarce in Cuba," says my assistant, "in the 

 next ten years they will all be gone/' A fine business, 

 this! Why should any man be allowed to strip an 

 island of its bird-life, just to put a few dollars, all of 

 which is "blood-money," into his filthy pockets? 



We left the market-place and drove through the out- 

 skirts of the town into the country. We were struck 

 by the diminutive size of the gray weather-boarded 

 houses of the people. They are toy-houses. In fact 

 they are only sleeping apartments. They could be 

 picked up and hauled away on a cart. There were 

 hundreds of them lining the roads in the suburbs. 

 None of them had chimneys. The cooking is all done 

 in the open air in their rear. Cane-fields cover 



