152 CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES. 



given to the noise, as though it had struck in a small 

 pipe and been forcibly ejected. The noise then for a 

 moment ceased, and the old man beckoned us to fol- 

 low quickly, as he plunged into the ravine and scram- 

 bled over great rocks and across a roaring brook. 



It was long after midnight when he finally stopped 

 at the side of a great rock, against which was built a 

 low cabin, the sides of logs, the roof of thatch. To 

 gain entrance we were obliged to penetrate a deep 

 thicket of low trees which completely screened it. As 

 the light from the torches revealed the dingy interior, 

 I involuntarily shrank back and thought wistfully of 

 the comfortable cave we had so lately left. Resigning 

 myself to the bed made for me, I was soon wrapped 

 in slumber. 



The old man, who had disappeared, re-appeared in 

 the morning with a good repast, — yams, iguana, and 

 land crabs — but all boiled. This circumstance, to- 

 gether with the absence of fire, led me to investigate 

 his cuisine ; and, if the reader has not already antici- 

 pated it, I can tell how this poor Carib utilized the 

 forces of nature and made them do his bidding. Fol- 

 lowing him to the ravine, I saw, in a small opening 

 in the ground whence issued puffs of steam accom- 

 panied by loud reports, the source of all the noises 

 of the preceding night. Near this steam-escape was 

 another hole whence the water bubbled up and over, 

 flowing off in a hot stream. Into this boiling spring 

 my friend lowered a tannier-root fastened at the end 

 of a lialine. The tannier is, when boiled, of greater 

 consistency than a potato, else he would have lost his 

 breakfast. In a few minutes the vegetable was com- 

 pletely cooked, and he drew it out. Meat he lowered 



