210 CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES. 



descended from an ancient family, met me and aided 

 me in my search for a house, and I was comfortably 

 fixed before night in a little house of reeds, wattled 

 and thatched. It contained two rooms eight feet 

 square, separated by a matting of tied wild-plantain 

 ribs. The result of my observations here is incorpo- 

 rated in chapter nine, but there are some incidents of 

 Indian life that have not been alluded to in that 

 narrative. 



My nearest neighbor was " Captain George," an 

 Indian descended from the " Black Caribs." That is, 

 his father, or grandfather, was a negro, while his 

 mother, or grandmother, was a Carib. From either 

 paternal or maternal ancestor he had inherited a kinky 

 wool and rather thick lips, but the Indian blood 

 showed itself strongly. Captain George was intelli- 

 gent beyond the average Carib, and possessed a good 

 knowledge of the ancient language, which his grand- 

 mother, who had " brung him up," had taught him ; 

 and as he was always ready to impart to me the words 

 and idioms of the Indian tongue, I was a frequent 

 visitor to his cabin, where I would sit for hours listen- 

 ing to the tales and traditions handed down from his 

 ancestors. He had an interesting family ; and, as he 

 had married a "Yellow Carib," a woman of uncontami- 

 nated Indian blood, his children did not resemble in 

 complexion either him or his wife. Nothing can bet- 

 ter show this difference than the photograph I took of 

 the group one afternoon, as we returned from hunting 

 in the hills. The children were blessed with abun- 

 dant, black, straight hair, which was worn by the 

 girls in long braids ; it was a trifle coarser than that 

 of the mother, but yet beautiful. 



