44 BULLETIN 14 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Hunting- was limited, through the fact that there were no large 

 animals. Hunting was of less importance than fishing. The jutia 

 was hunted by burning the grass to drive it out. Communal drives 

 were organized in the dry season only. Clubs were extensively 

 used in hunting, and the small dumb dog frequently mentioned in the 

 literature was also employed. These dogs themselves were eaten 

 and, along with the iguana, were considered a delicacy. The iguana 

 was stewed over a slow fire. An interesting feature was the develop- 

 ment of an earthenware " chafing " dish exactly suited to this purpose. 



Raw food was also consumed in the form of underdone fish, while 

 worms, spiders, and grubs removed from rotting wood were eaten 

 uncooked. Fire was made by friction. A set of fire sticks was car- 

 ried by the native on his journeying. 



Several ingenious devices and methods of catching birds were 

 employed by the Taino of Haiti. In Cuba a captive parrot was used 

 as a decoy to capture other parrots. A native equipped with a captive 

 parrot, a noose, and an ambush of straw would climb to the top of a 

 tree. When he touched the parrot's head, it cried out and attracted 

 other parrots. The noose was slipped over the head of an inquisitive 

 parrot, its neck wrung, and let fall to the ground. 



Fishing and water transport. — Fishing was probably more de- 

 veloped among the Ciguayans than among the river tribes of the 

 tropical lowlands of South America. New fishing devices and a 

 development in the fishing gear of the Haitian natives is to be noted. 

 Their use of fishhooks is mentioned in the literature, but the fishhook 

 is not specifically described. It was probably fashioned of bone and 

 was an instrument of one piece only. Like most sedentary tribes, 

 the Taino were in the habit of visiting unsettled regions in conduct- 

 ing their hunts, or when fishing they visited uninhabited shores and 

 islands. Large drawnets of finely woven cotton were fashioned 

 and generally employed by the island Arawak but not by the Carib 

 of the Lesser Antilles. The trident spear and 3-pointed arrow (mul- 

 tiple head), along with the use of poison, played a part in their 

 fishing lor. A fishhook of shell was found by the expedition in 

 Samana. 



A unique development in West Indian fishing technique was the use 

 of the sucker fish (remorra). The powerful sucker developed on 

 the upper side of the head is naturally used by this species of fish to 

 attach itself to other fish. This was observed by the Indians, who 

 developed this phenomenon to their own use. A remorra was cap- 

 tured alive, a cord tied to it, and then allowed to escape until it 

 became attached to a large fish by means of its sucker. Both fish 

 were then drawn in by means of the cord, the captured fish disen- 

 gaged, and the remorra again set free to attach itself to another fish. 



