MUSEUM EXPEDITION" TO SAMANA, 192 8 3 



week. This novel form of labor turnover proved somewhat annoy- 

 ing but gave the greatest satisfaction all round. 



No fresh water was found in any of the caves explored, although 

 a small quantity of water saturated with calcium carbonate dripped 

 from the cave ceiling at several points. This water, because of its 

 lime content, was not potable. Stalactites and stalagmites were 

 readily formed. Apparently such water occasionally had been used 

 by the aboriginal occupants of the caves, as shards of broken earthen- 

 ware vessels and a few unbroken bowls were picked up from the cave 

 floor near the stalactites. These shards were coated with calcium 

 carbonate and frequently were not recognized as earthenware frag- 

 ments until the lime incrustations were removed. Springs of fresh 

 water at several places flowed from the base of cliffs in the narrow, 

 eroded ravines of the mainland of the south shore. Here the abo- 

 riginal population of the caves obtained their supply of potable 

 water. 



A plentiful supply of edible fish was obtained by Abraham and 

 his crew by sinking several fish pots of plaited bamboo strips into 

 the shallow water of a small cove near the cave where living quarters 

 were established. Fish nets of cotton cord had been woven by the 

 pre-Columbian Indian occupants of the caves, but the sole reminder 

 of this aboriginal fishing practice was the recovery of several net 

 weights of notched stone from the middens near the cave entrances. 



As the " staff of life " of these prehistoric cavemen consisted essen- 

 tially of the meat of the conch and other shellfish, it is of interest 

 to note that we were unable to find a bed of live conchs anywhere near 

 the caves of the Playa Honda coast, although a careful search was 

 made at various points. Natives professing to know of conch beds 

 never were able to locate one, although a small number of recently 

 dead conch shells of the same species, Strovibus pugilis Linnaeus, 

 as those of the cave deposits were found in one of the shallow coves 

 near the keys. The absence of beds of live conchs is remarkable, as 

 the bulk of the midden material covering the cave floors is made 

 of these shells. Fishing for conchs is to-day an unknown art to the 

 Dominicans of Samana, although conchs had formerly been included 

 in their diet. 



Conch shells were frequently found on the surface or in near-sur- 

 face deposits. These had been pierced or broken open with metal 

 blades for extraction of the meat. The Indian method of extracting 

 the conch from its shell depended in part on the use of fire, in roasting 

 or boiling, the shell being subsequently pierced with a small hole in 

 which was inserted a small shell pick. In place of this more refined 

 method the heated shell was apparently battered with a stone until 

 broken open. 



