52 BULLETIN 134, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



William Markham says that as a rule the San Bias Indians do not 

 sail directly with the wind, but rather on a tack, so as to enable the 

 boat to roll over the waves, instead of plowing through the Avaves 

 head on, which might swamp the boat. 



The sails are made from the bark of a tree that the natives call 

 "icoruca" (Tule). The ropes employed, including the long rope 

 attached to the end of the boom, are made from a tree called " tuba 

 ciba " (Tule). A small star is usually carved or painted on the bow. 



Markham writes that the boats "cayuca" (Tule) seem as light as 

 a feather and ride the water like a swan. Some of the boats have a 

 pole reaching from the mast to a crotched stick placed at the bow. 

 Over this a sail is spread for shelter in case of rain. Each boat is 

 provided with a small iron or pottery stove for burning charcoal. 

 A peculiarity of the San Bias sailors lies in their reluctance to spend 

 the night on land in a strange city, such as Colon. This corresponds 

 with the custom enforced in the case of strangers visiting the villages 

 of the San Bias coast, who are never permitted to spend the night on 

 land in San Bias territory. 



William Markham describes a sea voyage from El Tigre Island to 

 Monkey Island in such a manner as to arouse admiration for the 

 skill of the Tule as sailors. 



" He (the Tule fisherman) said we would start at midnight, when 

 the breeze started. He woke me up at 1 o'clock in the morning and 

 we placed part of my things in his big cayuca. Everything else 

 had been made ready by Jake before he called me. The cayuca was 

 anchored about 50 feet from shore in shallow water, it had all its 

 sails set and when I flashed my light on it as it lay there in the 

 darkness it was a pretty sight to look at. 



" On getting aboard I found he had made my bed in the bottom 

 of the cayuca. Pulling up the anchor and tightening the sails, 

 we set out from shore. We were to the leeward of the island and 

 got but very little breeze, not a motion of the boat, and everything 

 was lovely, I thought. But when we got from behind the island, 

 the boat went over on its keel and stayed there. We were now get- 

 ting the full force of the breeze. I crawled out of my bed and 

 perched my self on the upper edge of the boat. He was on the star- 

 board tack and he kept telling me to get down in the bed and to go 

 to sleep, that everything was all right. His wife lay curled upon a 

 seat just in front of him sound asleep. 



" It was one of the darkest nights I had ever experienced. Not 

 a star in sight, not a guiding mark of any kind. He was pointing 

 out the various small islands that we passed. He could not see 

 them, but knew just where they were. We had no lights of any 

 kind. There was no ballast in the boat and it seemed as liffht as a 



