PAPERS ON BIOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE 73 



strous living being in whose powerful and gigantic mouth 

 even whole canoe loads of people were swallowed down, 

 canoe and all, at a gulp. 



We neared the island we sought to ascend first, tacking 

 our canoe as we came close to it. The canoemen then shoved 

 the craft up to the foot-rock, which shelved somewhat out 

 to sea from the almost perpendicular wall of the island 

 which extended heavenward over one hundred feet. Then 

 by a "swinging" of the boat backward and forward in a 

 side movement with the waves, we jumped from it onto the 

 foot-rock and briskly scampered up the island before the 

 next wave struck us. 



Soon we were on top of the island. And such a hoiTible 

 noise as the birds did make; and who could blame them? 

 From time immemorial their home had been sacked by 

 cruel man. But we were not there for that purpose. The 

 poor birds, however, did not know this. The shrieking of 

 the mothers scared the young and they even jumped off the 

 rocks and perished. We looked over the island and made an 

 estimate of the birds. We also dug up a few of the burrow- 

 ing fowls to be sure that they were denizens of the place. 

 But the birds did not take to our intruding on their do- 

 main. An angry mother petrel spat on us and a sea parrot 

 ruined my coat with her powerful beak while I was trjing 

 to photograph her. 



Leaving this rock we went over to the Indian village and 

 were lucky to encounter a medicine perfoiTnance of the old 

 type. An old medicine man was dipping his hands in water 

 and doing a crude massage on the sick one. It seemed to be 

 a case of heart trouble. Finally the medicine man took his 

 pocket knife and cut out the skin in a circular ring about as 

 large as a saucer over the heart region. Then he began to 

 suck on the afflicted parts with his protruded lips as the 

 blood besmeared his face. Suddenly he jumped to his feet 

 as he gripped his hands tightly together and exclaimed : 

 "I've got the 'Skukum.' I've got the sick."' He then showed 

 us some hard, black substance of considerable size between 

 his fists. It was something black; but what? This the 

 doctor burned in the room fireplace and the patient was well 

 at once. 



