l8 HUNTING EXTINCT ANIMALS 



hose was turned upon them. Then Neptune and his fol- 

 lowing, assisted by the initiates, plunged into the water 

 and the ceremony was over. Later each of us received 

 an illuminated certificate assigning us to various fish 

 families, and entitling us to rove at pleasure over the seven 

 seas. 



How old the ceremony is I do not know, but a Spanish 

 traveler in the early part of the seventeenth century de- 

 scribes just such a ceremony as the "rescate" or ransome, 

 differing from the above only in that the duckings, 

 etc., were imposed because the novices could not give 

 satisfactory reasons for entering Neptune's domain, and 

 the captain was fined a dinner for the whole crowd. It is 

 doubtless a mockery of the ancient custom of sacrificing 

 to the god of the sea to propitiate him when the early 

 voyagers entered his realm ; but it must have been a deep 

 rooted custom to have survived with so much detail and 

 uniformity. It is only on the palatial passenger boats 

 that the ceremony is dying out. 



Five days later, after rounding Cape St. Roque, the 

 easternmost point of Brazil, we came in the middle of the 

 afternoon to Bahia, the second city of Brazil, famous as 

 the center of the South American diamond trade and for 

 its immense and sweet oranges. Here for two hours we 

 tooted vigorously and impatiently for the medical officer, 

 who at his own convenience came aboard, and proved to be 

 an impressive colored dignitary with a uniformed attendant 

 to carry his book. 



We had arrived in the midst of a great jubilee. The 

 President of Brazil, accompanied by five war vessels, 

 among them the San Paulo, famous for its revolt, was 

 visiting this capital city of the great province of Bahia; 

 and his entire stay was made a holiday, from Friday until 

 Tuesday inclusive, on which days no man worked. As 

 soon as we were allowed we all went ashore to see this 

 picturesque two-level town, and to have a land dinner. 



