74 SEA FISH OF TRINIDAD 



room, drying houses, and barracks of the plantation. On 

 the South, one looks down into rich dells with a perfect 

 kaleidoscopic arrangement of the glossy green cacao leaves 

 interspersed with the pods of many hues ; while on the West, 

 Brigand Hill, about which gruesome tales are retailed in the 

 quarter about the days of the old buccaneers, especially the 

 renowned Blackbeard who is supposed to have opened many 

 a dead man's chest and bottles of rum in the Caves of Bri- 

 gand Hill. Further off in the blue-grey Mt. Harris forms an 

 appropriate background. But the "pi^ce de resistance" of 

 the picture is a large Pois doux (Inga), which has been entirely 

 monopolized by the cat's claw vine now in flower, and cover- 

 ing the tree with a veritable shower of gold. Nor is bird life 

 wanting. Jacamars with their greeny-gold breasts flit from 

 bough to bough, brilliant himiming birds in all hues from 

 flower to flower, the ubiquitous shrike or "qu'est ce qu'il 

 dit", of course, is omnipresent, whilst overhead flocks of 

 green parroquets and blue and yellow macaws fly past chat- 

 tering and screeching. 



G. A .F. having ventilated his political opinions and finished 

 with wine and wassail, returned from Port of Spain by first 

 train, and we made arrangements to go at once to Nariva 

 and Mayaro. I must here side-track a moment to narrate a 

 rather amusing incident that occurred on his return. I 

 have previously mentioned G, A. F.'s retainer, Harris, who in 

 a humble way reminded me of his illustrious prototype, the 

 Harris of Mark Twain in " The Tramp Abroad." Those who 

 have read that book may remember that America's cham- 

 pion jokist always insisted on Harris experimenting in the 

 first place on every new enterprise or undertaking. So it is 

 with mine host and his Harris. G. A. F. happens to be a very 

 ingenious mechanician, and has with infinite care and labour 

 built him an aeroplane. The machine had just bee|i finished, 

 and lay on the terrace before the house ready for trial. G. A. 

 F., being a very large and heavy man, thought that it would 

 be better to have the trial trip conducted by a light weight, 

 and called Harris for that purpose. Having shown him how 

 to handle the lever and explained the steering gear, he 

 ordered him to get into the aeroplane and try to clear the 



