THE MAN OF THE FOREST. 61 



peculiar custom of inoculating with the juices of 

 acrid plants. The Creoles of Surinam have 

 apparently adopted from the Indians, through the 

 bush negroes, a supposed protection against snake 

 bites, which they confidently believe not only to 

 prevent these venomous creatures from biting them, 

 but also to ward off any evil effects should they 

 do so. The principal ingredient used is the pounded 

 head of a labaria, or rattlesnake, mixed with the 

 juices of certain plants, and this is generally rubbed 

 into an incision on the wrist or fore-arm. No doubt 

 the confidence resulting from perfect faith in this 

 remedy enables the Creole to handle the snake with 

 impunity, while cases of recovery from bites, which 

 are by no means rare, add to its reputation. What 

 the Indian thinks of his beenas, however, it is 

 almost impossible to say ; possibly he never thinks 

 at all, but simply uses them because his ancestors 

 have done so for ages. In a general way he believes 

 that the fact of his having been inoculated, for 

 example, with the jaguar beena, promotes his 

 success in hunting that animal, but how it can 

 do so is another matter. It has been suggested 

 that he thinks it makes him invisible, less con- 

 spicuous, or perhaps covers his scent, thus allow- 

 ing him to approach within a very short distance 

 of his game without alarming it As this is a very 



