80 CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES. 







king, old George, who was named for King George 

 the Third, tottering toward the plantations, to spend 

 for rum some money he had earned. There were two 

 sovereigns, in fact, for the Carib chief held in his 

 hand a golden one, of English coinage. The houses 

 are low and thatched deeply with calumet grass tied 

 in bundles and lashed tightly upon frame-works of 

 poles. Some of them were open at the sides, though 

 a few were built up at sides and ends, with wooden 

 doors and shutters. Near each hut is the cook-house, 

 a roof of thatch supported upon four poles ; or again, 

 merely a "lean-to," the roof slanting up from the 

 ground with just room enough for the cook to squat 

 under while attending the fire. 



Beneath this roof, on a few stones which support 

 the cooking-utensils, is usually an old iron pot, which 

 serves a variety of uses. Twice a day it is brought 

 into requisition for the household ; at other times it is 

 open to the inspection of hogs and strangers. The 

 rudest cabins, but at the same time the most pictu- 

 resque, were those composed wholly of grass and reeds 

 with wattled sides, looking like the huge stacks of 

 grass one sees on marshes and meadows in America. 

 Even the doors of these huts were made of canes and 

 flags, wattled together with reeds, while the windows 

 were merely loop-holes. The roads, though narrow 

 bridle-paths, are good, as the Caribs seem to take a 

 pride in keeping them in order. Either through fear 

 or pride they obey all the laws imposed upon them by 

 the crown and colony, and always perform their quota 

 of road labor without a murmur. 



The path turned suddenly, and at the base of the 

 hill we came abruptly upon the Riviere Saint Marie, 



