AMONG THE CARIBS. 83 



sugar-birds, and drowsy bees. This is the valley in 

 which I became acquainted with the " Cannibal 

 Caribs " of Columbus, this secluded spot on the At- 

 lantic coast of Dominica, in the month of April, 1877- 



As servant and guide I was fortunate in securing a 

 half Carib, named Meyong. At least, Meyong was 

 the nearest English equivalent for his barbarous French 

 name. He was, as I have said, but half a Carib ; the 

 other half was black ; colors so deftly mingled, so 

 skillfully laid on, that they resulted in a rich olive 

 brown quite a fashionable shade. Meyong hunted 

 with me, found for me people to do my heavy work, 

 ate my food and drank my rum, and slept. He did 

 everything but work ; and yet he was the most faith- 

 ful, trustworthy servant I ever had, and anything I 

 wanted he would get, or, if too much trouble for him, 

 induce some one to get for me. He studied my wants 

 so closely that I had ever a retinue of willing young- 

 sters at beck and call, all conjured up by Meyong 

 to relieve his labors. His faithfulness and literal 

 obedience to orders are well illustrated by the manner 

 in which he procured for me a cook. 



We passed several weeks tranquilly together. My 

 hammock swung in the breeze at night, and I was 

 careful not to hunt in the breathless heat of noon. 

 But there comes an end, sooner or later, to human 

 enjoyment. Our cook, Meyong's sister, concluded, 

 without warning, to visit a friend on the far side of 

 the mountain ; and one day, when my guide and my- 

 self returned hot and weary from the hunt, the sun at 

 meridian and the parched earth radiating heat like a 

 furnace, there was no breakfast, and no one to get it, 

 either. 



