126 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



shafts and with solid wooden wheels of Calophyllum wood, which are 

 inclosed in iron tires usually made from old gun barrels. 



Leather of excellent quality is made from the hides of cattle and buf- 

 falo and from deerskins. The principal tan bark used is that of Pithe- 

 colobium dulce, a leguminous tree of Mexican origin. Shoes are com- 

 monly made without heels, after the Philippine fashion, the uppers of 

 yellow deerskin, ornamented with red leather, and the soles of cow skin 

 or buffalo hide. Very good shoes are also made after European styles. 

 Ordinarily while working on their farms the people wear sandals, for 

 making which a piece of sole leather is kept on band in each f amity. 

 Each individual cuts sandals to the shape of his foot, as he may require 

 them, securing them by thongs passing backward on each side of the 

 foot from between the first and second toes. 



As a rule, the masonry work on the island, chiefly stone walls and 

 the basements of houses, is substantial but crude. In squaring the 

 stones and in laying them horizontal the mason frequently depends 

 upon his eye, though he may have both square and level at home. The 

 result is, as may well be imagined, that frequently the corners of 

 buildings supposed to be square are by no means right angles, and 

 stone steps and terraces intended to be horizontal are far from it. On 

 having his attention called to such defects the workman may excuse 

 himself by saying, "Ay, senor, I am not a master mason. I didn't 

 know you were so particular about having it square. I'll go home and 

 get my level and square; or will you send your boy to borrow Don 

 Juan's?" 



The source of both the stone and the mortar used for building is 

 chiefly coral rock. Coral fresh from the reef is not used, as it contains 

 salt and remains moist for a long time, and the mortar it yields is also 

 salty, with a tendency to remain soft and sticky. Coral hummocks 

 for building are taken from the reef and allowed to weather for a long- 

 time, and the best of lime is burnt from coral rock and limestone of 

 the ancient reefs composing the greater portion of the island. 



PREPARATION OF FOOD. The principal food staples of the natives 

 are maize, rice, breadfruit, yams, taro, sweet potatoes, leguminous 

 pods and seeds, and several species of Cucurbitaceae. They often eat 

 fish of various kinds, venison, pork, and chicken, and less frequently 

 beef. Wild ducks (Anas oustaleti) are highly esteemed. The sport 

 of trawling under sail for bonito and other game fish has died out, and 

 fish are caught only in tide pools and with cast nets along the beach. 

 Most of the cooking is done in kitchens adjacent to the dwellings, 

 raised like the latter from the ground and connected by means of a 

 bridge or a solid terrace of masonry filled in with earth. In the 

 kitchen there is a raised shelf at the end opposite the direction of 

 the prevailing wind covered with earth which is retained by raised 

 slabs along the edge. Stones are arranged in pairs at certain dis- 



