170 ARTS AND CRAFTS OF GUIANA INDIANS [BTH. ANN. 38 
equipments being followed by a regiment of Caribbes infantry, 
“Sotillo’s men,” as they were proud to be called; “ Sotillo’s blood- 
hounds,” as their enemies called them. Each was equipped with his 
bow and quiver of arrows suspended over his back, and shouldering 
a lance, his only clothing a narrow strip of girdle and the lap. At 
the present time on the upper Rio Negro the Indians will attack the 
larger wild animals, bush hog and jaguar, at close quarters with 
wooden spears (stosslanzen) as long as themselves, tipped with a 
broad lancet-shaped piece of iron of European manufacture (KG, 1, 
107). De Goeje records an iron-tipped spear from among the pres- 
ent-day Trio of Surinam (GOK, pl. vy, fig. 14). What material 
immediately preceded the iron tip it is now difficult to say. The 
nearest geographical reference that I can call to mind is from the 
old Estado Coro, between Maracaibo and Caracas, occupied by the 
Indios Caiquetias, who had wooden spears tipped with bone points. 
Of prehistoric evidence, stone spearheads have occasionally been un- 
earthed in the northwestern coastal area of our own colony. Two 
such specimens, of quartz and jasper, are to be seen in the George- 
town Museum (pl. 36 A). In Cayenne the only mention of a spear 
is that by Barrére of the old-time short pike (demie pique, or spon- 
ton) of the Palicour, who called it serpo. This was a weapon of dis- 
tinction, and used only by the chiefs of the nation (PBA, 167). On 
the whole, spears would seem to have been more generally employed 
in the western than in the eastern Guianas. Certain very curious 
spears for fishing are noted from the Orinoco Indians by Gumilla 
(G, 1, 281), while Schomburgk speaks of the Warrau using light 
spears for killing fish (SR, 1, 163), but in both cases the statements 
are unaccompanied with descriptions. The latter author is probably 
referring to the harpoon spears (sec. 148). More recently there has 
been recorded a curious three-pronged fish spear, made of iriartea 
palm, used on certain branches of the upper Rio Negro (KG, 1, 34). 
Mention also has been made and illustration given of a two-pronged 
spear from the Apaporis (KG, mu, 30). Arawak speak of a spear 
as shiparari, though they do not nowadays employ one. It gives, 
however, a name to their lanceolate pointed arrow (sec. 137). Spe- 
cially carved and decorated spears are used with the wicker dance- 
shields by the Desana when kaapi is being drunk, and upon such 
occasions only. The upper end of the weapon is forked and each 
fork tipped with a piece of wood, bone, or a rodent tooth fixed 
with kuraua twine. At its lower extremity is a spindle-shaped en- 
largement in which pebbles are inserted by means of two longitudinal 
slits to form a kind of rattle. This spear is not struck on the ground, 
but while held fore and aft horizontally is struck on the performer’s 
shoulder (KG, 1, 345). Reference must be made to the poison spears 
