RoTH] ANIMAL FOOD 209 
feet long (ScO, 219). I am in doubt as to whether snake flesh is . 
ever eaten, even by Carib. 
220. Crabs are sought for particularly at those two seasons of the 
year when they are said to “march.” As fast as they can be picked 
up on these occasions from the mud flats, etc., they are packed into 
quakes (baskets). Large parties of Indians will join in these expe- 
ditions. Roasting in the ashes is the usual preparation before eating, 
but it is not rare to see them eaten raw. They may also be caught 
in nets or in special baskets (pl. 51 A) on the upper Rio Negro (KG, 
mm, 42). To understand the meaning of the crab’s march, 1. e., accord- 
ing to the belief and accounts given by the Warrau, it must be remem- 
bered that from January to June these luscious crustaceans are to be 
found only in their holes—one in each—along the mud flats of the 
Guiana coast line. They come out to feed at night, and their special 
food would appear to be the fallen seeds of the mangrove, the 
courida (Avicennia),and kai-dira. It is not known whether each re- 
turns to its own lurking place, but the Indians state that if a hole be 
emptied of its crab and visited a few days later, it will be found 
occupied. Crabs can only be dragged out of their holes with the 
naked hand during the course of the early morning, say, before 10 
o’clock, because, as the Warrau say, they “ work with the sun”; 1. e., 
starting by lying on their stomachs, with claws down, they gradually 
turn over, and by midday rest on their backs with claws up. In July, 
with the first low tide after full moon, the first “ march” for the year 
takes place. The crabs, emerging from their holes at dead low tide, 
run down along the mud flats in shoals of thousands and thousands, 
pushing, edging off, biting, and fighting one another, all making for 
the water, and returning with the same washing tide. A similar 
procedure takes place at the next low tide. The object of the march 
is said to be the capture and impregnation of the female, whose eggs 
may now be said to be fertilized, and from this month onward until 
December the mudholes will be found occupied by two crabs—a male 
and a female. 
In August the chief march of the year takes place with the first 
three low tides after full moon, and it is especially in this month that 
the Indians from the upper reaches of the coastal rivers will come 
down for their share of the spoil. In September there may be four 
marches under similar conditions of moon and tide, but by this time 
the majority of the shellfish will have mated, and the numbers taking 
part in the march accordingly much fewer. So also in October there 
may be occasionally two final marches. About Christmas time the 
eggs are hatched, and now the tiny baby crabs will start burying 
themselves in the mud, and as they grow the size of the occupied holes 
becomes proportionately increased, and here they will remain in 
