RroTH] ETIQUETTE OF EATING AND DRINKING 239 
Pinckard, speaking of the Arawak Indians on the Berbice, says: 
“They are very fond of drinking rum and eagerly swallow it to in- 
toxication. But they observe a kind of method in their drunkenness, 
for when they come to the towns in bodies of considerable number it 
is remarked that half the party will freely devote to Bacchus, while 
the other half carefully refrain, in order to watch the helpless; and 
these, when restored by sleep, are observed to take their turn of 
watching, and to guard their late protectors through similar visits 
to the deities of turbulence and repose. They have no pleasure in 
long sipping, but swallow large drafts of rum or drink quickly glass- 
ful after glassful till they are unable to move” (Pnk, 1, 519). 
281. Schomburgk says it was apparent that the Akawai on the 
Barima ate the snail, Ampullaria urceus Fers, as a “ pick-me-up ” for 
the nervous system after a “spree,” in the same way as herring salad 
is used among the Germans (SR, 1, 208). The same traveler speaks 
of another species, 4. ovinoccoensis Ziegler, as being eaten by Carib 
on the upper Pomeroon (SR, 1, 425), the text showing that the In- 
dians had been drinking the night before. A more drastic remedy 
would seem to have been in vogue in Surinam, where plaited mats 
and girdles, with stinging ants attached, would be placed upon the 
backs of the helplessly intoxicated guests (WJ, 91). 
