ror] TIME, SEASON, NUMBER, DISTANCE (alr 
year’s end, will know exactly when to come down to the coast for the 
crab season, striking it certainly within 24 hours of the time when 
the crabs begin to march (sec. 220). The division of the year into 
months, for which there are no distinguishing Indian terms, is, of 
course, secondary, and thus we can understand Gumilla’s statement 
that the Orinoco Indians distinguished each month by the fruits that 
matured in it, every month of the year having its particular kind 
(G, 1, 307). Schomburgk’s assertion that the Makusi divide the 
year up into months, each beginning and ending with the new 
moon (SR, 1, 328), is somewhat more difficult to appreciate in that 
the Makusi are but an offshoot of the Carib, who certainly did not 
distinguish portions of the solar year by any lunar divisions. Con- 
sidering that this traveler spent most of his time with the Makusi, 
that his interpreters, one of whom he took to England, were Makusi, 
it is more than likely that his statement was derived from sophisti- 
cated sources. 
After year and season, the next division of time was day and 
night. As with all the tribes, each day may be divided according 
as the sun has risen, is high, is exactly above us, or has completed 
its circuit, intervals being distinguished by its occupying such and 
such a position in the heavens and pointing to it (SR, m, 328). 
938. Of course, the knowledge of the approach of the wet. and 
dry seasons, for which the Makusi (SR, m, 110, 111) and others had 
special names, is of paramount importance to the Indians, their very 
existence, in the way of preparing a sufficient food supply from their 
fields, being dependent upon it. In addition to the information to 
be gleaned from the stars, such knowledge, in the majority of cases, 
is based upon various phenomena observed to take place both in 
the vegetable and animal world. Among the former I need only 
mention the budding of the ite-balli [Vochisia tetraphylla D. C.]| 
and hackia (Z’ecoma sp.) trees, which is a sure sign of the approach 
of wet weather (Ti, June, 1882, p. 127). Among the latter, the fol- 
lowing are all interesting examples: “The generality of our In- 
dians maintained still that two moons would have to elapse before 
the rain set in. Only an old Carib was of a different opinion. He 
told us that we might soon expect it, and gave as a reason for his 
opinion that the turtles were so far advanced toward perfection that 
the rain might set in, in the course of a week. He was correct in his 
conjecture, and we had only to regret that we did not consult him 
previously ” (ScG, 215). This prognostication of the weather by 
the size of the young turtle appears to be well known among the 
Indians generally (SR, 1, 303). The following passage is taken 
from Hilhouse: “I began to suspect that the dry season was nearly 
over, and, upon questioning the Indians they told us that of course 
