aabb.] 5-^ [Aug. 20, 



to the reigning chief. The others were formerly also property of the 

 chiefs, but are said to have been given as rewards of merit to the most 

 successful leaders in the Tiribi war. The two belonging to the chief, as 

 well as one belonging to the descendants of one of those warriors, all 

 represent birds. The people call them eagles. The largest is between 

 three and four inches across ; the smaller of the chief's two, is double- 

 headed. In connection with these "eagles" another royal emblem might 

 be mentioned. It is a staff of hard black palm wood, over four feet long. 

 The top is carved ia the shape of an animal, not unlike a bear sitting on 

 his haunches. But there are no bears in this country, and it must have 

 been intended for some other animal. Below this figure, the stick is 

 square, and is carved out into four pillars several inches long, with spaces 

 between them. In the interior, between them, is a cavity in which a 

 loose xJiece of the same wood can be shaken about. It was evidently left 

 there in the carving, after the fashion of the Chinese. Below this, the 

 stick is plain. I tried every means in my power to obtain this, but could 

 not buy it. 



Games of chance or of skill are equally unknown, and even when 

 brought into contact with civilizition, they do not seem to take kindly 

 to gambling. In fact, they have so little to win or lose, and that little 

 is so easily obtained, that the inducement does not exist. 



Their food is simple in material and there is but little variation in the 

 manner of preparation. Of meats, besides chickens, they have beef and pork, 

 which are however rarely used except at feasts. They know nothing of salt- 

 ing meat for future use and can only consume one of these animals when a 

 large number is together. Besides the scarcity of beef is so great that 

 probably no Indian possesses more than one or two animals at a time. 

 Wild meat, like peccary, red monkey, (the other species are rarely eaten,) 

 tapir, tiger, even oiter, armadillo, and some other small animals are oc- 

 casionally shot. In this case, all of the meat that is not eaten at once is 

 dried as hard as a bone, and perfectly black, in the smoke of a slow fire. 

 Larger species of birds like curassow are also treated in the same way. 

 It is an interebting fact, universally attested, that the bones of this bird 

 are absolutely poisonous to dogs, while the meat, though tough, is not 

 unpalatable and is perfectly innoxious to man. After a meal it is the 

 never-failing custom to gather all the bones carefully, and either burn 

 them or place them out of reach of the dogs. I do not know whether the 

 flesh would be equally dangerous, though I doubt if it was ever wasted 

 on a dog. This property is said to be due to some fruit or seed they 

 eat. Of vegetable food, plaintains are the staple. In times of scarcity, 

 bananas take their place, besides being eaten raw when ripe. The In- 

 dians also occasionally eat a raw ripe plantain, although they are coarse 

 and the flavor is inferior. The methods of preparation are, roasted 

 green, when they make a poor substitute for bread ; roasted ripe, when 

 they are eaten with chocolate, with the idea of sweetening it. They are 

 also boiled green, with meat, with green corn, or even alone. Ripe plan- 



