1S75.] ^-^ [Gabb. 



Cacao is in great demand. The delicious sub-acid pulp is first sucked 

 from the beans, which are roasted and ground on the chicha board, or 

 stone into a coarse paste. It is the greatest luxury they possess. And 

 still, I have never seen a young cacao tree belonging to an Indian. They 

 depend for their supply on the old trees, planted by past generations. 

 I have known an Indian make a two days' journey to collect a little cacao, 

 when less labor would plant him fifty trees near his house. 



Fishing is rarely performed with hook and line. They have two 

 methods. One is to shoot the fish from a canotj (all the canoes belong to 

 foreigners), or from the shore, or a rock. They use very long arrows, 

 described previously, and are quite expert. Another method is to select a 

 channel of the river beside an island. A frame-work is built at each 

 end, of sticks and cane, which extend completely across the stream. 

 When everything is ready, the people stationed at the upper end rapidly 

 cover the frame-work with the leaves of the cane, so as to stop the water 

 running through. Those at the lower frame, also spread" on cane leaves, 

 but thinner, only so as to keep the fish from passing through. Both pai'- 

 ties must work at the same time, and as rapidly as possible, because as 

 soon as the fish find the level of the water lowering they attempt to 

 escape, and I was told that it has sometimes happened that every fish 

 has gotten away before the dams were finished. In the course of a 

 few hours the water is so low that the fish congregate in the deeper 

 pools and are shot with arrows, or even taken out by hand. 



The only divisions of time known are the natural astronomical ones : 

 the day, the lunar month, and the year. A glance at the vocabulary 

 will show that special words are used for day in the abstract as distin- 

 guished from night, and for to-day, to-morrow, day after to-morrow, &c. , 

 and for yesterday, &c. The month is called by the same name as the 

 moon, "sj." The year is counted from dry season to dry season, and is 

 recognized by the ripening of the flower-stalks of the wild cane, on 

 which they depend for arrow-shafts. It is called da-was' from this con- 

 nection. 



The local diseases of the country are fevers, acquired by going to the 

 coast; or by the hill people, by going down to the low lands. They some- 

 times seem to become epidemic, due to an unusually wet season, or to 

 the continuance of the rains throughout what shoiild be a dry season. 

 The summer of 1874 was particularly fatal in this respect. Rheumatism 

 is common, especially with the older men. It is brought on by much 

 exposure to rain, and by wading rivers when heated, on journeys. But 

 the commonest infirmities are indolent ulcers, usually on the legs. They 

 originate from any little scratch or bruise, and are the result of the low 

 vital state of the system, due to a bulky but innutritious diet. A 

 wound which, in a person in good health, would heal in a week, may 

 result with one of these people in a sore lasting years, and perhaps at 

 times involving an area twice as large as the hand. 



Of remedies, they may be safely said to have none. They are learning 

 A. p. S. — VOL. XIV. 3p 



