ITINERARY. XV 



The first thing that struck us av.is the inconvenience of the site 

 selected for the villnge — in fact, there was nothing to recommend it 

 except the openness of the situation, wliicli, after all, is little recom- 

 mendation to an Indian ; and yet the people seemed to fancy the spot, 

 Kwaimatta being the largest village in the savannas. The land round 

 about was all sand or very sandy clny, and woidd grow nothing but 

 cassava, and that not very plentifully. All other provisions, sucli as 

 yams, plantains, bananas, and sweet potatoes, were giown on the hills 

 at the back of Annai, and a trip to the fields and back meant three 

 days' work. The long straight poles and palm-leaves used in building 

 the houses had to be brought from a place higher up the river, as far 

 as the Kanuku Mountains, and the return journey would take five oi' six 

 days, and many trips would have to be made before sufficient leaves 

 to make one of these high-roofed houses could be collected. 



The w\ater-supply is perhaps the worst feature. At the foot of the 

 incline on v/hich the village is built is a particidarly dirty swamp ; in 

 this a few shallow pools, about 6 ft. square and 1 ft. in depth, are dug, 

 and the water which finds its way into these is the only water easily 

 ol)tainable. One objection to these pools is that the people liatlie in 

 them, and as in the dry season the water is never changed, the idea, 

 if nothing else, is unpleasant. At first we used this water for drinking- 

 purposes, but after a fortnight's dry weather, when the mixture 

 became more concentrated, we began to feel the ill-eft'ects and were 

 obliged to send to the river every morning and evening, a distance 

 of two and a half miles. 



The natural laziness of the people — or, rather, dislike to any work 

 which is not absolutely necessary — makes it difhcult to understand why 

 such a site was chosen. After the ground has once been cleared liy the 

 men, the women have full charge of the fields, and all the produce belongs 

 to them. A man may take one or more wives whom he treats very 

 much as beasts of burden ; it is their duty to keep the fields clean, bring 

 home the cassava, and make bread. When travelling she carries the 

 load and the man walks in front with his gun or boW' and arrow ; but 

 the hunting gives him plenty of work, as a shooting-expedition may 

 mean watching and walking for a couple of days without result. Most 

 men use a gun when hunting ; they never fire at a moving object or 

 run the risk of wasting powder and shot, but walk .stealthily through 

 the bush listening for the .slightest sound. When satisfiinl that they 

 are close to anything worth shooting, they either stalk it to within 

 two or three yards before firing or, hiding behind a tree, call the game 

 to them. 1 have .seen an agouti (a thick-.skinned little animal the* size 

 of a hare) shot thiough fi'om side to side. This will give some idea of 

 tiie short lange to which it was stalked. 



Arrows are .seldom u.sed, except for shooting fish. The bows ;ire m.-idc 

 as a rule of letter-wood and have ver}' little spring ; the arrows nie 

 very light, being made from the fiowering st:ilk of the wild sugar-cane, 

 and have a point either of iron or some hard wood. 



At some target practice we started one day, we were snipriscd to find 

 that the strongest men cotdd .seldom send an arrow more than OU yards, 

 even when they allowed a fair eh^vation. 



Tilt! blow pipe, which appears to be fast giving placi- to tiie gun, is 



