EXPLANATORY INDEX. 



487 



On each wing is a sharp and rathei- strong spur, which has 

 earned for the bird the popular name of Spur-wing. It is 

 also remarkable for a curious leathery excrescence, which rises 

 from the base of the beak, both above and below. 



SPtJR-WINGED WATER-HEN. 



Wateemamma. — Throughout the whole of Guiana there is 

 a superstitious dread of some strange being which, like the 

 nippen of Norway, the gnomes, goblins, and other malignant 

 semi-spiritual beings of Europe, the jinns of Asia, and the 

 jumbies of Africa, take a demoniacal delight in waylaying and 

 murdering travellers. 



The Watermamma seems to be able to assume various 

 forms, though it generally prefers that of a human being. 

 Mr. Brown mentions it under the name of water-child. 



"On our way we passed a deep pool, where there was an 

 eddy, in which the guide informed us there lived a " water- 

 child" covered with long hair. A woodskin (i.e. canoe) with 

 Indians was passing the spot one day, when the water-child 

 came to the surface, caught hold of, and upset the canoe. One 



