AMONG THE CARIBS. 83 
sugar-birds, and drowsy bees. This is the valley in 
which I became acquainted with the “Cannibal 
Caribs ” of Columbus, this secluded spot on the At- 
lantic coast of Dominica, in the month of April, 1877. 
As servant and guide I was fortunate in securing a 
half Carib, named Meyong. At least, Meyong was 
the nearest English equivalent for his barbarous French 
name. He was, as I have said, but half a Carib; the 
other half was black; colors so deftly mingled, so 
skillfully laid on, that they resulted in a rich olive 
brown — quite a fashionable shade. Meyong hunted 
with me, found for me people to do my heavy work, 
ate my food and drank my rum, and slept. He did 
everything but work; and yet he was the most faith- 
ful, trustworthy servant I ever had, and anything I 
wanted he would get, or, if too much trouble for him, 
induce some one to get for me. He studied my wants 
so Closely that I had ever a retinue of willing young- 
sters at beck and call, all conjured up by Meyong 
to relieve his labors. His faithfulness and literal 
obedience to orders are well illustrated by the manner 
in which he procured for me a cook. 
We passed several weeks tranquilly together. My 
hammock swung in the breeze at night, and I was 
careful not to hunt in the breathless heat of noon. 
But there comes an end, sooner or later, to human 
enjoyment. Our cook, Meyong’s sister, concluded, 
without warning, to visit a friend on the far side of 
the mountain; and one day, when my guide and my- 
self returned hot and weary from the hunt, the sun at 
meridian and the parched earth radiating heat like a 
furnace, there was no breakfast, and no one to get it, 
either. 
