160 CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES. 
were obliged to use as substitute the seeds of a species 
of palm, a tall and slender tree with drooping leaves. 
It is a species not yet described, I think, and is either 
acocos ora geonoma. The seeds are dark and shining, 
and grow in clusters at the bases of the leaf-stalks. 
They are edible, and constitute an important portion 
of the food of the forest Caribs. 
A beautiful plant, which nearly covered the trees 
along the streams, was the Alia longifolia; it had 
white, star-shaped flowers, and glossy laurel-like 
leaves. Every old stump and decaying tree was 
covered with a fuchsia-like plant with lovely pink and 
scarlet flowers, the Al/oplectus crestatus, which en- 
veloped every disfigured tree in a garment of beauty. 
We reached without adventure the great river, and 
followed it down to its mouth, where was an abandoned 
plantation in the possessign of negroes. A dilapidated 
hut was pointed out to me as being occupied by a 
famous sorceress, a priestess of Obeah, who could 
give one acharm that would kill one’s enemy, or cause 
a robber to restore stolen property. Her fame extended 
beyond the confines of the island, and she was visited 
by many credulous negroes from other places. 
Obeah, a relic of African witchcraft, has strong 
hold upon the ignorant blacks and Indians. Salibia, 
the valley in which I camped for more than a month, 
was once the stronghold of the priests of Obeah. For 
years they held sway there, and many people are 
supposed to have been killed by their poisons. The 
laws of the English government are severe in its 
punishment, but it is practiced toa greater extent than 
is generally known. 
It was the middle of the afternoon when we reached 
