210 CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES. y 
descended from an ancient family, met me and aided 
me in my search for a house, and I was comfortably 
fixed before night in a little house of reeds, wattled 
and thatched. It contained two rooms eight feet 
square, separated by a matting of tied wild-plantain 
ribs. The result of my observations here is incorpo- 
rated in chapter nine, but there are some incidents of 
Indian life that have not been alluded to in that 
narrative. 
My nearest neighbor was “Captain George,” an 
Indian descended from the “ Black Caribs.” That is, 
his father, or grandfather, was a negro, while his 
mother, or grandmother, was a Carib. From either 
paternal or maternal ancestor he had inherited a kinky 
wool and rather thick lips, but the Indian blood 
showed itself strongly. Captain George was intelli- 
gent beyond the average Carib, and possessed a good 
knowledge of the ancient language, which his grand- 
mother, who had “brung him up,” had taught him; 
and as he was always ready to impart to me the words 
and idioms of the Indian tongue, I was a frequent 
visitor to his cabin, where I would sit for hours listen- 
ing to the tales and traditions handed down from his 
ancestors. He had an interesting family; and, as he 
had married a “ Yellow Carib,” a woman of uncontami- 
nated Indian blood, his children did not resemble in 
complexion either him or his wife. Nothing can bet- 
ter show this difference than the photograph I took of 
the group one afternoon, as we returned from hunting 
in the hills. The children were blessed with abun- 
dant; black, straight hair, which was worn by the 
girls in long braids; it was a trifle coarser than that 
of the mother, but yet beautiful. 
