220 CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES. 
the art of entertaining guests, though it is almost 
superfluous to say this of any West Indian, either 
adopted or to the manor born, and as soon as our feet 
touched the soil of his preserve we felt the truth of 
his assurance, that all was ours as well as his. 
I searched the shore for traces of the Caribs, but was 
unrewarded save by a few shards of pottery ; however, 
I was promised a guide for the morrow, who could pilot 
me to a sepulchre of skulls. Alas! that morrow did 
not bring its promised pleasure, and those skulls may 
yet linger for some other explorer, for aught I know 
to the contrary. 
Close in sight, about two miles distant, rose the islet 
of Battowia. It was little more than a huge rock 
several hundred feet in height, and clad with vegeta- 
tion on its western slope. In the eastern cliffs was 
the cave which some of the Indians had occupied, and 
which we desired to explore. After early coffee the 
morning succeeding our arrival at Balliceaux, three 
of us embarked in a “ Moses-boat” for Battowia. 
The Moses-boat is a peculiarly strong boat built for 
transporting sugar and other heavy freight through 
the heavy surf of the eastern shore. In shape it is 
something like the famous craft in which those “three 
wise men of Gotham” departed on their sea-voyage. 
It is very buoyant, and owes its great strength to 
numerous knees and thick planking. Regarding its 
name, whether it was named for Moses the great 
“lawgiver,” or for the man who built the first of the 
kind, will forever remain a mystery. 
In the Moses-boat we embarked: the sea was 
smooth, and we made the passage without mishap. 
There were four of us “ buckras,” or white men, and 
