XAYMACA; THE ISLAND OF MANY RIVERS 319 



offset by the dismal black hole called the kitchen, 

 with its rough stone floor and forlorn little 

 American cooking stove, one, however, in which 

 it was at least possible to build a fire. As we had 

 by this time become accustomed to Jamaican 

 ways of living, it was easier to surmount obstacles, 

 and by dint of management our establishment 

 was soon in good working order. 



Every morning we were awakened by the 

 plaintive call-notes of the various wild pigeons 

 and doves that abounded. In the vicinity of the 

 house the white-headed pigeon, the Zenaida or 

 pea-dove, the white-winged dove, and the tiny 

 ground-dove predominated. But we only had to 

 go a short distance to encounter others. The 

 ring-tailed pigeon, the game-bird par excellence 

 of Jamaica, and ranked among the chief table 

 delicacies of the island, was common in the deep 

 forest. It seemed a bird of the high trees, as was 

 the white-crowned pigeon, while the other kinds 

 referred to frequent either open grounds or thick- 

 ets. The ring-tailed pigeon exceeds in size the 

 largest of our domesticated birds, and the white- 

 crowned pigeon is in this respect about like a car- 

 rier. The white-bellied pigeon was to be found in 

 the undergrowth of the forests, as were three quail- 

 doves, the ruddy or mountain, the blue dove, or 

 " mountain-witch," and the blue-headed quail-dove. 

 The first of this trio was abundant, the others less 



