Characteristics of Carib Drunkenness. 
335 
to hope for uightfall when, as my companions assured me, it would 
certainly turn up ^uid make its presence known by "bellowing." 1 must 
confess that it was a long time since I had waited for evening with such 
close attention. It might be 9 o'clock when the deep silence was l>rokeu 
by the croak. I'rovided ^ith a light, I hurried with some Caribs in its 
direction which led us again to the felled tree. The bright illumination 
seemed to dazzle the frog which allowed itself to he caught quite quietly. 
It was the large beautifully nuirked tree-frog Hyla venvlosa Daud. The 
whole body of this interesting creature is covered with an unpleasantly 
smelling slime, which it seems ])articularly difficult to remove from the 
enlarged toe-pads. Besides this, the animal when seized let flow a 
whitish juice out of its ears which, while brushing away some mosquitoes, 
got onto the skin of my face where it caused the most scorching paius : 
next morning the spots had turned a dark black colour, and after a few 
days the whole skin peeled off. The Indians described the frog at the 
same tinie as the most infallil»le weather-prophet because it only lets its 
voice be lieard if rain is to be expected the following day : hence also its 
luime — '■•Konoho," rain, "arv:"' frog. I soon found this statement to bo 
absolutely true, particularly on the Barama where the creature is 
present in large numbers. As the Bodelselvwingia disappears, so does 
the frog. Daudin. in his description, mentions nothing about the extra- 
ordinary croak of the creature. 
807. On the second day after their return from the Mission the 
Kuamuta villagers celebrated a drinking-bout fi'om which Missionary 
Brett had been just as little able to wean them as he had from their 
enjoyment of tlie uncleanlv prepared drink. Their sintjing was uncom- 
monly lively, the matter imorovised. with <^ach strophe repeated in 
chorus: the melodies generally were not characterised bv such monoton"»' 
as in those of remaining tribes. The less resemblance their singing had 
witli that of the latter, the more did the conclusion of the festivities 
correspond with tliat of the carousals of all other Indians — for the Avhole 
company, men and women, got drunk. The closeness to the city and the 
almost continual intercourse with it may fairly be in part responsilde 
for the fact that it is just amongst the Caribs that the drink liabit has 
degenerated into an uncontrollable passion. I have been present at 
scenes with these people where I thought animals and not men must l>e 
playing a part. A specially characteristic and unfailing symptom of the 
commencement of drunkenness was the trouble they took to speak 
English to me Avhen I would often find to my astonishment that people 
who in temperate uionients pretended they <lid not hwn\ a word of the 
language, spoke it quite fluently. The fine di-ink had a further effect upon 
the chieftain of Kuamuta in that he told me his secrets: for he informed 
me that he possessed not one wife only, but three. The Domini (Mission- 
ary) had forbidden this, but so as 1o make him believe his orders were 
obeyed, he had built for tlie other two women, another home far away in 
the bush where he was wont to visit them: as the Missionary might 
accidentally meet them wlien calling at the village, they dared not be seen 
here. This confession gave me a deep insight into the mind of this out- 
