Carie Slave- Raijjers, 
348 
830. AkS with I'eiuaiuing ludiaus, the mcu's weapons comprise bows, 
arrows, and war-clubs of which only the last-mentioned dilier from 
those of other tribes by being decorated with an incised arabesque-like 
l)attern. These decorations, which are repeated on their Hutes, benches, 
pottery, etc., differ essentially from the designs cimongst remaining 
tribes because they are never executed with straight and broken but 
always curved lines, which not only their own common traditions but 
also those of other Indians convinced me that their forefathers had 
immigrated from the Islands. They have no blow-gun and know just as 
little about urari poison and its preparation. 
831. Öince their appearance on tlie continent of America the Caribs 
have been the terror of the indigenous tribes, and Salvator Gili who 
visited Guiana during the first half of last century already drew atten- 
tion to the devastating slave-raids carried on by them, particularly 
against the Macusis, in which they were especially encouraged by the 
then owners of the soil, the Dutch. As on the Pomeroon and Essequiln), 
the Caribs also supplied the estates' owners on the Gorentyn with slaves 
in barter for European articles, a trade that was carried on through the 
Postholders undei- the authorisation of the Governor of Surinam, in 
return for which they had to deliver every sixth slave to him for nothing. 
In Paramaribo they even paid a Colonial interpreter with a knowledge 
of the Carili language, partly to represent the mutual interests of 
Indians and Government, and partly to learn from the imported slaves 
to which nation they belonged, so that no Indian should be bought from 
a tribe, e.g., the Caribs, Arawaks and Warraus. with which the Govern- 
ment had concluded treaties. Since Emancipation the Caribs have been 
forced to abandon the trade at least on British soil although it still 
flourishes in Surinam as my brother learnt fi'om experieucf> during his 
journey in IS.'^G on the P.erbice, where he met a party of Caribs who 
wanted to go to the upper Essequibo. invade the territory of the Macusls 
and bring their captives to Surinam. Fortunately he succeeded in 
frustrating their plan. Put even at the present time one now and again 
finds slaves amongst the Carilis whom they call Poitis. , The repoi't 
which earlier travellers brought to Eurov)e that Cavil) women spoke a 
language different to the men may well be due to the fact that they mostly 
kept the girls kidnapped from other tribes as their wives who then, if 
several were to meet in a village, might retain their mother-tongue. 
Although the Caribs in the Colony are generally accused of 
cannibalism, esi^ecially l)y the Xegroes. who still relate with horror what 
their parents told them about their eating the flesh of the fallen during 
the quelling of the Xegro uprising in ITO.'*., this was distinctly denied not 
only 1»y my old chief luit by all others from whom I made enquiry. The 
former told me the following alx)ut it. After a victory gained, their 
forefathers usually broright back to the settlement an arm or leg of the 
slaughtered enemy as a trophy, which would then be cooked so as to get 
the flesh more easily oil; the bone : a flute Avas made out of this to be used 
as an instrument on the next war expedition. One still frequently linds 
in the Carib camps such flutes made from human bones. At the big 
feasts which wei'e celebrated immediately after their return in honoj^f 
