34 
COL. H. W. EEILDEN ON THE DESERTED DOMICILE 
but it now invaded the highest tops of the mountains. He 
could well recollect, when he was a youth, the French planters 
having a great predilection for the bird : they were in the habit of 
sending slaves to the mountains, who sometimes remained away 
four or five days, returning with a load of birds. He had joined 
in these hunts ; and described how they recognized an inhabited 
burrow' by the beaten down track leading to the hole. The birds 
alighted, after gliding through the trees, at some distance from 
their burrows, and always entering by the same route, a well- 
defined track led to their holes. They pulled them out by means 
of a fish-hook attached to a pliant wand ; the bird as soon as it saw 
the light of day, threw itself on its back, and cried “Kra kra, 
kra kra ; ” the hunter put his foot on the bird and killed it. 
St. Catharine’s Day, 25th of November, was considered the date 
of arrival of the Diablotin. 
The most experienced of our woodsmen, a coloured man, and 
native of the island, Eugene Yaleur by name, told us that the last 
time he had ascended Morne au Diable was the year prior to the 
hurricane, which occurred in 1883 — this would put the date in 
1882 — and that it was about the month of November; he fixed the 
date by St. Catharine’s Day. He had a dog with him that smelt the 
occupied burrows. He smelt at the holes likewise, and recognized 
the presence of the birds by their peculiar odour. He captured 
five, pulling them out with a fish-hook attached to a wand. He 
described them as about the size of a Banner (i.e. pigeon), with 
a black back, white underparts, and mottled head. We gleaned 
this information as we trudged along the mountain path, that, 
always ascending, led us from Dr. Borne’s house to the mountains. 
It was a very hot, but beautiful day, and the air stifling when 
our path led through bush on either side. The stillness of 
a tropical forest at mid-day is very noticeable ; beyond a few 
humming birds darting across the path, or' hovering with vibrating 
wing over some bright blossom, no birds were to be seen ; a rustling 
and a scamper among the dead leaves made by some big lizard 
disturbed in its siesta by our advance, was the only sound heard, 
except our own voices. 
Every now and then, as our path led round the spurs of the 
mountain, views of the ocean and the shore line were disclosed, 
and the eye could hardly gaze upon a more lovely prospect. It 
