94 TlMEHRI. 
order he quickly obeyed and shot the snake. The Indian 
in question being " a peaiman" or sorcerer dragged the 
dead snake some distance into the bush, and there com- 
menced to cut out the fangs which he afterwards secured 
to the cotton string which supported his loin cloth. 
The superstitions of the aborigines of British Guiana are 
too well known to require any comments from me. A 
sorcerer, or " peaiman" when armed with the fangs of a 
snake, more particularly those of a bush-master — is intend- 
ed to play a very important part amongst his Indian pa- 
tients, believing as they do, that a peaiman possesses the 
power of warding off sickness by blowing on the patient 
through his closed hands, and squeezing the parts affe£ted, 
while wielding his " sac-sac" or magical gourd. He 
rails most violently against the evil spirit for inflicting his 
patients with sickness, and, while extolling his professional 
skill as a medicine man, does not hesitate to assure his 
patient that his recovery is certain. Finally he exhibits 
to the credulous patients the fangs of the much 
dreaded bush-master snake, which he tells the sick Indian 
he took out of his body, all of which the poor benighted 
Indian firmly believes. As a rule it is only the 
Indians who live on, or in the neighbourhood of, the 
Missions, who will take our medicine ; but they 
require much nourishment while under our care, as 
our medicine is so much stronger than the Indian bush 
remedies. Missionary efforts have accomplished wonders 
amongst the Indians of this colony ; but in the more dis- 
tant parts rarely visited by missionary, the voice of the 
peaiman reigns supreme. 
It was during the rainy season I walked across 
from river to river, and seeing the banks of Demerara 
