In Native Homes 
in large pots until it becomes a little thicker than 
rich cream. In this form a large spoonful is 
wrapped in a portion of a banana leaf and when 
it cools, it becomes a jelly-like substance having 
a slightly acid taste much liked by the people of 
the country and by everybody else who remains 
in the country several years. From four to six 
of these are taken at each meal with a few 
spoonfuls of a sauce to be hereafter described. 
When travelling or engaged in manual labor, the 
natives make a hasty and refreshing luncheon of 
this cold ehkaw by breaking it up in cold 
water. Ehkaw is cooked under the shade of the 
trees in the streets and the market-places as well 
as in the houses, in the early morning and late in 
the afternoon; and before it is put into leaves, 
much of it is sold to people passing as a hot, re¬ 
freshing drink. A small quantity is mixed with 
hot water in a calabash and in this form it is a 
kind of sour gruel and very anti-febrile and 
wholesome. 1 was exceedingly fond of it, es¬ 
pecially when I was feverish and thirsty. At 
such times my appetite much preferred it to acid 
fruits such as oranges and limes. The same was 
true of my wife. 
Another staple article of diet is the West India 
yam. Only one grows from each vine (which 
33 
