join the household of the Great Chief or of a sub-Chief, she set to
work and for months and months she made necklaces of alligator teeth,
peccary teeth, and finely carved ivory nuts and coloured pieces of
wood. She also would weave some elaborate hammock and fringe this
with the bushy tails of the squirrels and the forest-cats, and when
these articles were done, she would present them to the Chief, who,
in return for these favours, would bestow upon her the great honour
of accepting her as a wife.

There seemed to be few maladies among these people; in fact, during
the five weeks I spent with them, I never saw a case of fever nor of
anything else. When a person died the body was carried far into the
woods, where a fire was built, and it was cremated. The party would
then leave in a hurry and never return to the same spot; they were
afraid of the Spirit of the Dead. They told me that they could hear
the Spirit far off in the forests at night when the moon was shining.

The men were good hunters and were experts in the use of bow and arrow
and also the blow-gun, and never failed to bring home a fresh supply
of game for the village. This supply was always divided equally,
so that no one should receive more than he needed for the day. At
first glance the men might appear lazy, but why should they hurry
and worry when they have no landlord, and no grocer's bills to pay;
in fact, the value of money is entirely unknown to them.

I was allowed to walk around as I pleased, everybody showing me a
kindness for which I shall ever gratefully remember these "savages." I
frequently spent my forenoons on a tree trunk outside the _maloca_
with the Chief, who took a particular interest in my welfare. We
would sit for hours and talk, he sometimes pointing at an object