IN BRITISH GUIANA.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 4001, 6 August 1915, Page 7

IN BRITISH GUIANA.

j LECTUI?E m REV _ MR . p ACKE

INTERESTING .STORIES OF THE NATIVE.

i, Tli-o' Rev, Mr. Racke, Vicar of Holy 1 Trinity Church', entertained 1 a Large audience in the Trinity Hall last evening with a lecture on British Guiana, the j.torthorn part of South Amorim, and is tire only possession of Great' j Britain on the South American continent, perhaps hotter known as I»i> merava, from its capital (Georgetown) j being situated on a river of that name. Tho civilised and cultivated portion ; of the colony, said the lecturer, lies only along a narrow strip of soiuqoast. ! Befiind-this are swamps, tlien. wooe-cd ri.smg ground, and finally mountain-. : and savannahs, all lying m a state of . nature, tho haunts- of wild animals : and various Indian tribes. With the ; exception of a few settlements on such • rivers as the • Bc-dice, Domainra, and i Essecjuibo; it remains to-day Wry , much ip the same state as- in the days iof Raleigh. Travel is mostly done by ; river, and is in some instances slow owing to rapids and eabanacLs flowingover white granite. Until some miles up tho rivers one. obtains no extensive views, but the river scenery is very pretty. The forest trees are stately and magnificent, stems and branches being conred with pants.t’c plants, orchids and wild pines. Tn; re nr. also numerous aquatic pianls with white star-like flowers or a delicate l>mk color, which aitract wild bees of various species. Wiien the sun is high numerous butt- rflios, chiefly of various shades of yellow ami orange, flit about among the cataracts. Tinbeautiful azure blue butterfly is also seen, but iLs favorite haunts are the side .streams. Certain it is that oneneed not spend an. idle moment by day or night. Attempting to shoot fish (cartabac and paca) with, arrows- fitted i with a cord, although apparently easy to the native, necessitates .at first much patience and practice. ()iu’> eyes get tired with; the infinite variety and prolific profusion of life in tropical forests. Birds, beasts and flowers vie with one another for the pride of place in brilliancy of coloring. The real glamor of a trip up tlie rivers does not begin until you have shaken off socalled civilisation. Then'the call of the wild comes. There is in the air an indescribable scent, clean and pure —a state- of tilings unknown in Untowns. I am speaking now of 1897, for I understand that a smart steam launch, with engines of 60-h.p.. takes you through tho rapids. Progress was slow and discomforts many, hut on that account one saw more of the real native life. Wild animals, si'ch as jaguars, tigers, rattlesnakes, bushcows, macaws, parrots, pelicans, and hummin.r birds in large numb. r.-. You may travel at case now am! cost houses ifivite slumber, wlr re Ir-fuiv a

hammm'k slung to the trees, pins all the pests imaginable to annoy ami irritate. The Kaiteur Falls are the highest direct- falls in the world. 409 ft wide, l ift deep, falling over 800 ft. Victoria Falls on the Zamir.si are only 400 ft high, Niagara 220 ft. Kaiteur means “old man fall.’’

Continuing, the speak' r related many of Ids experiences. He related how with their darts, with cord attached, his native boatmen killed a large wai r python which had wound itself round and round v great crocodile. The dart struck the python in the hack of the neck, and ho at mice relaxed his hold on tlie crocodile and sank to the bottom. The natives, Air. Racke cuntiinir-d. are full of superstition, and whereas white men are satisfied with one sou! apiece, the native Indians believe they have several souls—“bush souls,” “dream souls,” etc. Witebornlt is rife, and; there is consequently a tremendous amount of spite and vindictiveness. This was one of Iho greatest obstacles in the way of the Christian missionaries who worked among tlie natives.

Speaking of pests, Mr. Racke said that in Nov Zealand people dal . not 'know they were living. In British Guiana there were, among other pests, little insects which burrowed under one’s toenails and stopped' there until the nail had to be cut away. Another insect which burrowed into

the skin laid eggs, which had in hrcut out. Owing to those posts, wh oh haunted the grass, children in British Guiana got a bad time, as they wore not allowed to play on the grass. The native ladies, said Ur. Pack', wore fond of dress, and they trotpicntly spent hours dressing their hair into wonderful coiffures.. They were very sharp of tongue, and did not hesitate to fell their husbands what they thought of them. The marriage custom was that the would-be husband consulted not the parents of the girl, but the mother’s eldest- brother. The bride was then bought for the equivalent of about £lO sterling. Aft t marriage the husband could beat: hiwife, but must not draw blood. 'the penalty for drawing his wife’s blood was tiny payment to the wife of the amount 'd’ the wedding price, and the wife could then return to tin* bosom of her family. This, however, did not prevent the couple marrying again. There were several intoxicating drinks manufactured by the: natives, the most poisonous being what is called “Lab-ana.” The native idea of surgery is extremely crude, but- certain I v very courageous. In one case a man broke his forearm, and the; medicineman of the village sharpened a ph-ce of bamboo and drove it 'into the palm of til"- hand and up- the arm until it protruded! past- the elbow. He linn encased the arm in plantain leaves and deft it. A few months later thearm withered away and the man died, but- this nevertheless, showed the extreme stoicism of the- Indian native. Mr. Paeke added a number of bis experiences on the Gold Coast on the West Coast of Africa, whore he was regarded as a juju-man, equal to the professional medicine-men ot the tribes. The incidents were mostly extremely amusing, but though the •speaker showed the greatest mod'sty in the relation of certain of them, plainly evident to the audience was.n .ready resourcefulness and courage in tire face of danger. Mr. Long, who occupied the chair, proposed! a vote of thanks to the Rev. Mr. Paeke for his very interesting and instructive lecture, and from the. way in which it was carried it was evident that the audience had thoroughly enjoyed themselves.