Mr. Brett witnessed several instances of this dreadful mode of punishment, and in one case had little doubt that he had come upon a Kanaima who had been unable to find the body of his victim. “An Indian, reduced almost to a skeleton, and in a dreadful state of exhaustion, was picked up in the forest by some Arawâk, and brought to the Pomeroon mission. He had lost a portion of his scalp, and had his lower lip torn down at each corner. This he said had been done by a small ‘tiger,’ which had sprung on him while lying in the forest....
“The Acawaios at the mission, whose language he spoke, took much care of him at first, but afterward judged, from his refusing certain kinds of food and other signs, that he was a devotee and victim of unappeased Kanaima, and the murderer of a man killed some time before. From this, and his savage, ungrateful demeanor (though Mr. M’Clintock aided by myself, cleansed and dressed his sores to encourage them), we had some difficulty in getting him nursed till his strength had returned, as they feared lest they should become his future victims.”
If the friends of the murdered man fear that they will not be able to conceal the body effectually, they remove the liver, and put in its place a redhot axe-head, under the belief that when the Kanaima tastes the blood of his victim, the heat which was in the axe-head will pass into his body and consume him.
Putting aside private feud, the Caribs have of late been beaten by the other tribes in open war. They had been partially successful against the Arawâks, who had been driven into the swampy district near the Waini. Here, however, the fugitives made a stand, and placed themselves under the supreme command of a well-known and tried warrior. Expecting that the Caribs would soon follow them into their place of refuge, their leader placed his men in ambush among the islands, and awaited the coming of the enemy.
On came the Caribs in their great war canoes, following each other in single file through the narrow creeks which separate the “wet savannah” into islands. They were allowed to pass unhurt, until they rounded one of the islands, when a deadly shower of arrows from both banks disabled or killed every man on board. The second canoe pushed on, only to meet the same fate, while the others, not being able to see the carnage that was taking place, hurried onward toward the spot whence the cries proceeded, and were in their turn overwhelmed with the deadly shower. The victorious Arawâks then jumped into the water, seized the canoes, and killed every one of the warriors with the exception of two. These were sent home by the victors on the promise of a large ransom, to be paid in the cotton hammocks for the manufacture of which the Caribs are so famous; and an insulting message was also sent by them, requesting the Caribs to send another expedition.
On land the Caribs fared as badly against the same foes as they had done by sea. Being determined to resist the continual attacks of the Caribs, the Arawâks made up their minds to fly no more to the swamps for safety, but to boldly face their enemies. They therefore built a large house on the banks of a rivulet, surrounded it with trees laid with their branches outward—in fact, the abattis of modern engineering—and stored the house with as many arrows as they could make. Moreover, they made broad wooden shields, which were used on this occasion for the first and probably for the last time.
As had been anticipated, the Caribs were not very long in making their attack. Seeing a small party of men among the trees, they gave chase and pursued them as far as the house, which they immediately attacked. The defenders did not return the fire of the Caribs, but contented themselves with receiving on their shields the arrows of the enemy. When they judged that the arrows of the foe were nearly exhausted, they made use of their own stores, and poured volley after volley on the invaders, being supplied by the women and boys with arrows as fast as they could shoot. The Caribs were unable to withstand such an attack, and were obliged to beat a retreat, during which they lost many more of their number by the pursuing Arawâks.
The two last decisive battles between these great tribes ended again in favor of the Arawâks. The latter established themselves on the banks of a branch of the river Moruca, a stream which is thickly wooded on both sides. The name of this branch is Haimara-Cabura. Across this stream the Arawâks sank a tree trunk at such a depth that it would allow small canoes to pass over it, while the large and heavily-laden war-canoes must inevitably strike upon it.
The invaders came, as had been expected, but found nothing except empty houses. They then descended the Moruca, looking about for their prey, and at last caught sight of several canoes and gave chase. The fugitive canoes, on reaching the mouth of the Haimara-Cabura, darted into it as if for shelter, and were followed by the invaders, yelling and shouting with excitement. Suddenly, their canoes struck violently against the sunken boom, jerked the paddles from their places, became entangled with each other, and caused inextricable confusion. In the midst of their perplexity, showers of arrows were hurled upon them, and very few of the invading force escaped.
Among them, however, was the Carib chief Manarrawa, who was incensed at the repulse with which he had met, returned to the Orinoco, organized another force, and again attacked the Arawâks. This time he was less fortunate, being wounded and taken prisoner. On being brought before the council of chiefs, Manarrawa promised that, if his life was spared, he would cause his people to cease from further attacks. The Arawâks, more lenient than the Caribs, granted his request, gave him a canoe, and sent him home. He, on his part, performed his promise, and from that time there has been no regular war between the Caribs and Arawâks, although there have been private blood feuds of the kind described.