Almost all speak some English,—seldom using the baby-talk of the negro, but not always conforming to the correct idiom; more familiar still with Spanish, they always use their own language in conversation with each other. Several grammars and vocabularies of the dialects spoken by these islanders and by their namesakes in South America have been published (as may be seen in the list of books given in the Appendix), but I have not studied this language enough to learn the difference, if any, between the speech of the yellow and the black tribes. The Caribbee has a disagreeable sound,—perhaps by contrast to the Spanish; but the syllables _ber_ and _bub_ are frequent, and the enunciation is exceedingly rapid, making it very difficult for an alien to catch the words. Add to this the curious fact that the men and women speak a distinct language, and the obstacles a learner meets are important. To illustrate, here are a few of the man and woman words:— Man. Woman. Father yumaan nucuxili Mother ixanum nucuxum Son macu, imulu nirajö Daughter niananti nirajö House tubana tujonoco Earth nonum cati Brother ibuguia (?) The traveller becomes familiar with such expressions as _Igarybai_, “let it alone;” _Buraba duna nu_, “bring me water;” _Kimoi_, “let us go;” _Fagai_, “paddle;” _Mawèr_, “O Lord!” _Ih hj_, “I don’t know,”—pronounced with a contemptuous nasal twang that would outdo the veriest Yankee. [Illustration: TWO CARIB BOYS.] Talkative beyond measure, it is difficult to quiet them in camp at night, unless they have had a hard day’s work. Good-natured when well treated, they have a very good opinion of themselves, and their self-love is easily disturbed. Superstitious to an extreme, they are not in public very religious; but there are strange stories told of human sacrifices in which a child was the victim. I have noticed that they put a rude cross on the window and door openings of an unfinished house to keep out the devils. When becalmed in a dory with Caribs, I have often heard the prayer:— “_Sopla, San Antonio, barba de oro cachimba de plata!_ Blow, Saint Antony, with golden beard and silver pipe!” And if the saint did not blow when asked repeatedly, the next proceeding was to make a cross of sticks and tow it astern; this last performance, like reading the Lord’s Prayer backwards, usually raised a breeze. The worship of Mafìa (the devil) I believe is general; but they do not like to talk about it. Caribs are less musical than any of the black races I have met; but they are fond of noisy drums, and will dance until utterly exhausted. Some of their dances last two days. [Illustration: Indian Women, Pocomam Tribe.]