Page:Here and there in Yucatan - miscellanies (IA herethereinyucat00lepl 0).djvu/74

 that one crab, called the "soldier," also known as "hermit," possesses remarkable curative properties. Simply boiled and eaten every day, it cures nervous diseases and consumption; while a certain oil extracted from it is an infallible remedy for palsy and other ills. Of course! During our brief stay at Nizucte we saw a man cook, and eat with great relish, a few "hermits." He was poisoned by them, and came within an inch of losing his life.

One of the Indian villages along the coast is called Tancah; shortly after the occasion I write about our Ark of the Carribean went down near there. A French bark, bound for Vera Cruz, stranded near the village; it was believed that the Indians killed those on board, and sent the bodies adrift, for they floated down the Gulf Stream to Cozumel. The Indians took possession of the bark.

On this coast, as in many other countries, the wreck of a vessel is considered a godsend, the inhabitants thinking they have a right to kill the crew and take possession of the ship and its contents. The people of Tancah and another village called Tulum have no boats; so at low tide they made fast a rope to the vessel, and used it to go back and forth, landing as much of the cargo as they could. Craving for liquor, as always, they went down into the hold, where