Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 46.djvu/479

Rh in leaf and flower, that he can hardly perceive these traces; but the naturalist's attention is arrested at once.

From the creek there is a gentle ascent to a slight elevation, where the aspect of the vegetation differs somewhat from its surroundings. Here is a clump of pineapples, and close by an impenetrable thicket of krattee, the material from which hammock and bow strings were made. Look a little closer, and perhaps a few variegated caladiums or scarlet-flowered belladonna lilies (Hippeastrum equestre), or even a specimen of the giant reed (Gynerium saccharoides),may be seen. A stranger, seeing the beauty of form and color, might wonder how they came there; but the naturalist can say at once that here, in some past time, was an Indian settlement, and these are his footprints.

It might also be thought from these relics of the red man's presence that he understood the decorative value of plants and flowers. Such, however, is not the case; for, although he formerly painted his skin with red, dark blue, and white pigments, and, like a child, was fond of staring colors, he did not grow these handsome leaves and flowers to satisfy such a taste. He does not wear garlands, although he undoubtedly has a most delicate taste in the arrangement of feathers for his headdress and waist-belt. As for his women, they—with the exception of a bead apron, on which is worked a pretty geometrical pattern—never decorate themselves in any way. Why, then, do they grow these lilies and caladiums? The answer shows one of the most interesting sides of the Indian character.

They are beenas, or charms, to make them good hunters, fishermen, or shooters. The beena notion pervades the Indian's whole life, as providing meat is his duty above everything else. There seems to be no rule in regard to the choice of beenas, except that their use must always be painful. The most universal, and that which seems to have a general application, is the nose beena, a whip made of eta fiber, which is put up one of the nostrils and drawn through the back of the mouth. This is used when a boy reaches manhood, to make him skillful in all his operations. Then there are particular beenas for every animal—the jaguar, tapir, peccary, labba, and even birds and fishes. The beautiful suffused crimson variety of Caladium bicolor is the jaguar beena, and other blotched and spotted kinds and the lilies are used for different quadrupeds. If the Indian hunter fails in shooting a particular animal and returns home without meat, he is dejected, and appears to think some virtue has gone out of him. The beast has got the better of the man, and he must renew his strength. To do this, he digs up a root of caladium or lily, and, after slashing himself with a knife on breast and arms, rubs the acrid juice into the wounds. Of course, the operation is very